The familiar face of 1-800-Flowers is stepping down. After 40 years at the helm of the company he founded, Jim McCann will relinquish his CEO title but will continue as executive chairman, overseeing management talent evaluation and development, mergers and acquisitions, as well as business development and long-term strategic planning.
The role of chief executive will stay in the family as Chris McCann, Jim’s brother, adds the title of CEO on June 30. Chris will expand his responsibilities for overseeing the company’s operational and organizational processes, including the development and execution of the company’s annual and longer-term operating and financial plans.
“When we set up this succession plan many years ago, we did so with the goal of a having a seamless transition,” said Jim McCann in a statement.” Chris has been steering our company’s day-to-day operations as president since 2000. Today’s announcement recognizes Chris’s significant contributions and reflects the seamless transition process that we have executed over the past several years.”
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The transition will occur as 1-800-Flowers celebrates its 40th anniversary. The retailer has evolved from a single store to an online operator (the first retailer to transact on AOL), with a mobile presence and more than $1 billion in annual sales.
“I have learned a great deal working alongside Jim over the years, as we took one storefront shop on Manhattan’s East side and grew it into a leading, omnichannel gift retailer,” said Chris McCann in a statement. “Looking ahead, our company is poised to achieve even greater growth by deepening our customer relationships and expanding our business platform in both the floral and gourmet food gifting spaces.”
