Jim McCann
CEOJim
McCann likes to make things grow. Just as he built an international
business from a single Manhattan flower shop, McCann, CEO of
1-800-FLOWERS.COMSM, has helped expand the definition of
retailing in just a decade.
Recognizing the enormous potential in
providing on-the-go consumers with quality, gift-giving opportunities,
McCann pushed traditional boundaries to create not just one, but several
access channels. Today, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM customers can send a wide
variety of floral products and gifts around the block or around the world
by clicking a mouse on a personal computer, walking into one of its
stores, or by dialing a 1-800-number.
McCann acquired the
1-800-FLOWERS number in 1986 after successfully building his own chain of
14 flower shops in the New York metropolitan area. Using a thorough
understanding of his customer base and market, he focused on creating a
reliable brand name and instilling a sense of trust and convenience in an
industry that had previously had no leader. As his business grew, McCann
pioneered its entry into other retail access channels-going online in 1992
and opening a Web site in 1995. Today, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has a well-known
web site (1-800-FLOWERS.COM), and maintains strategic online relationships
with a number of online services, including America Online, Microsoft
Network (MSN), Excite, Snap.com, and Yahoo.
McCann attributes much
of his success to the training he received in his first job-as a social
worker. As an administrator at St. John's Home for Boys in Rockaway, New
York, McCann recalls, he had to help underprivileged children learn how to
overcome the scourge of poverty, drugs and despair. His experiences
greatly influence the open management style he uses today.
A
frequent lecturer, McCann has discussed business and social issues before
AT&T, IBM and many other Fortune 500 companies. In 1997, McCann was
named Toastmaster International's Outstanding Business
Speaker.
McCann's humanitarian efforts, his entrepreneurial acumen
and his retail vision have been widely recognized in the business
community. Among his many honors are the Entrepreneur of the Year award by
Merrill Lynch and Inc. Magazine, the Retailer of the Year award from Chain
Store Executive Magazine, the Advocate of the Year award from Ernst &
Young and the Long Island Association, and the Direct Marketer of the Year
from Direct Marketing Day New York. He has also been named one of the Top
Business 100 in Irish America Magazine.
Active in numerous
business and community organizations, McCann is on the national boards of
directors of Gateway 2000, OfficeMax, Inc., PETCO, Inc., and Very Special
Arts, as well as the boards of Hofstra University and Winthrop-University
Hospital. He also supports programs for the developmentally
disabled.
McCann lives on Long Island with his wife and three
children.
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