Blooming times for growing franchise

One of the largest florist chains in the country, 1-800-Flowers, smells growth in the Sunshine State.

The Long Island, N.Y.-based chain seeks to sign both new franchisees and what it calls “co-branded locations.” Those are franchise agreements with existing florists that keep the local brand name but use the 1-800-Flowers concept, order flow, products, systems and support.

“We have some exciting things happening in Florida,” 1-800-Flowers vice president of franchise development James Franks tells Coffee Talk. “We have the brand 1-800-Flowers. Everyone knows that name. That makes it really attractive to investors.”