On the flowers side of things, we have to keep in mind we are sending people gifts that celebrate the best moments and mourn the worst moments of their life. You send flowers for the birth of a child, but you are also sending them for the loss of a loved one. Contextualizing everything we do, and the emotions of our consumers is the key. If you just think of this business as good old fashioned e-commerce, you’re really only understanding half the mission.
The FTD brand has been around for 110 years. A lot has changed in the gift marketplace online and FTD certainly was not on the cutting edge for a long time. We have an opportunity to celebrate our heritage and use the 110 year tailwind to our advantage. But everything we do from here on out has to be in an innovative, fast moving, almost venture mindset. A brand like FTD is at an advantage if done properly. It is not an anchor around your ankle.
One of those wrongdoings that came to the surface for me was that the florist community was basically being commoditized by us and by other big players. Because of this, we now look at this as an opportunity to reinvest in the small businesses around the United States and treat our florists like the partner they really are, as opposed to order takers.