Ten Years Later and ProFlowers Still Growing Fresh From The Fields

ProFlowers Celebrates its 10th Year this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day marks ten years of “growth” for ProFlowers®, the online fresh flower marketplace. ProFlowers.com delivered flowers for the first time on Feb. 14, 1998 and is one of the highest-rated and fastest-growing flower companies in business.

Ten years ago, ProFlowers delivered its first 500 bouquets of roses shipped direct from a single farm in California. This Valentine’s Day, the company expects to serve more than a million customers with 185 different varieties of fresh cut flowers shipped from eight different countries around the world.

ProFlowers was founded to solve a specific problem: Americans wanted to buy flowers more often but did not because of their high price and short vase life. To address those issues, ProFlowers made a strategic decision to use then-emerging Internet technology not only to sell direct but to ship direct to consumers. The company’s proprietary e-commerce platform eliminated middlemen and provided customers with direct access to the world’s best growers. While other dot-coms have come and gone, ProFlowers has experienced consistent growth over the past ten years from zero to almost $300 million in annual revenue.

The company’s innovative business model allows customers to receive a higher quality, fresher product at a lower price point, while growers receive significant benefits through improved profitability. The company and its people continue to be recognized for their pioneering approach.

ProFlowers was named Internet Start-Up of the Year by the San Diego Software Industry Council (SDSIC) in 1999. CEO Bill Strauss, the company’s first employee, along with company founder Jared Polis, won the 2000 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in San Diego. As the customer base grew, so did the company, expanding from a small start up staff to more than 300 employees today.

“From day one, our business has been about changing the way America sends flowers. We took a new look at a very established category and discovered the best way to make customers happy was to deliver beautiful flowers that stay fresher, longer at an affordable price point. We were the first to offer one dozen roses online for $29.99 and then two dozen roses for $29.99 – while protecting the income of our growers,” said Bill Strauss, CEO. “Equally important is the employee experience – we strive to make ProFlowers a fantastic place to work and take pride in the loyalty of our employees as much as our customers.”

In 2003, the company changed its name to Provide Commerce, Inc. and went public on NASDAQ at $15 a share. In 2006, Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LINTA, LCAPA) ("Liberty") purchased Provide Commerce for $477 million or $33.75 a share.

“Provide Commerce’s superior business model and high-quality leadership team caught our eye early on,” said Greg Maffei, President and CEO of Liberty. “The company continues to hire and retain top talent, enabling the innovation necessary to exceed customer expectations. These strengths combined with ongoing solid sales growth make Provide Commerce an important asset for Liberty and a brand that will continue to be a strong performer for us.”

About ProFlowers®

ProFlowers® is run by Provide Commerce, Inc., which operates an e-commerce marketplace of websites for perishable goods that offers fresh, high-quality products direct from the supplier to the customer at competitive prices. The company's platform combines an online storefront, proprietary supply chain management technology and established supplier relationships to create a market platform that bypasses traditional supply chains of wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

Provide Commerce® launched its marketplace in 1998 to sell and deliver fresh cut flowers for everyday and special occasions such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, birthday and anniversary events, through its ProFlowers® brand and website, www.proflowers.com. Provide Commerce also offers fresh fruit and confections direct from the supplier to its customers at Cherry Moon Farms®, www.cherrymoonfarms.com, and Secret Spoonsm, www.secretspoon.com. For more information, please visit www.providecommerce.com.

Liberty Media Corporation is a holding company that owns interests in a broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses. Those interests are attributed to two tracking stock groups: Liberty Interactive, which includes Liberty Media’s interests in QVC, Provide Commerce, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, and Liberty Capital, which includes all Liberty Media’s assets that are not attributed to Liberty Interactive, including Liberty Media’s interests in Starz Entertainment Group and News Corporation.

Upcoming Flower Holidays

February 14 – Valentine’s Day: Place your order for Valentines Flowers now and we'll make sure they get there.

March 23 – Easter: There are a number of beautiful Easter Flowers available.

May 11 – Mother's Day: Order your Mother's Day Flowers today!