The harsh winter weather around Valentine’s Day that impacted a good portion of the U.S. and the calendar shift of Easter was to blame for the decline in revenue in the third quarter for 1-800-Flowers.com Inc., according to a press release from 1-800-Flowers.com.
The company saw a 6.3% decline in revenue during its third quarter. It reported revenues of $179.6 million compared to revenues of $191.6 million in 2013.
Easter fell in the company’s fourth quarter, compared to 2013 when the holiday fell in the third quarter.
“We anticipate capturing all of the top and bottom-line benefits associated with the holiday across all three of our business segments during our current fiscal fourth quarter,” said Jim McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com in the press release.
The 1-800 Flowers.com consumer floral segment grew 1.0% to $122.3 million, compared to $121 million in 2013. Revenues during the quarter included approximately $2.7 million resulting from the consolidation of operating results from iFlorist, a UK floral gift provider in which the company increased its investment to a majority position during the second quarter.
The Bloomnet Wire Service segment of the company remained essentially flat from the third quarter, 2013. Revenues were $22.6 million, compared to $22.9 million in 2013.
The gourmet food and gift baskets segment saw a decline during the third quarter. This segment reported revenues of $35.3 million, compared to the $48.3 million in 2013.
During the third quarter, the company attracted 675,000 new customers, approximately 1.6 million customers placed orders during the quarter, 58.4% were repeat customers.