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<title>Interflora</title>
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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Interflora</span></span>
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<p><b>Interflora</b> is a <a href="Flower_delivery" title="Flower delivery">flower delivery</a> network, associated with over 58,000 affiliated <a href="Flower_shop" class="mw-redirect" title="Flower shop">flower shops</a> in over 140 countries. It is a subsidiary of <a href="Teleflora" title="Teleflora">Teleflora</a>, itself a subsidiary of <a href="The_Wonderful_Company" title="The Wonderful Company">The Wonderful Company</a>.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2></div>
<p>In 1920 a <a href="Florist" class="mw-redirect" title="Florist">florist</a>, Joe Dobson, of Leighton's Seedsmen and Florists in <a href="Glasgow" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a>, and a nurseryman, Carl Englemann in <a href="Saffron_Walden" title="Saffron Walden">Saffron Walden</a>, <a href="Essex" title="Essex">Essex</a> were looking to increase their business. They knew of the Florists Telegraph Delivery Association (now known as <a href="Florists'_Transworld_Delivery" title="Florists' Transworld Delivery">Florists' Transworld Delivery</a>) which had existed in the US since 1910, and applied to join as foreign members. In 1923 the UK arm of the FTDA was formed with 17 members. One of the straplines used in advertising was <i>Flowers by Wire</i> when the <a href="Telegraphy" title="Telegraphy">telegraph</a> was actually used to communicate between florists. Later, telegrams were sent from member to member requesting deliveries to be made in the recipient florists area. In the original Interflora Directory, used by members, the longest established members could be recognised by their <a href="Telegraphic_address" title="Telegraphic address">telegraphic addresses</a>. This would be the only <a href="Telegraphic_address" title="Telegraphic address">telegraphic address</a> in that city to include the name Interflora. In the case of the founding members, their telegraphic addresses were "Interflora Glasgow" and "Interflora Saffron Walden", respectively.
</p><p>In 1953 the name changed to Interflora and the slogan <i>Flowers Worldwide</i> along with the <i>Mercury Man</i> roundel became well known. "Say it with Flowers" became the subsequent and most famous slogan associated with Interflora.
</p><p>When telegrams became obsolete the most used method for requesting deliveries was by telephone. Following that Interflora brought in messenger1 in the mid to late 1980s, this system was very similar to sending a fax. In the late 1990s messenger2 was introduced, that used the internet to transmit orders.
</p><p>In the early 2000s, Interflora brought out a system called Rose, this used the internet but instead of a <a href="Dial-up_Internet_access" title="Dial-up Internet access">dial-up connection</a> a <a href="Internet_access#Hardwired_broadband_access" title="Internet access">broadband connection</a> was used. This enabled orders to be transmitted in real time. In 2011 Rose was updated to ROSEGold which provides a real time service between the <a href="Call_centre" title="Call centre">call centre</a> in <a href="Sleaford" title="Sleaford">Sleaford</a>, <a href="Lincolnshire" title="Lincolnshire">Lincolnshire</a> and the Interflora members around the <a href="United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>.
</p><p>In 2005, the Interflora British Unit moved from being a <a href="Trade_association" title="Trade association">trade association</a> to a <a href="Private_equity" title="Private equity">private equity</a> ownership under investment company, <a href="3i" title="3i">3i</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>3i sold British Interflora to US-based <a href="FTD_Group" class="mw-redirect" title="FTD Group">FTD Group</a>, the successor to Florists' Transworld Delivery, in 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>In 2008, <a href="United_Online_Software_Development" class="mw-redirect" title="United Online Software Development">United Online Software Development</a> acquired Interflora and FTD.
</p><p>In 2012, Interflora bought the Gifts Division of Flying Brands.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>In November 2013, United Online spun off its floral delivery subsidiary, FTD, which became a separate NASDAQ-traded company called <a href="FTD_Companies" class="mw-redirect" title="FTD Companies">FTD Companies</a>, Inc., under the symbol FTD.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>In June 2019, the <a href="FTD_Group" class="mw-redirect" title="FTD Group">FTD Group</a> sold Interflora British Unit in a $59.5 million deal to another US-based flower delivery network, <a href="Teleflora" title="Teleflora">Teleflora</a>, a subsidiary of <a href="The_Wonderful_Company" title="The Wonderful Company">The Wonderful Company</a> since 1979.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Floral_industry" title="Floral industry">Floral industry</a></li>
<li><a href="Cut_flowers" title="Cut flowers">Cut flowers</a></li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4199853.stm">Interflora agrees to 3i takeover</a> <i><a href="BBC_News" title="BBC News">BBC News</a></i> Retrieved 23 January 2005</span>
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<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060707005152/en/FTD-Group-Announces-Agreement-Purchase-Interflora-Holdings">FTD Group, Inc. Announces Agreement to Purchase Interflora Holdings Limited</a> <i><a href="Business_Wire" title="Business Wire">Business Wire</a></i> Retrieved 7 July 2015</span>
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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">
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</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blog.interflora.co.uk/blog/">"Interflora - Welcome To Our Blog - Interflora"</a>. <i>Interflora</i>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ftd-spinoff-united-online-complete-124640964.html">"FTD Spinoff from United Online Complete"</a>. Yahoo! Finance. 1 November 2013<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 February</span> 2014</span>.</cite></span>
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<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teleflora-acquires-interflora-uk-from-ftd-300860459.html">"Teleflora acquires Interflora UK from FTD"</a>. <i>CISION PR Newswire</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 June</span> 2022</span>.</cite></span>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2></div>
<ul><li>Lewis, Geoffrey (1986).<i>The Interflora Story</i>. Interflora British Unit Ltd, Sleaford, UK.</li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>
<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.interflora.co.uk/">Interflora UK</a></li></ul>
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