Flying Brands

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Flying Brands is a multi brand retailer that floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1993 (ticker FBDU). The company started life as Flying Flowers which was established in 1980’s, growing carnations on a farm on Jersey initially for tourists but it quickly developed and now Flying Brands despatch nearly 1 million bouquets a year, ranging from carnations and roses to lilies and chrysanthemums.

Following flotation, the company expanded and in 1995 acquired Gardening Direct. The demand for Flying Flowers’ carnations was starting to exceed the capacity of the nurseries in Jersey and their use was swapped to growing bedding plants for Gardening Direct. The nurseries in Jersey now supply over 120 million plants for Gardening Direct.

In the late 90s Benham, a collectables business, was acquired. It sells bespoke stamp first day covers and coin covers.

In 2005, Flying Brands made further acquisitions Garden Bird Supplies, a leading supplier of high quality wild bird and animal feed as well as garden accessories.

In 2006, Flying Brands acquired Greetings Direct for £11.8m (which trades as Cards for all Occasions), the UK’s only continuity greeting cards business, which sends monthly bundles of cards of all styles and designs for all occasions.

Flying Brands has been struggling recently, particularly the Flying Flowers section which reported a major decline in sales during the first part of 2008. Sales at the crucial Mother's Day period in the UK were down 16% raising question marks about the future of the groups flower delivery operation. In June 2008 the group issued a further profit warning due to poor performance of Greetings Direct.