Hallmark Flowers Announces Record Floral Shipments for Mother's Day

Hallmark Flowers Announces Record Floral Shipments for Mother's Day

Online floral provider's sales increase by 34% percent from Mother's Day 2004

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Hallmark Flowers announced today that overall units ordered for its online consumer floral business during the week leading up to Mother's Day were 34% above the same period last year.

-- Peak order day, 5/4/05 exceeded last year by almost 50%
-- Online orders represented almost 90% percent of total combined online
and telephonic orders
-- More than 85% of the floral arrangements and gift plants were
delivered via Federal Express, Hallmark's overnight shipping partner,
during the week leading up to Mother's Day.

According to Hallmark Flowers, Mother's Day sales are twice the size of Valentine's Day and winter holiday sales.

Hallmark Flowers President Harry Falber attributes the season sell-out to unique bouquet designs and aggressive outreach to consumers and media. "In early April, Hallmark Flowers began showcasing online more than 10 new and exclusive floral gifts in addition to current best-sellers, in preparation for our number one season, Mother's Day. The combination of gifts-within-a-gift, targeted online advertising and direct mail, and a national publicity campaign proved to be the winning ticket."

In addition, Hallmark Flowers launched a "Showers of Flowers" contest to generate Website traffic among consumers. Contest entrants were asked to submit to Hallmarkflowers.com a 100-word essay articulating why your mom, or someone who is like a mom to you, should be showered with flowers for a whole year. More than 6,400 entries were received that clearly captured the heart of American motherhood with an uncanny consistency that left no doubt about the character of the woman we call mom. Six winning mothers were selected to receive a bouquet every month for a year.

"We also credit our holiday results to a dedicated team of professionals in Kansas City, Mo., and at our arrangement facility in Southaven, Miss., where we hand-assemble and ship the world's best flowers to consumers fresher and faster," explained Falber.

For more information about Hallmark Flowers visit http://www.hallmarkflowers.com/ or http://pressroom.hallmark.com/ .

About Hallmark Flowers:

Hallmark Flowers is a new product offering by Kansas City-based Hallmark Cards, Inc. By buying directly from growers around the world, Hallmark Flowers streamlines the delivery process bringing the world's best flowers to consumers fresher and faster. A 106,000-square-foot facility in Southaven, Miss., (just seven miles from the Federal Express hub) serves as the central arrangement and distribution center for Hallmark Flowers. Overnight delivery of a unique selection of bouquets can be arranged by calling 1-800-Hallmark or visiting http://www.hallmarkflowers.com/ . Bouquets are gift packaged with a full-sized Hallmark greeting card and stylized vase. Same-day delivery is also available for customers with an immediate need.

About Hallmark Cards Inc.:

Kansas City-based Hallmark is known throughout the world for its greeting cards, related personal expression products, and television's most honored and enduring dramatic series, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The company's Hallmark Entertainment, Inc. subsidiary is the world's leading producer and distributor of movies and miniseries made for television; its Binney & Smith subsidiary, maker of Crayola(R) crayons and markers, is the leading producer of art materials for children and students. Through licensing leadership and joint ventures, Hallmark continues to expand its product formats and distribution avenues. The company publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in more than 100 countries through a multi-national strategy. In 2004, Hallmark reported consolidated net revenues of $4.4 billion.

Source: Hallmark Cards Inc.

CONTACT: Lydia Steinberg, Public Relations, of Hallmark,
+1-816-545-2382, Lstein2@hallmark.com

Web site: http://www.hallmark.com/
http://www.hallmarkflowers.com/
http://pressroom.hallmark.com/

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