Jim McCann, founder of Jericho-based 1-800-Flowers.com, stepping down

The founder of Jericho-based 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. is stepping down as chief executive, the company announced Thursday.

Jim McCann, 73, of Manhasset, who grew a single Manhattan-based flower shop started nearly a half-century ago into a publicly traded company, will remain actively involved as executive chairman, according to the news release. Adolfo Villagomez, who most recently served as CEO of Progress Residential in Scottsdale, Arizona, will fill the company’s top position on Monday, the release said.

For the first time in its 49-year history, the company, headquartered just north of the Long Island Expressway in Jericho, will be headed by someone from outside the McCann family.

It was a decision McCann "did not take likely," he said in the release.

But late Thursday, McCann told Newsday Villagomez has "a unique set of experiences" and "skills which are so different than mine and are much more appropriate for the company" at this time. He said Villagomez was born in Mexico City and became a chemical engineer before entering the business world.

It's not the first time McCann stepped down as the company's CEO. In 2016, his younger brother, Christopher, took the reins, Newsday previously reported. Christopher McCann stepped down due to health concerns in July 2023 and Jim McCann decided to temporarily return to the top slot.

In a separate 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. news release Thursday, McCann said he was "deeply disappointed" in the company’s $331.5 million in revenue and the net loss of $178.2 million for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025.

The company, which still has several brick-and-mortar locations on Long Island, adapted to the online retail landscape and has recently entered the burgeoning world of artificial intelligence, McCann said in a telephone interview. Customers can use AI to help them write custom messages in greeting cards and send them digitally for free to "express themselves whether there’s a transaction or not," McCann said.

"We changed to be an expression-first company," McCann added. "And if you want to attach a gift, well we have a whole catalog. The AI technology is changing how we think about our customers and how we serve them."

Despite success on some frontiers, the company faced "headwinds" during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as some recent "self-inflicted mistakes," McCann said, including "a technology implementation that we colossally blew" that disrupted customer orders during the busy call and winter holiday season.

Villagomez ran Progress Residential in Scottsdale, which owns and operates single family rental homes throughout the United States. He also served as president of Home Depot’s online businesses, according to a news release. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Yale School of Management.

"I am incredibly honored to lead 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. and to represent such an iconic brand, as we enter a transformational new era for the company," Villagomez said in a statement. "With 1-800-Flowers.com’s unique legacy and unrivaled assets, we are one of few companies that have the privilege to be part of the most important moments in our consumer’s lives. I cannot wait to hit the ground running with Jim and the leadership team to help grow the business dramatically in the years ahead."