Budding Tech Startup H.Bloom Launches in Dallas

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - Oct 5, 2012) - H.Bloom, the world's fastest-growing floral service, today announced its official launch into Dallas, expanding the startup to five U.S. cities. H.Bloom provides luxury floral arrangements and plants to both corporate and consumer customers, through a convenient subscription service for weekly delivery as well as one-time gifts and events. Backed with $18 million in funding, H.Bloom now operates in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas.

The Dallas launch comes on the heels of explosive growth for H.Bloom, a startup that is disrupting the antiquated $35 billion floral industry with innovative technology and unprecedented quality. H.Bloom's e-commerce model eliminates the need for expensive retail space, and its proprietary technology calculates inventory to the stem. These streamlined operations allow for a spoilage rate of less than 2 percent, while the industry average remains 30 to 50 percent. Today, H.Bloom has 484 active corporate subscribers -- hotels, restaurants, retail shops, and property managers -- which comprise approximately 85 percent of H.Bloom's overall revenue.

Since launching in New York in April 2010, H.Bloom has experienced rapid annual growth, with a 122 percent increase in corporate customers in the last year and 67 percent increase in total employees in 2012. The company also saw 2011 revenue increase to seven times that of 2010, and is on track to more than double revenue again in 2012. The Washington, D.C. and Chicago markets both achieved nearly $1 million run rates after only one year in business, an indicator of the success of H.Bloom's local market strategy and a harbinger for future geographic expansion. Dallas joins San Francisco as new markets opened in 2012, and the company plans to expand to 25 new markets within the next five years.

"We are thrilled to open H.Bloom for business in Dallas, and consider our fifth city launch a huge milestone for a company that is less than two-and-half-years-old," said Bryan Burkhart, CEO and co-founder of H.Bloom. "With Dallas' large base of Fortune 500 companies and consumers who have an eye for the finer things in life, we expect the market to perform extremely well. We look forward to making other expansion announcements in the near future."

The Dallas launch also marks a big win for H.Bloom's SEED (Startup Education and Entrepreneurial Development) program, a formal talent development initiative started by co-founders Bryan Burkhart and Sonu Panda to discover and train young college graduates to run H.Bloom's local markets. While receiving a salary and benefits, SEED participants participate in classroom training, shadow current market managers and rotate through all aspects of operations during a six-month period. The program has produced several graduates, with New York, Chicago, San Francisco and now Dallas being led by SEEDs. H.Bloom plans to hire an additional four to six SEED trainees by the end of 2013.

For more information about H.Bloom or to order luxurious flowers and plants, visit www.hbloom.com.

About H.Bloom
H.Bloom is the fastest-growing, most disruptive floral service in the world. Created by H.Bloom's expert designers, high-quality arrangements and plants are delivered to businesses and consumers through a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly subscription. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar florists, which lose 30 to 50 percent of their products to spoilage, H.Bloom's unique subscription model allows a spoilage rate of less than 2 percent, allowing the company to pass along significant savings and exceptional service to its customers. Headquartered in New York, H.Bloom was founded in 2010 and currently has floral studios in New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas. Visit www.hbloom.com for more information or to place an order.