Snowbirds and others outside the Chicago area might find it easier to get their Fannie May fix in the future.
1-800-Flowers.com, which in 2006 bought the Chicago-based maker of Pixies, Trinidads and Meltaways, has begun what it says is the first franchising program ever for Fannie May.
“We’ve only just begun our outreach to potential franchisees,†Fannie May spokesman Joseph Pititto said.
Fannie May currently has 81 company-owned stores. It once had as many as 300 company owned stores, but it fell on hard times and its owner filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004. Alpine Confections had bought Fannie May out of bankruptcy in 2004 and two years later sold it to 1-800-Flowers.
1-800-Flowers has bolstered Fannie May’s e-commerce business but also sees more retail opportunities. Read on…
