Brian J McCarthy, Chairman. The McCarthy Group of Companies.
Mark Pitt, Vice President.
Brian McCarthy grew up working in his late father’s small flower shop in Dunmore, PA. After working full time through high school and Bucknell University, he worked full time for McCarthy Flowers and Martin’s Flowers in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. His ambition and work ethic allowed him to purchase seven flower shops of his own by age 23, in locations from Wilkes-Barre to Lock Haven, PA.
At the same time, Brian began a new wholesale flower company servicing over 60 flower shops in Pennsylvania and New York State. He also purchased 32 investment apartments for single families.
At the age of 25, Brian purchased a bankrupt taxi company in Williamsport, PA for no more than the cost of the new taxicabs. The core business increased over 40% when the name ‘McCarthy Flowered Cabs’ was given to the once-failing business. Within two years, McCarthy’s was tapped to take over the bankrupt York PA Cab Company, which it also renamed. Three more cab companies eventually joined McCarthy Flowered Cabs – two in Scranton, and one in Lock Haven, PA. McCarthy Flowered Cabs were recently featured in the hit TV series ‘The Office’ on NBC.
In 1985, he purchased his original family flower shop in Dunmore and opened others in Scranton and Clarks Summit. He also acquired three more flower shops in Virginia, forming ‘The McCarthy Group’, and opened up a ski shop in northeastern PA.
Between 1992 and 1999, Brian performed Congressional testimony about healthcare issues, as an advocate for the Small Business Administration. He subsequently made many speeches at the Capitol and at the White House with President Bill Clinton. Issues ranged from healthcare to the minimum wage, and he also added input to the Retirement Security Act of 1999. Brian was keynote speaker for the August 1993 ‘Healthcare Symposium’ and introduced the President of the United States to the 500 businessmen and 50 members of Congress in attendance.
Shortly thereafter, Brian purchased two radio stations in Williamsport, PA as well as some commercial rental buildings, including one that houses a ‘Dunkin Donuts’. In the 1990’s, Brian McCarthy started a real estate company on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina with the purchase of 64 acres on the island, which is located just one nautical mile from Hilton Head.
In 2001, the McCarthy Group purchased an additional 15 flower shops with locations in Nevada, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. Brian also purchased a manufacturing company, which produced random case sealers for many Fortune 500 companies at this time.
In 2008, The McCarthy Group acquired Piccolo’s Florist and Gifts – the largest florist in the state of Nebraska. The Omaha operation is home to two stores and is the official florist of the First National Bank of Omaha. The market is now operated by Mr Frank Piccolo, who Brian managed to bring into the fold. Frank started the business in 1982 and now spearheads the Omaha market.
Within the last two years, The McCarthy Group acquired four Amling’s Flowers locations in Chicago, one of the largest florists in that area as well as one of the oldest floral companies in the country. In pursuit of a strong commitment to the Chicago market, Brian also agreed to purchase the top-level domain, Chicagoflowers.com, for Amling’s online operations.
The Group subsequently purchased Sylvia’s flowers in Arlington Heights, IL, Expressions Flowers in Wheaton, Illinois, and the Blossom Shops in Raleigh and Cary, North Carolina. RTP Florist in Durham, North Carolina, and Heaven Scent Florist in Culpepper, Virginia, also joined the other successful McCarthy shops in the region, like Westwood Florist in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
In September 2010, Steve’s Flowers of Indianapolis, Indiana joined the McCarthy Group. In October of the same year, Brian took The McCarthy Group into its ninth state by purchasing the floral giant, Lehrer’s Flowers in Denver, CO. The brand ‘Thinkflowers.com’ has become synonymous with the operation, which also includes Associated Wholesale Flowers. Managed by COO Rob Spikol, the Denver operation now represents the flagship of the McCarthy Group.
The acquisition of Martina’s Flowers in Augusta meant that The McCarthy Group had a presence in Georgia for the first time.
New York was added to the McCarthy map in the Summer of 2011, with the addition of the historic James Cress Florist, incorporating two branches, one in Smithtown and one in Port Jefferson Station. Aficionados will know that Cress Florist started business in downtown Manhattan over 100 years ago.
Two years ago. the group purchased Chalifour’s Flowers in Manchester, New Hampshire – a family held operation and a Manchester floral institution.
The McCarthy Group’s recent acquisition of George Walker Florist in Winston Salem, NC sees the groups reach expanding in North Carolina – the ‘sister’ shop to Fallon’s Flowers of Raleigh, the group essentially doubles its presence in the region.
Brian was been quoted in the May 2010 issue of Forbes Magazine for his input on indicators of economic recovery as seen in small business. Additionally, he has been quoted in Florist’s Review Magazine several times. In October 2010, Brian was a keynote speaker at Teleflora’s national headquarters in Oklahoma City; speaking to an invited audience of 200. He is now respected as the nation’s most successful floral retailers.
Mr. McCarthy is also the owner of Bloody Point Golf and Country Club on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina; home to the Eagle’s Nest Restaurant.
Today, Brian lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife Erin. He has two children – Kevin, 23, a graduate at the University of Georgia and President and CEO of Bloody Point Golf and Country Club, and Meghan McCarthy, a professional performer.
Brian’s father, Bud, who started the company in 1952, as ‘Bud McCarthy’s Bokay Shop’, passed away peacefully on Sunday 15th April 2012. Born, literally, in the year of the [start of the] Great Depression, 1929, Bud built an enviable business based on his two greatest beliefs: that winning a customer’s trust and loyalty happens ‘one person at a time’ and that superior quality of product as well as immaculate design techniques would always stand the test of time. In following his father, his son Brian grew to boast proudly of his father’s influence, and the subsequent growth of the McCarthy Group across the United States. Bud remained an active proponent of the business until the very last weeks of his life. He would offer tips to designers, help with the daily deposits and even produce a floral piece or two of his own. In Bud McCarthy, the name of the family and of the business was paramount until his passing day.
Bud McCarthy may have passed into the hands of our Lord, but his influence, his legacy and his integrity, honesty and humility, shall remain with The McCarthy Group forever. It is because of Bud McCarthy that we remain – because of him we cry not at his passing, but smile at how many millions he made smile. The name ‘McCarthy Flowers’ shall always be synonymous with this greatest of men – this true American.
Bud McCarthy: 1929 – 2012.
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