Parent of Cheryl’s, Harry & David plans holiday hiring

The owner of brands such as Cheryl’s Cookies and Harry & David plans to hire nearly 2,500 workers for seasonal jobs in central Ohio.

The openings include 123 positions at the Cheryl’s Cookies facility in Westerville, 1,500 jobs at the Harry & David distribution center in Hebron and 800 jobs at Cheryl’s Cookies distribution facility in Obetz, 1-800-Flowers.com said Thursday.

Also, about 60 jobs are available at Cheryl’s Cookies stores in Dayton and Columbus.

The company owns these brands along with several others such as the Popcorn Factory and Simply Chocolate. Cheryl’s Cookies plans to hire 123 holiday-season workers at its facility in Westerville and about 60 at company stores in Dayton and Columbus.

The positions are among 8,000 that 1-800-Flowers. com says it needs to fills nationwide this holiday season.

Available jobs can be fullor part-time, and include positions in production, gift

assembly, distribution and fulfillment.

Wages vary by job type, the company said.

For more information, go to https://investor.1800flowers. com/careers.

The company joins numerous others planning holiday hiring in central Ohio.

Warehouse company Radial said recently it will hire 768 seasonal workers this year at its Groveport location, up from 500 seasonal workers there last year.

In addition, L Brands says it is looking for 4,000 fulland part-time workers, J.C. Penney 800 and FedEx 300.

The increase in hiring is an anticipation of stronger retail sales during the holidays.

The National Retail Federation recently bumped up its annual spending forecast and now expects sales to rise at least 4.5 percent.