Re: Combined QVC-HSN 1Q Sales Drop 4%, to $1.9 Bil... - Page 3

iwrite · ‎01-11-2019

@Spurt wrote:
Here's my thoughts.....

QVC better start listening to their customer base.....

New Show titles and playing musical chairs with hosts and presenting the SAME products continuously on 3 channels isn't a formula for success!!! We are talking about an actual 4% DECLINE in SALES..

Not a decline in revenue due to hiring more hosts, more channels, and overall cost of doing business here...we're talking sales ....and Qurate was flat for the last quarter in 2018, and overall for 2018 as a whole....so it just got worse

QxH reported sales declines in home, jewelry and beauty, which were partially offset by gains in electronics with modest growth in fashion (apparel and accessories). QxH generated strong sales growth in off-air products; however, these gains were not sufficient to offset lower sales of on-air items.
Maybe some unwatchable hosts contributed to this...

And jewelry continues it's decline....hey QVC, maybe it's due to abandonment of modestly priced jewelry and instead replacing it with very pricey items and then pushing special financing through it's Q Card....NOT A GOOD STRATEGY...

Too many beauty shows !!! When customers can't even watch a fashion show without half of it being beauty products, plus IT Cosmetics and Argon Oil on 95% of the time every darn weekend...its called OVERSATURATION....no wonder they dropped Beauty IQ...not worth the expense compared to sales..

And decline in home....maybe presenting the SAME ole vacuums, fans, shredders, humidifiers, power washers, patio umbrellas, mattresses and beds, a $200 mop isn't working to attract new or existing customers

And I predict that Jill Martin's new GILI line will send the Home category spiraling down further

Frankly I am surprised apparel had a MODEST gain due to
high prices, and all lines looking alike....

Why even Qurate's shining star, Zulily which is tracked separately from HSN/QVC, had a 5% decline....after a 6% increase...

I think Zulilly's woes describes Qurates woes-- decrease in new customers and lower frequency of purchases from existing customers for the above reasons....

And I have to give a shout out to all those that told us continuously to "change the channel" I guess your advice was heeded and worked

Sadly the Execs are CLUELESS!

@Spurt

well said.

yes, i found the part about lower sales of online items interesting.

as none look like tree monsters, they are watchable, just can't "LISTEN" to all of the random side bars (smile)

yes, product repetition is a problem. perhaps shaking up the product buyers and people that are tasked with finding new products, if they are a different group of people, will yield better results.

i learned a long time about about clueless. i asked a cio (who wasn't 40) how he was able to move up so quickly. to make his long story short, he said, the more you screw up, the faster you move up, because shareholders like you, but don't want you touching or working on any of the day to day.

Ceci · ‎03-11-2010

I read that earnings report today also.

My biggest gribe is the cost of shipping and returns. I can't tell you how many items I have passed by due to the shipping cost.

I was thinking that for those who shop at QVC/HSN frequently, paying a yearly amount (such as Amazon Prime) could then order with no shipping fees.

Their fashion sense is all over the place. Issac would not appeal to young people with all the flowered cardigans, dotted pants, etc. Then Basso with his matronly clothing style. Then you move into Logo which seems to appeal to younger women but doesn't appeal to middle aged women or younger working women. That line seems to be the only one they offer to younger women.

They will not survive if they don't find a way to attract the younger women with more choices. Their clothing is stale and matronly or only presenting Logo as the only alternative.

The shoes are not worth the shipping costs. If people do not live near a shoe store like Payless, Peltz or even TJMax or Marshalls, then I suppose they are forced to buy from QVC. But then, if you do not like the shoes or they don't fit right, you pay $7.99 to return them. Crazy!

The jewerly is ridiculous. Overpriced junk. Again with high shipping and returns, why charge $5.50 to ship a chain or ring??. Why not just go to Macy's or Kohls and buy a silver chain?

Unfortunately, Amazon is putting a lot of places under pressure. Places like QVC need to compete or they will lose.

My daughter sent me something for Mothers Day which I couldn't use. It was extremely heavy and delivered by UPS. I told my daughter I couldn't use it and she arranged, the same day, through Amazon to get it picked up the next day. It was so heavy, my husband and I got it on a dolly and wheeled it to the front door. No label was needed, picked up at my door the next day, Amazon took care of everything.

UPS came yesterday and picked it up. I asked the delivery person if they needed to use the dolly, they said, no thanks. Lifted the huge box and put it in their truck. No label, no cost. Amazon is free deliver, free returns and pick ups.

How can they compete with that? QVC, offer people to pay a yearly membership fee to get free shipping and returns. Makes sense.

Change what you are selling over and over. Get something new, innovative. Get some new designers who would appeal to younger women. Enough with the beauty products. Sick of IT, Josie, over and over.

Younger women are not sitting in front of the tv all day. They are working. Expand your presence on line. Offer competive pricing and free shipping or you will never survive.

TY · ‎03-10-2010

Not only were Zulily's numbers down, but so was that assorted motley crew of companies that Qurate also owns that are always linked at the bottom of the page. Those had a 10% decline in sales. Has anyone ever bothered to look at those websites? They look like dupes of each other. At least they ship to Canada like Zulily but guess what? I have no interest in shopping from them. I cut the online shopping cord last year and have never looked back.

Qurate trying to grab that millennial customer isn't going to happen no matter what they try. Millennials don't watch tv and don't watch shopping live streams on their mobile devices either. They are not going to buy your clothes or anything else from you. They are Amazon shoppers or shop sites with free shipping and returns.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Their sales are declining because they have too much competition now. Also, their core customer is aging, retiring and not buying as much as they did in the past. You can tell from all those gawd awful posts about how prices are now. QVC has been trying to attract younger, more affluent customers but I don't think it's working. I'm doing my part, they cannot blame this on me. I'm buying for from HSN and QVC that ever before.

Snowhite714 · ‎06-30-2014

@Ceci wrote:
I read that earnings report today also.

My biggest gribe is the cost of shipping and returns. I can't tell you how many items I have passed by due to the shipping cost.
I was thinking that for those who shop at QVC/HSN frequently, paying a yearly amount (such as Amazon Prime) could then order with no shipping fees.

Their fashion sense is all over the place. Issac would not appeal to young people with all the flowered cardigans, dotted pants, etc. Then Basso with his matronly clothing style. Then you move into Logo which seems to appeal to younger women but doesn't appeal to middle aged women or younger working women. That line seems to be the only one they offer to younger women.

They will not survive if they don't find a way to attract the younger women with more choices. Their clothing is stale and matronly or only presenting Logo as the only alternative.

The shoes are not worth the shipping costs. If people do not live near a shoe store like Payless, Peltz or even TJMax or Marshalls, then I suppose they are forced to buy from QVC. But then, if you do not like the shoes or they don't fit right, you pay $7.99 to return them. Crazy!

The jewerly is ridiculous. Overpriced junk. Again with high shipping and returns, why charge $5.50 to ship a chain or ring??. Why not just go to Macy's or Kohls and buy a silver chain?

Unfortunately, Amazon is putting a lot of places under pressure. Places like QVC need to compete or they will lose.

My daughter sent me something for Mothers Day which I couldn't use. It was extremely heavy and delivered by UPS. I told my daughter I couldn't use it and she arranged, the same day, through Amazon to get it picked up the next day. It was so heavy, my husband and I got it on a dolly and wheeled it to the front door. No label was needed, picked up at my door the next day, Amazon took care of everything.

UPS came yesterday and picked it up. I asked the delivery person if they needed to use the dolly, they said, no thanks. Lifted the huge box and put it in their truck. No label, no cost. Amazon is free deliver, free returns and pick ups.

How can they compete with that? QVC, offer people to pay a yearly membership fee to get free shipping and returns. Makes sense.

Change what you are selling over and over. Get something new, innovative. Get some new designers who would appeal to younger women. Enough with the beauty products. Sick of IT, Josie, over and over.

Younger women are not sitting in front of the tv all day. They are working. Expand your presence on line. Offer competive pricing and free shipping or you will never survive.

@Ceci You make some very valid points, but regarding shoes, where else can you wear shoes, actually wear shoes and then return them and get a refund for whatever reason. Brick and mortar stores don't allow that. That's a big deal for me, even though I've never taken advantage of it because not many of the styles sold come in my size. Anyway that's just one feather in QVC's cap, but they are lacking in so many other areas.

Hopefully some of these more detailed, well-outlined posts make their way to the desk of someone who can make a difference. We can only hope.

stevieb · ‎03-10-2010

@SilleeMee wrote:
The way I see things, I think home shopping networks will be going the way of the dodo.

I agree. At one time they were innovative and filled a niche. Along with all the other factors mentioned, there's nothing fresh or exciting about any of them anymore and there hasn't been for a long time. If anything, they seem intent on narrowing the range of products offered and then endlessly bombarding the audience with those same few brands.

In my pantry with my cupcakes...

halfpint1 · ‎03-10-2010

Speaking from someone older--prices are too high and big patterns and funny hems are not for me.

Caaareful Shopper · ‎10-09-2012

@iwrite wrote:
@SeaMaiden

thank you for posting the link. i really appreciate it.
it isn't unusual for the 1st quarter sales to be low in a lot of companies, as that is the slowest shopping quarter of the year.

i found this paragraph interesting.

“We are taking a disciplined approach, investing in initiatives to drive high-quality customer growth and engagement, broaden and deliver our assortments, particularly across new digital platforms, and optimize our fulfillment network. Our customer fundamentals remain strong, including customer count, retention and purchase frequency. We are confident we are taking the right actions to deliver attractive operating margins and free cash flow for the long-term.”

what exactly is high-quality customer growth?
are customers being ranked, by low medium and high quality?

just how many purchases are they expecting people to make, paying $3.50 - $7.50 per item, with all of these enhancements?

i, like many others have reduced qvc purchases, for numerous reasons, most of which, were not included in the article.i also do not watch very often anymore, for the number one reason that i have seen on this forum, time and time again.

long time shoppers don't get anything for being a long time customer - new qvc card customers get a statement credit, after that, they are lumped into the same category as everyone else. some web sites have a rewards program based on the dollar amount that you spend. here, there is nothing, zilch, nada for being a customer. that may be a starting point. the only problem is, they wouldn't give people bonus points for being a long time customer and there would be some annoying catch to getting/using the bonus points. so never mind.

getting more millenials - nope, not gonna happen. they want what's trendy "today" and wnat it to be delivered in 3 days or less.

i wonder how many other people besides me, have reduced or stopped shopping for other reasons not mentioned in the article?

@iwrite Every [large] retailer ranks customers. High quality means high frequency of sales, high dollar amount of sales, and low number of returns in a determined time period (quarterly). Retailers have metrics for absolutely everything.

However, QVC cannot get or maintain high quality customers if they don't do their part -- hire carefully, know & provide what customers want, reward good customers (not just new customers), give consistently great service, etc.

Ceci · ‎03-11-2010

When I shop for shoes, I try them on and walk around in the store. I know my feet and avoid shoes I might like but know they won't work for me. I never buy ankle straps because I have thin, bony ankles and straps hurt my ankles.

However, on QVC you don't have the opportunity to try them on. You take a chance they will fit or look nice on you. You pay $7.50 shipping for that opportunity. If they don't work for you, you pay another $7.50 to return them. So, to have a chance to wear them for a month, you pay $15.00.

I have never kept a pair of shoes a month or even a week. If I try them on and don't like them, they get returned immediately. $15.00 bucks down the drain! Not worth it and really gets me upset.

VegasBusinessWoman · ‎05-27-2013

The most I have watched of any shopping channel is the video accompanying the jewelry piece I'm eyeballing. I don't care for QVC's clothing and household goods, tech items and shoes can all be purchased elsewhere for less and with free shipping. The only thing I have purchased here is jewelry--and less of that as time goes by. Judging fom the comments of people who watch, I'm not missing much by skipping that.