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QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

if you subscribe to the WSJ, there is an interesting article regarding QURATE dated 8/27/2020.

 

It’s Too Soon to Tune Out of QVC TV-based home shopping may not be the way of the future, but QVC owner Qurate has kept up with the times

 

 

some key points.....

 

 

The combined company Qurate Retail’s record has been spotty, though not out of line with the sales fluctuations that other retailers have seen. And while many traditional retailers’ revenues took a hammering this year, with many going bankrupt, the QVC owner has held its own. In the quarter ended June 30, the company grew sales by 10% compared with the prior year, handily beating estimates.

 

 

Valuation still lags behind others.

 

While its debt levels did increase with the HSN acquisition, Qurate’s net debt to Ebitda now stands at 3.1 times, back to the level that it was five years ago, when it used to fetch more than twice its current price.

 

 QVC and HSN’s viewership on traditional pay-TV was up last quarter by 10% compared with the prior year even as the overall number of pay-TV homes declined. The company is also adapting: In the last earnings call, Qurate said downloads doubled of its home shopping app.

 

“Off-air products” that aren’t featured on video represent some 30% of total sales. In addition to QVC and HSN, Qurate also owns e-commerce seller Zulily, which saw its new customer base grow by 54% year over year in the last quarter. As of last year, Qurate was one of the top 10 U.S. e-commerce sellers by market share, according to eMarketer.

 

Its main customers are women aged 35 to 64. But this is a well capitalized and loyal demographic: Last year, roughly 86% of QVC’s shipped sales came from repeat customers who spent an average of $1,281. That is why the uptick in viewership matters: New audiences are likely to stick around for a while. In the latest quarter, the active customer base increased 14% from a year earlier for the combined QVC and HSN units in the U.S. and 9% at QVC International.

 

Consumers are likely to be spending more time at home—in front of their televisions and streaming services—for the rest of the year.

 
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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein
Honored Contributor
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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

Just think how well they could have done if their audience didn't quit turning off their TVs due to repetitious programming and obnoxious hosts.

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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

[ Edited ]

A lot of their previous financial results can be found under Q-Talk Topic. Before the pandemic they were not doing too well, and have not for several years....With more people staying home and spending even more time watching TV that has helped Qurate.....(although the apparel and jewelry categories continue to decline)

 

Zulilly started off strong when Qurate first purchased them, but the last couple of years they have tanked BADLY especailly the last few quarters, but they have  rebounded nicely this year with people quarantined and more shopping online.....

 

One wonders,  with time, will Qurate continue in its positive trend or will they revert back to their pre-pandemic results.......  Can they keep their audience engaged........??????  They will need to be creative to keep up with changing retail times, and need to provide variety and unique items, less repetive programming, and have good hosts that dont drive customers away...

 

 

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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

I'm surprised their off air sales of products aren't higher than 30%.

 

There is a lot of repetition on live QVC and then overnight programming is all reruns.  

 

They should have done much better with everyone being home because of the pandemic...

Honored Contributor
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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020


@Bri369 wrote:

I'm surprised their off air sales of products aren't higher than 30%.

 

There is a lot of repetition on live QVC and then overnight programming is all reruns.  

 

They should have done much better with everyone being home because of the pandemic...


 

 

i was a bit surprised at that figure also. i generally purchase most of my items from the website. i am also well above the average figure per year for purchases. Smiley Wink

 

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein
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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

Sounds like a promotional piece written by someone in Qurate's marketing department.  

 

It may have done well because of the lockdown...the homebound with nothing to do watched TV and shopped online because stores were closed.  

 

Walmart, Target, and Amazon sales zoomed, but are settling down to what they were before Covid-19.  QVC, HSN, and Zulily lost sales last year.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

That's good to hear. I've been shopping with QVC and HSN for well over 30 years and I don't plan to stop.  I don't want either on TV much, I shop their .com and I also shop Zuiliy now.  Several of my friends and relatives shopped HSN and QVC when everything was closed and they have continued, as far as I know because the so many stores have closed down for good.  Also, stores here are limited in how many people they can have in the store at the same time.  It's not many.  Puts a real damper on the shopping experience.  

Honored Contributor
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Re: QURATE article in the wall street journal 8/27/2020

qvc getting a lot of press coverage this week.....

 

another article in USA TODAY.

 

How QVC, HSN thrive during COVID-19 pandemic with the help of cookware, Skype and stay-at-home viewers

 

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/5608060002?fbclid=IwAR3b3krfm5vFgQ4nF9qB67atqDcsjoiSACFpusuCjmIXiiqan6Q...

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein