Let's see if QVC's big "Age of Possibility" campaign helps the home shopping network's lagging sales.
Last week, Qurate Retail -- the parent of both QVC and HSN -- reported its first-quarter earnings. And revenue dropped for QxH, the combined networks, by 4%, to $1.54 billion from $1.6 billion.
“We are successfully delivering on our transformation initiatives to reduce costs and improve product margins while prioritizing enhanced merchandise, brand launches and celebrity partnerships which are hallmarks of the QVC and HSN brands," David Rawlinson, the unperturbed president and CEO of Qurate Retail, said in a statement.
"We are focused on achieving our stated objectives throughout 2024 and positioning the business for sustainable future growth," he said. "In April, we launched our Age of Possibility campaign, where we brought together a group of Quintessential 50 ambassadors including Billie Jean King, Patti LaBelle, Queen Latifah, Martha Stewart and many other inspiring women to tell their stories and celebrate our core customer of women over 50.”
Here's the detail we got on the quarter. This includes the slide presentation for investors.
Qurate said QxH revenue declined primarily due to a 4% decrease in units shipped, partially offset by favorable returns and higher shipping and handling revenue. QxH reported sales declines mainly in home and apparel, partially offset by growth in accessories and jewelry.
Operating income and Adjusted OIBDA margin(4) increased mainly due to higher product margins and lower fulfillment (warehouse and freight) and administrative expenses, partially offset by higher marketing costs. Product margins increased primarily due to mix shift to higher-margin products and lower supply chain costs.
Fulfillment favorability primarily reflected lower freight rates and efficiencies from Project Athens initiatives. Administrative expenses declined primarily due to lower costs for outside services related to Project Athens. Marketing expenses increased largely due to the normalization of the annual spend compared to the prior year.
Former QVC host Steve Bryant has made the most astute observations we've seen on the Age of Possibility. The network doesn't seem to be directly tying it into products and promotions for shoppers.
QVC spent a lot of greenbacks sending hosts and celebs over 50 years old to Las Vegas for a big confab. But it didn't do programming from there with live audiences, Steve pointed out. Why the heck not? Wasn't that a missed opportunity?
This article is from Linda Moss Home Shopping ista. She has a really good blog with HomeShopping news from both QVC and HSN.
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