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Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,394
Registered: ‎04-19-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

I ordered 2 items from the same clothing line on Aug 30. One item arrived in about 5 days and now 12 days later the second item is still not here. Tracking says it is in PA at a UPS facility and EDD says tomorrow. And they wonder why people quit shopping...

 

Their shipping process has not improved from the day QVC went on air, and in this competitive age of 2-day delivery from many vendors, it is mind boggling that improved shipping is not a high priority. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,416
Registered: ‎11-03-2013

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

[ Edited ]

@terriebear wrote:

@Sooner wrote:

@terriebear wrote:

Women's clothes are "flat" as QVC competes with troubled chain stores' discount sales, but "I think we have some good areas for growth in fashion," George added.

 

Sales will continue to be "flat" until the Q starts marketing to women who are not seniors.  Women who are in their 20's and 30's will not wear the Q's clothes or most of thier "comfort" shoes.  They wear dresses well above their knees and short shorts, 2 piece swim suits, and 4 inch heals.  The Q refuses to market to these women.  Yet there are many stay at home moms who could watch the Q but won't.  Shawn dressing like these women is not enough.  The Q needs to sell to them as well.  


Wome in their 20s and 30s wear mostly gym clothes and cheap high fashion clothes.  And they aren't going to sit and watch tv to buy them either.  


@Sooner

 

Another dumb reply written by a senior.... Women who can stay home have a significant other who makes great money who allows them to stay home.  They have the money to pay for high end clothes and do.  They shop at Banana Republic, Theory, BCBG, Nordstrom, and other stores that have the marketing sense to want their business.  NO, they don't buy cheap clothes, and wear gym clothes all day.  They care about themselves, and wear great clothes and carry designer bags.  The Q  is going to continue to go under as their senior viewers go into nursing homes or pass on.


@terriebear and please know I am not looking to argue with you but it is not the seniors that are going to tank QVC and their selection of clothing and accessories.

 

Back in the day, you are absolutely correct.  I wore all of the store/brands listed above.  But I also bought a ton of my jewelry through QVC as they did a great job of accessorizing an outfit including work functions (I was quite the hit at a Christmas party one year with a suite of Judith Jack jewelry from QVC and I still have it).

 

Somewhere along the line, QVC started focusing more on quantity and not quality and really diluted their brand pool.  Please know back then I never would have considered purchasing clothes from them but I did enjoy many of their jewelry offerings which again they have diluted the quality to the point that I don't even bother watching anymore.

 

I have never had anyone to pay for my keep.  I have always held my own and also took care of my mom and helped her financially.  I understand what you are saying trust me but QVC totally owns whatever sales slump they have as they have focused on their bottom line by bringing in lesser quality or outdated goods (think electronics) and not growing their customer base plus they should be ashamed of their website as for a company that size it is sorely lacking and their shipping/tracking information is beyond the pale for a company that has revenues in the billiions.  Shame on them.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,233
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

I never bought many of my clothers from QVC -  actually bought more this year than usual -  so I have no real suggestions.

 

But I think this discussion ignores what is happening in the clothing industry generally and in retail overall.  It's not just QVC having problems - it's pretty much industry wide.  I know I have curtailed all kinds of clothing and jewelry buying - and I know I'm one of the lucky people who could buy were I so inclined to do so.

 

I even tried to buy a few outfits earlier this year.  I shopped Macys and Nordstrom and Chico's without spending a single dollar   We won't talk about what I used to spend in those chains, but this year I was quite easily able to decide I'd look just as good in what I already have as I would in their new offerings.

 

I'm sure other people have different reasons for why they are not buying or why they are buying less than they used to, but I believe we more limited buyers are a larger part of the consumer population by far than we used to be. I know I'm not alone.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,891
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

Millenials are not going to be buying clothes from QVC. They don't necessarily buy a lot of clothes, period and when they do buy clothes, they are likely to buy online from the internet....like my daughter, she may buy from an internet website like American Eagle because of free shipping.

 

A few years ago my niece got married and since the bridesmaids were from various parts of the country, they all bought their own bridesmaid dresses. The only requirement was the color should be light green. Most of them bought their dresses online. When my other niece got married 2 years later, it was the same idea, all the bridesmaids bought their dresses in coral shades. My daughter was a bridesmaid and she was the only one that bought her dress in a bricks and mortar store...at the Guess store in the local mall. The others bought their dresses online or even borrowed dresses from friends. Those millennials don't watch much tv, they prefer to get their news and entertainment online. I doubt they are watching any shopping channel on tv.

 

How are shopping channels going to attract and keep new, younger customers?

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,394
Registered: ‎04-19-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

[ Edited ]

Young people may buy online from QVC, but I don't think many watch unless they are with a grandmother or auntie. I have yet to hear a caller who isn't a boomer or older, many in their 80s. I don't see much that is geared to younger buyers, and certainly not entire hours geared that way. Last year they had a young blogger help design a line of winter accessories, even had a live-audience show, to appeal to teens and it fell flat. All in clearance and never repeated. Kitchen sales were flat too, yet they devote hours on Wednesdays and Sundays to kitchen items and numerous food fests as well. Young people aren't watching and buying overpriced processed foods and $250 French Dutch ovens. Don't get me started on their repetitive hours of vacuums, mattresses, and overstuffed recliners or pillows. I would have to be tied to a chair and forced to watch. Free time is of value to most of us, especially the young, and they are not wasting it on watching a vacuum suck up billiard balls and confetti.

Regular Contributor
Posts: 239
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

I never but clothes from the Q anymore. I shop on line at Macy's and a couple pther places. The quality is oustanding and the prices are so much lower than QVC. If you have a Macy's card there are so many other perks too. Not everyone has the figure of the size 2 models. I'm a senior and with age it seems the weight always goes to the middle. If I find something on QVC to fit the hips the waist is just too small. I'm an average size woman. Size 12/14 and Macy's Charter Club brand fits me so nice and quality far better, cost so much less than the Q. I cannot believe the price of that Susan Graver  clothing which I do not like at all. Denim & Co. has gone  to the moon with their prices.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,660
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

All of the clothing lines at QVC including the designer lines have suffered a significant decrease in quality and increase in prices over the last few years.  POlyester should now be added to the QVC name.  I purchased a pair of casual D&C pants a couple of months ago just as wear around the house pants.  THey were the same pants I bought several years ago and advertised as 100% cotton.  WHen I received them I was shocked at the poor quality of the fabric.  IT was like sandpaper.  IT may have been cotton but what quality of cotton?  BAck they went.  

DEsigners who used to have beautiful jackets and silk blouses are now reduced to creating hoodie's and work out pants all to meet the QVC price points.  Such a shame.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,944
Registered: ‎10-09-2012

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

[ Edited ]

My neice and her friends buy a ton of clothes. They are nurses, an attorney, a social worker and a dentist -- all in their late twenties and early thirties.  They do not buy throw-away or cheap clothes.  They love it all -- fashion, jewelry, shoes, shoes, and shoes.  What they have no time for is TV sales.  They are not about to watch a 30-minute presentation to describe how to wear a top or a pair of jeans to go pumpkin picking. That's bizarre [and a little sad] to them. 

 

If they see it, they want it, and they know how to dress themselves.  Internet shopping is a big boom for them, but not the large retail internet sites.  They love the word-of-mouth sites that they read about on their Instagram, Twitter and FB feeds.  Word spreads and before you know it, another Internet business benefits.

 

 

QVC Customer Care
Posts: 512
Registered: ‎06-14-2015

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,864
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: CEO Talks About Slow Sales

Bingo! Variety is what's been missing for some time. QVC is simply sticking with the same-old same-old: Susan Graver, Dyson, LOGO. Sure, the standard answer is "They're selling, so....." but that simply puts QVC in a rut and doesn't expand their customer base.

 

Very interesting article, BTW.



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