Q Talk

[GinaV24]

@handygal2 goes along with their low level programming efforts.

[millieshops]

@Goldengate8361Would you payt $100 upfront for QVC the way Amazon Prime members do?  I know for a long time what kept Amazon growing was the fee; same with Costco.  It's the membership fees more than anything else that keeps them afloat.

I don't know how big QVC would have to be to make that work -  Amazon is maybe 10X bigger than QVC with a huge commercial base that isn't available to QVC.

I'd be gone.  I dropped Prime and Costco both.  For what I buy, I figured out I was paying for other shoppers to get good buys.  I wasn't saving anything.  I'm on my second year with no Prime (that one was a perfect move for me), but I may end up rejoining Costco at some point.  Right now I just go with a friend.

[lianne]

QVC needs to appeal to a younger demographic because all the legacy clientele is approaching or at retirement these days.  These people arent buying jewelry any longer and dont have the disposable income they used to have. Those that do arent finding what they want here any longer.

The older customers also dont buy as much and QVC  offerings are stale.  That is not the way to entice younger buyers from using Q as a resource.  They have to make major changes to turn things around, like get new vendors that gen Y and millenials know and would tune in for.

[hopi]

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@lianne wrote:

QVC needs to appeal to a younger demographic because all the legacy clientele is approaching or at retirement these days.  These people arent buying jewelry any longer and dont have the disposable income they used to have. Those that do arent finding what they want here any longer.

The older customers also dont buy as much and QVC  offerings are stale.  That is not the way to entice younger buyers from using Q as a resource.  They have to make major changes to turn things around, like get new vendors that gen Y and millenials know and would tune in for.

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Young people don't have disposable income as the middle class is being

disbanded by big corporations like Q and the government older customers are giving their children money to survive.  

[Bhvbum]

few comments on here really understand the retail market. Example "Why don't they just give free shipping."  Shipping is not free, SOMEONE has to pay. It is either negotiated as low as it can be with a shipping partner and paid by the customer or by QVC. If QVC pays, that COST will get passed onto the customer in higher prices or QVC will have to reduce the cost of something else like labor or overhead or squeeze their vendors' prices. 

Also saying someone is not doing their job is commenting on what they have no knowledge. Do you know the annual goals of the Corp and how they are fairing against them?  

[Caaareful Shopper]

The same grim results have hit HSN -- last week saw its stock price hit its 52-week low as well.

[Kachina624]

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@hopi wrote:

This new CEO really has done a poor job with everything.

Who knows maybe it's on purpose.

That being said since he has been on board the web site has made it impossible on several occasion for me to order which saved me money.

His shipping and return policy is a hugh turn off and his bogus prices makes it easier to shop elsewhere.

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@hopi  New CEO?  Mike George has been president and CEO since April 2006.  I'd hardly call him "new".

[IMW]

For me Prime is a terrific bargain!

[TY]

Retail sales are faltering in bricks and mortar stores as well, sales were down in August. Consumers are not spending as much anywhere. Well, they are being cautious, and rightly so. If QVC is just one example, layoffs can happen quickly and without notice, and perhaps consumers are also experiencing this or know others who are going through this so they are putting the brakes on spending.

[stevieb]

So, evidently, Boy George's talking points earlier in the week were intended to soften the blow for stockholders when this little tidbit hit the fan...

And with all due respect, this isn't about Nordstrom or Macy's or any other retailer's woes... It seems to me that just a few short years ago, the Once Mighty Q's mouthpieces were crowing about how, unlike other retailers, they'd weathered the recession well...

While it might well be true that retail in general is taking a hit right now, the Q's tanking numbers can largely be placed squarely on the doorstep of whoever thought it was advisable to offer the same brands and products over and over, day in and day out... and to do so at top dollar... Sharing in the afterglow would be whoever assessed that this formula was going to keep customers interested... Also basking in the limelight of failed business plans is whoever determined that it really wasn't necessary to have a fully functional website with a useful search feature... and add to that list of names responsible for this debacle whoever thought it was good business to ramp up shipping costs for customers at a time when others are ramping them down...

I'm really not surprised that HSN is tanking too... At the end of the day, it's all one big company and they both have employed very similar business plans. Aside from the fact that HSN, at least, does occasionally offer some customer incentives, more favorable shipping and real sales... their vision too has become very narrow... too narrow... to keep many customers interested over the long, long haul... Both entities increasingly lack essential variety, offer programming that is increasingly unwatchable and seem to foster host behaviors that are increasingly not likable...

As for that oft-used mantra about shipping not being 'free', once again, all I can tell you is that when I can order the same item elsewhere (usually for less) and pay less or nothing to get it home... that spells 'free' to me...