October 11,2022 From Bloomberg Finanacial Network:
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QVC Owner Qurate Stakes Future on Livestream Shopping
Maxwell Adler, Bloomberg News
BC-QVC-Owner-Qurate-Stakes-Future-on Livestream-Shopping , Maxwell Adler
(Bloomberg) -- QVC host Jayne Brown was jubilant after selling 1,500 units of a size-inclusive duster jacket and maxi dress set.
The next item up for sale during her 11 a.m. show on a recent Monday is a jersey keyhole top (also size-inclusive), which Brown touts as “the Botox of fabrics” because it always stays smooth.
Brown’s show on the free-to-air network, which shares parent company Qurate Retail Inc. with the Home Shopping Network, is beamed to millions of homes. The channels make up a niche slice of the shopping industry that’s nevertheless been a cultural mainstay for some 40 years.
But home-shopping, sitting at the intersection of two industries in upheaval -- entertainment and retail -- faces fresh existential threats.
Core customers are aging, and younger ones are increasingly turning to streaming.
>>>>Supply chain woes created piles of excess inventory, just as consumers tighten their spending in response to inflation.<<<<
Shares of Qurate have plunged more than 70% this year, and its debt has fallen to distressed levels.
“QVC and HSN are struggling with relevancy,” said Oliver Wintermantel, an equity analyst at Evercore ISI. “Consumer tastes or shopping behaviors are changing.”
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This article came out ONE month ago, before they announced earnings on Nov 4.
Excess Inventory like pajamas, lanterns,candles...all the stuff that was bottled up on those ships at sea waiting to unload, that got unloaded all at once.
THAT'S why there are so many of the same items day after day.
Yesterday it seemed like every third item was pajamas of some sort. At one time, TWO Q channels at once hawking football pajamas, some of the most unattractive stuff to date ( that "onesie"?!?!? Please. And NO I don't dislike football.).
I don't want QVC to fail. I AM one of those Older Shoppers. And I don't stream ( yet) but I'm going to start cause I think it's all going to that eventually.