QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – from September 30 – QVC Italy to 200 million households. The name is an acronym standing for Quality, Value, Convenience.
QVC Inc. is the nation's largest electronic retailer, selling a wide variety of merchandise that includes clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, electronics, housewares, and toys. The company sells its products through cable and satellite television, QVC.com, in outlet centers, and via a retail store in the Mall of America. In 2003, the company broadcasted live 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, to over 85 million homes across the United States, 11 million homes in the United Kingdom, 34 million homes in Germany, and over eight million homes in Japan. QVC, which stands for "Quality, Value, and Convenience," grew quickly into an industry powerhouse during the late 1980s and early 1990s due to increases in cable subscription rates, consumers' growing dependence on mail-order shopping, and advances in telecommunications, allowing the company, with its interactive approach, to integrate computers, television, cable, and telephone lines into an "information superhighway." In 2002, QVC handled over 150 million phone calls and shipped over 107 million items.
QVC was founded on June 13, 1986 by Joseph Segel. One of the first brands to sign a two year deal with QVC was Sears products. Its first live broadcast took place at 7:30 PM ET on November 24 of that year, reaching 7.6 million TV homes. The corporation later set a new record for first full-year fiscal sales for a new public company of $112 million.[2] Its competitor is the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
Initially broadcast live from 7:30 PM ET until midnight each weekday and all day Saturdays and Sundays, the channel extended its live programming to 24 hours in January 1987. QVC acquired its top competitor, the Cable Value Network (CVN), in 1989. The $380 million deal contributed to a loss of $17 million during the next fiscal quarter, and then to difficulties in the couple of years that followed.[3]
On February 2, 1995, Comcast purchased a majority shareholding in QVC, Inc., taking control of the corporation. QVC kicked off the "Quest for America's Best: 50 in 50 Tour," a 50-week nationwide product search. QVC.com was founded in 1996.
QVC's former logo used from 1988 until September 16, 2007.
In July 2003, Comcast sold its majority share to Liberty Media.
In May 2009, QVC became the first multimedia retailer to offer a native high-definition service. As with HSN, the 4:3 cut for analog viewers in this 16:9 presentation is made to the extreme right of the screen rather than on both sides of the 4:3 frame, allowing the network to place their graphics fully to the left and lower portions of the screen to maximize camera presentation space.
On September 23, 2007, QVC U.S. rebranded itself, changing its logo on-air and online. The rebranding was accompanied by an advertising campaign with the tagline "iQdoU?" ("I shop QVC, do you?") that had preceded the rebrand with billboards in major U.S. cities.The iQdoU? campaign also included a "teaser" website found at iQdoU.com.
On September 30, 2010, at 11pm, QVC began broadcasting in Italy, both on satellite and digital terrestrial television.
Despite the failed attempt, Diller remained hot on the acquisition trail. His desire to head up a large media conglomerate became apparent in 1994 when he struck a deal to merge with CBS. Under the terms of the deal, QVC would fall under corporate umbrella of CBS, leaving Diller CEO of the company. Brian Roberts and his father Ralph, president and chairman of Comcast respectively, were reluctant to part ways with QVC. Eyeing the home shopping industry as incredibly lucrative, the Roberts thwarted Diller's plans by partnering with Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) to make a $2.2 billion takeover bid for QVC. CBS withdrew its offer and Comcast's proposal was approved in February 1995 after a lengthy review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Later that month Douglas S. Briggs was named president of QVC.
The company continued to prosper during the remainder of the 1990s under Comcast's leadership. IQVC, an Internet shopping site, was launched in 1996 and became an instant success. During December 1997, iQVC secured $5 million in sales and in November 1999, it had its first million dollar day. Along with its e-commerce efforts, the company continued to introduce new products, launch new shows, and move into new areas including the German market. By 1997, overall company revenues had surpassed $2 billion.
During 1998, QVC's Internet shopping was made available to customers in Canada and the United Kingdom. That year the company also launched record label Q Records, and QVC Publishing, a division dedicated to creating and marketing books. To bolster its e-commerce business, QVC began investing in The Knot, an online bridal registry service, in 1999.
QVC entered the new century secure in its position as the home shopping market leader and the second-largest television network in the United States based on revenues. The company's process of capturing new customers continued as the QVC@THE MALL concept made its debut in the Mall of America in Minneapolis in 2000. The retail facility was originally opened as a test location and allowed brick-and-mortar shoppers an opportunity to learn about and purchase QVC items through a traditional retail outlet. The store proved successful and was opened on a full-scale basis in 2001. QVC also began distributing its Diamonique branded jewelry at Target stores across the United States that year. International expansion continued with the launch of QVC Japan in April 2001.
Amid a bleak retailing environment, QVC prospered. In the fourth quarter of 2001, the company recorded its highest-ever single day sales total--over $80 million. By this time, the company was reaching over 80 million households, and it had shipped its 500 millionth package. In 2002, sales climbed to $4.3 billion.
The AT&T spin-off Liberty Media Corporation, owner of 42.5 percent of QVC, announced in March 2003 that it planned to exercise its exit rights in the ownership agreement it had with Comcast. (Liberty became a subsidiary of AT&T when TCI was purchased by the phone company in 1999.) This, in turn, put the future of QVC up in the air, leaving Comcast the right to acquire Liberty's interest in QVC. If Comcast turned down the opportunity, purchasing rights would fall back to Liberty. If neither company wished to purchased full ownership of QVC, a third party would be given the right to bid on the company. In the end, Comcast decided sell its interest in QVC to Liberty. In a company press release, president and CEO Brian Roberts stated that "this has been a very difficult decision for Comcast. QVC is an exceptional and unique business, but we took a very disciplined financial approach to our evaluation. The cable business continues to be our core focus. With the opportunity to sell at an attractive valuation in excess of $14 billion, we have the flexibility to improve our already strong financial position and to invest for future growth."
As such, Liberty set plans in motion to add QVC to its arsenal of media holdings. The FTC gave its approval in August 2003, and the deal was expected to be completed within the year. While QVC would no doubt experience change under its new parent, it looked to be on track for consistent growth into the future.
Principal Operating Units: QVC.com; QDirect; Remote Productions; QVC@THE MALL.
Principal Divisions: Q Records; QVC Publishing.
Principal Competitors: InterActiveCorp; Summit America Television Inc.; ValueVision Media Inc.
QVC US
QVC's U.S. operations are based in the Studio Park complex, which houses its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Studio Park is the former corporate offices of Commodore Business Machines. Call center facilities are located in Chesapeake, Virginia; Port St. Lucie, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas. QVC's distribution centers are situated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Suffolk, Virginia; Florence, South Carolina; and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
QVC U.S. also operates a series of retail stores across the country, including outlet stores that are located in Lancaster, Pa.; Frazer, Pennsylvania; Prices Corner, Del.; Rehoboth Beach, Del.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
QVC broadcasts live in the United States 24/7, apart from the Christmas show which is pre recorded to more than 100 million households, and ranks as the number two television network in terms of revenue (#1 in home shopping networks), with sales in 2010 giving a net revenue of $7.8 billion.
QVC UK
Main article: QVC (UK)
QVC UK was launched in October 1993. QVC UK's headquarters and broadcasting facilities are located at Marco Polo House in Battersea, London, while call center and distribution facilities are situated in Knowsley, Merseyside. QVC UK also runs two outlet stores, one in Warrington, the other in Shrewsbury. QVC has a second channel in the UK: QVC Beauty.
QVC UK broadcasts live 17 hours a day (although the channel runs 24 hours a day), 364 days a year. QVC UK is available in 23 million homes.
QVC Germany
Main article: QVC Germany
QVC Germany, incorporated in Düsseldorf, runs call centre operations from two sites in Bochum and Kassel, whilst distribution is handled from a dedicated site in Hückelhoven.
QVC Germany broadcasts live 24 hours a day, 363.5 days a year (off-air Christmas Eve (no program after noon) and Christmas Day), with 40 million households reached. QVC has a second channel in Germany: QVC Plus.
QVC Japan
QVC Japan is based in Makuhari, where its corporate headquarters and call center facility are located. Distribution facilities are located in Sakura City.
QVC Japan broadcasts live 24 hours a day to 24 million homes.
QVC Italy
In 2010, QVC plans to expand its international presence with the addition of programming in Italy starting on 30 September at 11pm. The primary distribution platform for QVC Italy will be both satellite and digital terrestrial television.
Statistics:
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Comcast Corporation
Incorporated: 1986
Employees: 11,000
Sales: $4.38 billion (2002)
NAIC: 513120 Television Broadcasting; 545110 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Key Dates:
1986: Joseph M. Segel establishes the QVC Network.
1993: Segel retires and Barry Diller is named chairman and CEO; the firm battles for control of Paramount Communications Inc.
1995: Comcast Corporation and Tele-Communications Inc. acquire QVC.
2000: The company launches its retail concept, QVC@THE MALL.
2003: Comcast sets plans in motion to sell QVC to Liberty Media Corporation.
Address:
1200 Wilson Drive
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380
U.S.A.
QVC Inc. is the nation's largest electronic retailer, selling a wide variety of merchandise that includes clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, electronics, housewares, and toys. The company sells its products through cable and satellite television, QVC.com, in outlet centers, and via a retail store in the Mall of America. In 2003, the company broadcasted live 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, to over 85 million homes across the United States, 11 million homes in the United Kingdom, 34 million homes in Germany, and over eight million homes in Japan. QVC, which stands for "Quality, Value, and Convenience," grew quickly into an industry powerhouse during the late 1980s and early 1990s due to increases in cable subscription rates, consumers' growing dependence on mail-order shopping, and advances in telecommunications, allowing the company, with its interactive approach, to integrate computers, television, cable, and telephone lines into an "information superhighway." In 2002, QVC handled over 150 million phone calls and shipped over 107 million items.
QVC was founded on June 13, 1986 by Joseph Segel. One of the first brands to sign a two year deal with QVC was Sears products. Its first live broadcast took place at 7:30 PM ET on November 24 of that year, reaching 7.6 million TV homes. The corporation later set a new record for first full-year fiscal sales for a new public company of $112 million.[2] Its competitor is the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
Initially broadcast live from 7:30 PM ET until midnight each weekday and all day Saturdays and Sundays, the channel extended its live programming to 24 hours in January 1987. QVC acquired its top competitor, the Cable Value Network (CVN), in 1989. The $380 million deal contributed to a loss of $17 million during the next fiscal quarter, and then to difficulties in the couple of years that followed.[3]
On February 2, 1995, Comcast purchased a majority shareholding in QVC, Inc., taking control of the corporation. QVC kicked off the "Quest for America's Best: 50 in 50 Tour," a 50-week nationwide product search. QVC.com was founded in 1996.
QVC's former logo used from 1988 until September 16, 2007.
In July 2003, Comcast sold its majority share to Liberty Media.
In May 2009, QVC became the first multimedia retailer to offer a native high-definition service. As with HSN, the 4:3 cut for analog viewers in this 16:9 presentation is made to the extreme right of the screen rather than on both sides of the 4:3 frame, allowing the network to place their graphics fully to the left and lower portions of the screen to maximize camera presentation space.
On September 23, 2007, QVC U.S. rebranded itself, changing its logo on-air and online. The rebranding was accompanied by an advertising campaign with the tagline "iQdoU?" ("I shop QVC, do you?") that had preceded the rebrand with billboards in major U.S. cities.The iQdoU? campaign also included a "teaser" website found at iQdoU.com.
On September 30, 2010, at 11pm, QVC began broadcasting in Italy, both on satellite and digital terrestrial television.
Despite the failed attempt, Diller remained hot on the acquisition trail. His desire to head up a large media conglomerate became apparent in 1994 when he struck a deal to merge with CBS. Under the terms of the deal, QVC would fall under corporate umbrella of CBS, leaving Diller CEO of the company. Brian Roberts and his father Ralph, president and chairman of Comcast respectively, were reluctant to part ways with QVC. Eyeing the home shopping industry as incredibly lucrative, the Roberts thwarted Diller's plans by partnering with Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) to make a $2.2 billion takeover bid for QVC. CBS withdrew its offer and Comcast's proposal was approved in February 1995 after a lengthy review by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Later that month Douglas S. Briggs was named president of QVC.
The company continued to prosper during the remainder of the 1990s under Comcast's leadership. IQVC, an Internet shopping site, was launched in 1996 and became an instant success. During December 1997, iQVC secured $5 million in sales and in November 1999, it had its first million dollar day. Along with its e-commerce efforts, the company continued to introduce new products, launch new shows, and move into new areas including the German market. By 1997, overall company revenues had surpassed $2 billion.
During 1998, QVC's Internet shopping was made available to customers in Canada and the United Kingdom. That year the company also launched record label Q Records, and QVC Publishing, a division dedicated to creating and marketing books. To bolster its e-commerce business, QVC began investing in The Knot, an online bridal registry service, in 1999.
QVC entered the new century secure in its position as the home shopping market leader and the second-largest television network in the United States based on revenues. The company's process of capturing new customers continued as the QVC@THE MALL concept made its debut in the Mall of America in Minneapolis in 2000. The retail facility was originally opened as a test location and allowed brick-and-mortar shoppers an opportunity to learn about and purchase QVC items through a traditional retail outlet. The store proved successful and was opened on a full-scale basis in 2001. QVC also began distributing its Diamonique branded jewelry at Target stores across the United States that year. International expansion continued with the launch of QVC Japan in April 2001.
Amid a bleak retailing environment, QVC prospered. In the fourth quarter of 2001, the company recorded its highest-ever single day sales total--over $80 million. By this time, the company was reaching over 80 million households, and it had shipped its 500 millionth package. In 2002, sales climbed to $4.3 billion.
The AT&T spin-off Liberty Media Corporation, owner of 42.5 percent of QVC, announced in March 2003 that it planned to exercise its exit rights in the ownership agreement it had with Comcast. (Liberty became a subsidiary of AT&T when TCI was purchased by the phone company in 1999.) This, in turn, put the future of QVC up in the air, leaving Comcast the right to acquire Liberty's interest in QVC. If Comcast turned down the opportunity, purchasing rights would fall back to Liberty. If neither company wished to purchased full ownership of QVC, a third party would be given the right to bid on the company. In the end, Comcast decided sell its interest in QVC to Liberty. In a company press release, president and CEO Brian Roberts stated that "this has been a very difficult decision for Comcast. QVC is an exceptional and unique business, but we took a very disciplined financial approach to our evaluation. The cable business continues to be our core focus. With the opportunity to sell at an attractive valuation in excess of $14 billion, we have the flexibility to improve our already strong financial position and to invest for future growth."
As such, Liberty set plans in motion to add QVC to its arsenal of media holdings. The FTC gave its approval in August 2003, and the deal was expected to be completed within the year. While QVC would no doubt experience change under its new parent, it looked to be on track for consistent growth into the future.
Principal Operating Units: QVC.com; QDirect; Remote Productions; QVC@THE MALL.
Principal Divisions: Q Records; QVC Publishing.
Principal Competitors: InterActiveCorp; Summit America Television Inc.; ValueVision Media Inc.
QVC US
QVC's U.S. operations are based in the Studio Park complex, which houses its corporate headquarters, studio and broadcasting facilities. Studio Park is the former corporate offices of Commodore Business Machines. Call center facilities are located in Chesapeake, Virginia; Port St. Lucie, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas. QVC's distribution centers are situated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Suffolk, Virginia; Florence, South Carolina; and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
QVC U.S. also operates a series of retail stores across the country, including outlet stores that are located in Lancaster, Pa.; Frazer, Pennsylvania; Prices Corner, Del.; Rehoboth Beach, Del.; and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
QVC broadcasts live in the United States 24/7, apart from the Christmas show which is pre recorded to more than 100 million households, and ranks as the number two television network in terms of revenue (#1 in home shopping networks), with sales in 2010 giving a net revenue of $7.8 billion.
QVC UK
Main article: QVC (UK)
QVC UK was launched in October 1993. QVC UK's headquarters and broadcasting facilities are located at Marco Polo House in Battersea, London, while call center and distribution facilities are situated in Knowsley, Merseyside. QVC UK also runs two outlet stores, one in Warrington, the other in Shrewsbury. QVC has a second channel in the UK: QVC Beauty.
QVC UK broadcasts live 17 hours a day (although the channel runs 24 hours a day), 364 days a year. QVC UK is available in 23 million homes.
QVC Germany
Main article: QVC Germany
QVC Germany, incorporated in Düsseldorf, runs call centre operations from two sites in Bochum and Kassel, whilst distribution is handled from a dedicated site in Hückelhoven.
QVC Germany broadcasts live 24 hours a day, 363.5 days a year (off-air Christmas Eve (no program after noon) and Christmas Day), with 40 million households reached. QVC has a second channel in Germany: QVC Plus.
QVC Japan
QVC Japan is based in Makuhari, where its corporate headquarters and call center facility are located. Distribution facilities are located in Sakura City.
QVC Japan broadcasts live 24 hours a day to 24 million homes.
QVC Italy
In 2010, QVC plans to expand its international presence with the addition of programming in Italy starting on 30 September at 11pm. The primary distribution platform for QVC Italy will be both satellite and digital terrestrial television.
Statistics:
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Comcast Corporation
Incorporated: 1986
Employees: 11,000
Sales: $4.38 billion (2002)
NAIC: 513120 Television Broadcasting; 545110 Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses
Key Dates:
1986: Joseph M. Segel establishes the QVC Network.
1993: Segel retires and Barry Diller is named chairman and CEO; the firm battles for control of Paramount Communications Inc.
1995: Comcast Corporation and Tele-Communications Inc. acquire QVC.
2000: The company launches its retail concept, QVC@THE MALL.
2003: Comcast sets plans in motion to sell QVC to Liberty Media Corporation.
Address:
1200 Wilson Drive
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19380
U.S.A.