WEST CHESTER, Pa., Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, QVC,
Inc. President and CEO Mike George
announced plans for a new organizational structure and senior
executive team for the QVC Group, to be effective once Liberty
Interactive Corporation ("Liberty Interactive") (Nasdaq: QVCA,
QVCB, LVNTA, LVNTB) completes its previously announced acquisition
of HSN, Inc. (HSNi) (Nasdaq: HSNi), which is expected later this
year.
"Our new group will bring together QVC, HSN, zulily and the
Cornerstone brands to create a premier global retailer with
extraordinary reach and unlimited potential," George said.
"Together, we will define a new generation of shopping that
combines commerce, content, and multi-platform engagement to change
the way She shops – all the while retaining the uniqueness of our
well-known brands and continuing to build on our distinctive
legacies."
"The new QVC Group will generate $14
billion in annual revenue(1) and will serve 23
million customers(2) worldwide. And while we can't be
defined by a single platform, we are notably the #3 multi-category
e-commerce retailer in North
America and the #3 multi-category mobile retailer in the
US."
The combined group will broadcast 17 networks into more than 360
million homes in nine countries, attract 2 billion annual visits to
our global websites, handle over 180 million customer contacts
annually, and ship over 320 million packages annually.
To deliver value to its team members, customers, communities,
vendor partners and shareholders, the new structure and leadership
team will enable the QVC Group to develop highly engaging,
curated, and discovery-based shopping experiences and extend those
experiences across all the digital and media platforms relevant to
today's and tomorrow's consumer. Additionally, we will launch a New
Ventures division, which will be led by zulily cofounder and CEO
Darrell Cavens, to imagine and
develop new forms of discovery-based shopping.
The combined group will consist of five business units and eight
global functions:
Business Units
- QVC US -- Steve Hofmann will be President, QVC US. Hofmann is
currently President, QVC International. QVC US brings the QVC
shopping experience—combining the best of retail, media and
social—to customers in the US. It is our largest business unit with
over $6B in revenue in 2016.
- QVC International -- We will announce a new leader for QVC
International in the coming months. QVC International brings the
QVC shopping experience to customers in Japan, UK & Ireland, Germany & Austria, Italy, France, and our joint venture in China(3). In 2016, the unit had
$2.6B in revenue.
- HSN -- Mike Fitzharris will be President, HSN. Fitzharris is
currently CEO, Representative Director and Chairman, QVC Japan.
HSN, the founder of the TV shopping industry, achieved $2.5B in net sales in 2016. Gregg Bertoni, currently Senior Vice President,
CNR Mall, will replace Mike as CEO of QVC Japan.
- zulily -- Lori Twomey will be interim President, zulily, until
a permanent leader is identified in the coming months. Twomey is
Chief Merchant, zulily. zulily is our online retailer obsessed with
bringing special finds every day to its customers. In 2016, the
team delivered $1.5B in revenue.
- Cornerstone -- Claire Spofford will be President, Cornerstone.
Spofford is currently President, Garnet
Hill and will continue to lead that business while taking on
this new leadership role. Cornerstone is an interactive and catalog
business of leading aspirational lifestyle brands: Ballard Designs,
Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin
Road, and Improvements. In 2016, Cornerstone delivered $1.1B in net sales, with 71% digital sales
penetration.
Global Functions
- Global Merchandising -- Doug Howe will be Chief Merchandising
Officer. Howe is currently Executive Vice President of
Merchandising, QVC. This team will accelerate our product
leadership agenda by identifying emerging trends and white spaces
for growth, developing compelling category strategies, attracting
the best vendors to our worldwide platforms, and providing product
services to the businesses, all to further the company's goal of
creating highly curated and exclusive assortments that bring our
customers the joy of discovering the new and unexpected.
- Interactive Commerce Experiences -- Mary Campbell will be Chief
Interactive Experience Officer. Campbell is currently Executive
Vice President of Commerce Platforms, QVC. This team will drive QVC
Group's ongoing transformation as one of the world's largest
multiplatform retailers -- expanding marketing programs to reach
new segments of consumers, creating new forms of 'live' and dynamic
content, and developing next generation digital and interactive
platforms. Todd Sprinkle will be Chief Digital Officer, reporting
to Campbell and driving platform innovation as the company extends
its global leadership in live and interactive shoppable content.
Sprinkle is currently Chief Information Officer, QVC.
- New Ventures -- Darrell Cavens will be President, New Ventures.
Cavens is currently President and CEO, zulily. New Ventures will be
responsible for driving innovative retail concepts and looking
beyond our current business for additional growth opportunities,
through internal innovation, strategic partnerships, joint ventures
and acquisitions.
- Operations -- Bob Spieth will be Chief Operations Officer.
Speith is currently Executive Vice President of Customer &
Business Services, QVC and zulily. Speith will manage global
Customer Service, Quality, Supply Chain, and Workplace Services
across all business units, leading one of the world's largest
direct-to-consumer networks to the high levels of service and
product quality that differentiate our brands in the marketplace
and earn strong customer loyalty.
- People, Communications & Community -- Beth Rubino will be
Chief People Officer. Rubino is currently Executive Vice President
of Human Resources, QVC. This team will fuel business growth,
further enhance our corporate reputation, and inspire operational
excellence by ensuring we attract, develop, and retain the best and
most diverse talent in the industry, communicate with integrity to
all stakeholders, and give back to our communities around the
world.
- Technology -- Karen Etzkorn will be Chief Information Officer.
Etzkorn is currently Chief Information Officer, HSNi. This team
will play a pivotal role in driving long term growth, innovation,
and productivity by bringing best-in-class technology solutions
that leverage the combined resources and talents of our worldwide
technology teams.
- Finance -- Ted Jastrzebski will be Chief Financial Officer.
Jastrzebski is currently Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, QVC. This team will provide strategic, analytic,
and finance support to the businesses, ensuring we sustain our
track record of delivering strong results.
- Legal & Compliance -- Larry Hayes will be General Counsel.
Hayes is currently Senior Vice President and General Counsel, QVC.
This team will provide leadership as the combined group continues
its efforts to meet the highest ethical and legal standards across
all businesses and geographies.
"These are strong, seasoned executives, drawn from across our
businesses, with deep expertise in their respective disciplines and
in retail," George said.
"I'd like to acknowledge and thank Bill
Brand, Rod Little, and
Judy Schmeling, who comprise the
Office of the Chief Executive at HSNi, who will be stepping down
post the transaction closing. They have steered the company well
through the changes of the last several months and have been a
trusted sounding board to me and our other leaders as we plan for
the future. Each has made extraordinary contributions to
HSNi, building the company into one of the premier lifestyle
retailers. I'm grateful for all their support and look forward to
working with them in the coming months to ensure a smooth
transition."
Until the transaction closes, all leaders at HSNi, QVC, and
zulily will continue in their current roles, and QVC and HSNi will
continue to operate as separate companies.
(1)
|
LTM as of
Q1-17
|
(2)
|
Represents total
customers across consolidated QVC, zulily, HSNi. Includes some
amount of QVC US and HSN customer overlap
|
(3)
|
QVC's joint venture
in China is not included in QVC consolidated or QVC International
results
|
About QVC
QVC combines the best of retail, media and social to create the
most engaging shopping experience, one that exceeds the
expectations of everyone we touch by delivering the joy of
discovery through the power of relationships. Every day, in
nine countries and counting, QVC engages millions of shoppers in a
journey of discovery through an ever-changing collection of
familiar brands and fresh new products, from home and fashion to
beauty, electronics and jewelry. Along the way, we connect with
shoppers via live dialog, engaging stories, interesting
personalities and award-winning customer service. Based in
West Chester, Pa. and founded in
1986, QVC has more than 17,000 employees and has retail operations
in the U.S., Japan, Germany, United
Kingdom, Italy,
France, and through a joint
venture in China. Worldwide, QVC
engages shoppers via 15 broadcast networks reaching more than 360
million homes, seven websites, and 195 social pages. Visit
corporate.qvc.com to learn more.
QVC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive
Corporation and is attributed to the QVC Group tracking stock
(NASDAQ: QVCA, QVCB). Liberty Interactive's QVC Group also includes
zulily, a digital retailer obsessed with bringing customers special
finds every day at incredible prices. zulily has been a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation since
October 2015. zulily features an
ever-changing, always delightful collection of clothing, home
décor, toys, gifts and more––for the whole family. Unique products
from up-and-coming brands are featured alongside favorites from top
brands, giving customers something new to discover each morning.
Launched in 2010, zulily is headquartered in Seattle. Among mass merchants, the combined
QVC Group (including QVC and zulily) is the #3 mobile retailer in
the U.S., the #8 mobile retailer globally, and the #3 ecommerce
player in North America, according
to Internet Retailer. QVC, Q, and the Q Ribbon Logo are registered
service marks of ER Marks, Inc. For more information on Liberty
Interactive Corporation, visit www.libertyinteractive.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, including statements about the proposed acquisition (the
"HSNi acquisition") of HSNi by Liberty Interactive, including those
about timing and expected benefits of the HSNi acquisition and
organizational structure and senior executive team changes, and
other matters that are not historical facts. These
forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such statements, including, without
limitation, the satisfaction of conditions to the HSNi
acquisition. These forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date of this press release, and QVC and Liberty
Interactive each expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking
to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statement contained herein to reflect any change in QVC's or
Liberty Interactive's expectations with regard thereto or any
change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such
statement is based. Please refer to the publicly filed documents of
QVC and Liberty Interactive, including the most recent Forms 10-K
and 10-Q, for additional information about QVC and Liberty
Interactive and about the risks and uncertainties related to QVC's
and Liberty Interactive's businesses which may affect the
statements made in this press release.
Additional Information
Nothing in this press release shall constitute a solicitation to
buy or an offer to sell shares of HSNi common stock or any of
Liberty Interactive's tracking stocks. Liberty Interactive
stockholders, HSNi stockholders and other investors are urged to
read the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus
regarding the HSNi acquisition (a preliminary filing of which has
been made with the SEC) and any other relevant documents filed with
the SEC, as well as any amendments or supplements to those
documents, because they contain important information about the
HSNi acquisition. Copies of these SEC filings are available free of
charge at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the
filings together with the materials incorporated by reference
therein are also available, without charge, by directing a request
to Liberty Interactive Corporation, 12300 Liberty Boulevard,
Englewood, Colorado 80112,
Attention: Investor Relations, Telephone: (720) 875-5420. HSNi
investors can access additional information on HSNi's website at
http://www.hsni.com or by contacting HSNi's Investor Relations
Department at HSN, Inc., 1 HSN Drive, St.
Petersburg, Florida 33729, Attention Investor Relations,
Telephone: (727) 872-1000, email: ir@hsn.net.
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SOURCE QVC, Inc.