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Home shopping channels can be oddly compelling. I will admit that I have spent an embarrassing amount of time just sitting there watching them promote random products that realistically I never had any intention of actually buying. But I might be in the minority there because over the past 40 years or so, people have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on products sold through these channels.
The network that practically sparked the entire home shopping format was appropriately called the Home Shopping Network. In the 1970s, it technically started out as a radio show in Florida. Lel Paxton, the owner of a struggling AM radio station, had the idea of selling merchandise over the air as a way to generate revenue and hopefully attract new listeners. Well, it was so successful that it was adapted into a local TV show in 1982 that was so successful that it was turned into a national TV network in 1985.
In 1986, the Home Shopping Network raised $36 million through a really successful initial public stock offering. And within the year, that stock price rose from $3 per share to $47. Yeah, for a brief time there, it was looking like this format would prove to be a big part of the future of retail. Suddenly, it seemed like everybody was trying to launch their own shopping network, including existing retailers like J C Penney. And even Crazy Eddie was trying to get into the mix for anybody familiar with that business. I mean, Crazy Eddie had some intense commercials emphasizing low prices that were not entirely different from the fast-talking and fast-paced environment that became characteristic of many of these home shopping channels at the time.
But easily the most notable competitor was QVC. Joseph Seagull had started a separate company over 20 years earlier called the Franklin Mint that was known for selling collectibles and commemorative coins that were privately minted. In 1980, it was sold to Warner for over $200 million. And by 1986, he was starting a direct competitor to the home shopping network that he called QVC. Those letters stood for quality, value, convenience. And in those early years, part of the reason it stood out for most of the others is that it was more relaxed and conversational. They place more of a focus on the products rather than the prices and the time limits.
Clearly, there was never a market out there for 50 separate shopping networks. So, over the next few years, most of them either shut down or merged with each other. And by the early 1990s, HSN and QVC were the only major ones left standing. Over the next 20 plus years, they continued to grow as direct competitors, operating similar networks that were trying to attract a similar audience. Then in 2017, QVC essentially acquired HSN in a $2.1 billion deal. The idea was that they would continue operating as separate channels and separate brands, but combining would save money and make them more efficient through economies of scale.
Well, from that point, the combined company has lost over 99% of its value. Yeah, in less than a decade, this multi-billion dollar company has become almost worthless. By looking at that graph, you can tell that there was a bit of a resurgence during the pandemic when everyone was at home ordering things from the television. But things have gone really bad since. Just let me go through some of the highlights over the past few years.
In October of 2021, David Rollinsson took over as the company's new CEO, replacing Mike George, who had overseen QVC since 2004, well before the merger. And from there, there have been a bunch of other changes in various leadership positions. In December of 2021, only a few months later, there was a massive fire at their 1.5 million square foot distribution center in North Carolina that destroyed 75% of the building and killed a 21-year-old who worked there. In March of 2023, they laid off 400 corporate employees as part of their cost-saving turnaround strategy. While their CEO acknowledged that 2022 was in fact a challenging year for them. In May of 2024, their stock price fell below the minimum requirement to be listed on the NASDAQ. And about a year later, they announced a 150 reverse stock split and voluntarily delisted themselves from the NASDAQ. In January of 2025, they announced that they would close their 100,000 ft HSN campus in Florida again to cut costs and consolidate their operations. 2 months later, they announced that they would be laying off 900 employees. connected to that. In November of 2025, their quarterly report included a statement that said, "There are questions about QVC Group's ability to continue operating as a going concern." Not exactly a statement that gives confidence. And in the earnings call that went along with it, their CEO said, "Returning our company to growth continues to be difficult as challenges persist."
Most recently, on February 10th, 2026, Bloomberg reported that QVC was in talks to potentially file for bankruptcy to relieve their $6.6 billion of debt that has resulted in over $200 million of interest payments every year. On the day of that report, their stock price dropped 66%, [music] which really makes you think that investors have completely lost faith in this company. As you might expect, throughout this time, QVC's credit rating has been dropping, and they have recorded multiple goodwill impairments, essentially recognizing that they are in fact becoming less valuable. In short, these have been extremely tough times for these unique shopping channels.
So, I want to spend more time highlighting what I believe to be five of the biggest reasons behind these struggles. Starting off with online shopping, something that hardly even existed when these networks started. So, we should recognize that this has been a major shift in retail that QVC has done a decent job at adapting to. They have been selling things over the internet since the 1990s, accounting for over a billion dollars in sales by 2010. And currently, their digital platform makes up 64% of their revenue in the United States, more than ever before. However, it is simply so much more competitive. When it comes to ordering things off the television, they practically control the market. But when it comes to ordering things off the internet, there are so many companies to compete against. Obviously, the giant ones like Walmart and Amazon along with the newer websites like Teimu or Sheen considering about half of the stuff sold on QVC also comes from China, a figure that they have been trying to reduce. Plus, simply going on the QVC website does not help their television viewership numbers, and it cuts into that dynamic that they have become known for. People turn on the channel to watch different personalities talk about the products and interact with each other.
Leading me to the next reason behind their decline, personalities leaving. I will admit that this is probably not the most impactful reason on my list, but it's still very much worth mentioning. Celebrity partnerships and charismatic hosts have always been a big reason to tune in to QVC, going all the way back to the early days with Susan Luchi and Joan Rivers coming in to sell their products. In 2000, Lorie Grryer became known for hosting a show on the network called Clever and Unique Creations. I know her much better from the show Shark Tank, and I cannot tell you how many times I've heard her talk about QVC on there. But recently, and I think many of the regular QVC viewers can back me up here when I say that, the channel has lost some major personalities over the past few years. Hosts like Carolyn Gracie and Dan Hughes were let go in 2023. The following year, Kirsten Linquist and Jennifer Coffee left, who had both been there for over a decade. People tune in to see specific personalities, and if enough of them leave the network, it can absolutely have an impact on their viewership.
However, a much more concerning factor regarding their viewership is the next reason on my list, cord cutting. Cord cutting is defined as the practice of cancelling or foregoing a cable television subscription or landline phone connection in favor of an alternative internet-based or wireless service. Basically, people are canceling their cable in favor of streaming services or YouTube or whatever else. So, even though these channels are included in 99% of cable packages, the number of households ordering cable packages has been steadily declining. According to the company, they are reaching fewer television households than they have in the past. I also theorize that the people in those households are probably not tuning into QVC or watching it as actively as they have in the past. to me anyway. It is one of those channels where you might want to just put it on in the background while you are doing something else. Clearly, these are major issues and the most obvious solution would be to adapt what they do on these cable channels onto streaming platforms and social media.
Leading me right into the next reason, social media. In 2024, they announced this big plan to become the world's leading live social shopping content engine with the goal of generating 1.5 billion in revenue from streaming and social media within the next 3 years, which by the way would still only be about 17% of their total sales. So, probably not enough to completely turn things around if it were achieved. So far, it seems like the biggest part of that plan has involved Tik Tok. They made an agreement to launch 247 live shopping streams. the first American brand to have an ongoing live stream like that and even had their first super brand day on Tik Tok shop. Look, I do not have much insight to offer when it comes to Tik Tok shop, but I still have to question the effectiveness of the strategy. As far as I can tell, there have not been many streaming or social media efforts beyond Tik Tok, and their overall revenue has continued to fall. Remember, they are $6.6 billion in debt, so they don't really have a lot of time to rebuild a new audience. And we have to think about the demographics here because Tik Tok is popular with younger people whereas QVC has a much older following. I just cannot imagine much of an overlap between the two.
Leading me to my final reason, an aging customer base. Anyone who has seen that one episode of South Park can tell you that shopping networks like this have a reputation for having well practically an elderly fan base. And I think their merchandising mix reflects that. Am I right in guessing that many of the people watching this probably have a grandmother that just loves watching QVC? In 2024, they reported that 74% of their 7.6 million US customers were women over the age of 50, which to me does not sound like a group of people that are likely to follow them over to Tik Tok. They said that 91% of their sales came from repeat customers who had already ordered something from them within the past year, averaging over $1,400 per person, meaning they're not really attracting new customers, which can be an issue when most of their existing loyal customers might not have that many years ahead of them. Do you see what I'm saying here? So, unless QVC does a really good job at reestablishing themselves online with a much younger customer base, things will probably continue to fall.
Let me know in the comments what are your thoughts about these shopping networks. Will they be able to adapt for a new generation or are they just going to sort of fade away? I'm curious to hear about something you or someone you know may have bought from one of these networks. I just think this is such a peculiar yet interesting topic. So, I would love to hear any experience you have had with them. And finally, do you agree with the reasons on my list or do you think something should be added or subtracted from it? And any other thoughts you have about QVC or anything else in this video, leave them in the comments. I'd like to hear what you have to say. Thank you for watching. >> [music]