The rise and fall

Currently Playing: The rise and fall of QVC and HSN

Increase muscle mass and decrease fat with David. Head to https://davidprotein.yt.link/GiFOgFV to get a free carton with an order of four or more. It started with a radio DJ in Florida who got stiffed on an ad bill and ended up with 112 can openers. It ended with $6.6 billion in debt, a warehouse fire, and 1,800 workers out of a job. This is the full story of how QVC and HSN built a TV shopping monopoly — and why it all came apart. Get the 2-minute cheat sheet for this video → https://girdley.com/youtube 👇 SUBSCRIBE for more business breakdowns https://www.youtube.com/@Michael-Girdley?sub_confirmation=1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ ► Get my weekly letter to business owners: essential insights to run, grow, and stay ahead in your business → https://links.girdley.com/newsletter-yt ► For sponsorships or inquiries please reach out to: Contact@girdley.com ► Do you have a hat I should wear in a video? Send it to us: Contact@girdley.com ► Free events on all things small business: https://links.girdley.com/lectures-yt ► Deep dives on businesses for sale: https://www.youtube.com/@AcquisitionsAnonymousPodcast ► Follow me on Twitter/X: https://x.com/girdley ------------------------------------------------------------------ In 1977, Bud Paxson accidentally invented TV shopping by selling 112 can openers on a Florida radio station in under an hour. By 1985 it was a national cable phenomenon. Then Joe Segal launched QVC in 1986, gave cable operators equity stakes in exchange for premium placement, and handed himself monopoly-level distribution overnight. First-year revenue: $112 million — a startup record at the time. What powered both channels wasn't really retail. It was companionship. Hosts like Joan Rivers — who moved over $1 billion in merchandise at QVC — spent as much time talking about their personal lives as pitching products. The average buyer purchased 28 items a year. The top 5% bought over 70. Repeat customers were 96% of sales. The loyalty was real, and so were the margins: 35%, strong by any retail standard. What happened to QVC and HSN is what happens when a great business is bolted to a dying platform. The local cable monopoly that built both channels started dying in the 2010s. By 2022, cord-cutting hit a record 5.1 million subscribers lost in a single year. The average QVC/HSN buyer was over 60. No new customers were coming in. A warehouse fire in 2021 wiped out 30% of inventory six days before Christmas. Revenue fell from a $14.17 billion COVID peak to $10 billion by 2023. With $6.6 billion in debt and fixed costs that didn't move, the company was losing $0.22 on every dollar by 2025. They filed Chapter 11 in April 2026. The lesson: lucky and good builds fortunes. When the luck runs out, good isn't enough.