Fashion Designer Nick Verreos Heading To Evine Live

A smart little birdie told us that fashion designer Nick Verreos, a graduate of “Project Runway,” is coming to Evine Live with an apparel collection.

Nick Verreos

“J,”  who met Verreos at her local department store and was very impressed with him, suggested on Facebook that the home shopping channel consider bringing him to its lineup.

To her surprise, Evine Line answered back and said that Verreos will in fact be joining the network in the coming months.

We are not familiar with him. but we welcome any breath of fresh air on any of the shopping channels.

QVC Honcho Mike George Landed $2 Million Last Year

QVC Inc. President and CEO Mike George received $2 million in executive compensation last year, up from his $1.2 million in 2013, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday.

QVC’s parent company Liberty Interactive Corp. disclosed the information in its proxy statement. George’s comp in 2014 included a $1.1 million base salary and $841,400 in incentives.

http://ir.libertyinteractive.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1047469-15-4049&CIK=1355096

While 2 million greenbacks is nothing to sniff at, it is way below George’s executive comp in 2012, when it was $18.2 million, but that apparently included stock options that kick in over the years.

Film On Style Legend/HSN Vendor Iris Apfel Opens This Week

Iris Apfel, the 93-year-old fashion icon who does a jewelry and accessory line for HSN, is the subject of documentary that debuts on Wednesday, “Iris.” There was a screening of the film in New York City last week.

http://pagesix.com/2015/04/23/fashion-gurus-screen-iris-apfel-doc-at-the-paris-theatre/

Apfel, known for her large owl-like glasses, offers an eclectic selection of jewelry on the home shopping network.The New York Post did a story on Apfel’s biography in March.

http://nypost.com/2015/03/13/iris-apfel-gets-her-moment-in-the-spotlight-in-new-doc/

Here’s a look at her HSN collection, which features bold, chunky offbeat baubles.

http://www.hsn.com/content/Iris_Apfel/214

QVC HQ Was The Scene Of ‘Swatting’ Incident

You have got to be kidding us. At our day job, we have written several stories, including one today, about incidents of “swatting,” where a knucklehead will call in a false emergency call to police, claiming they are holding someone hostage, for example.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenfield-police-probing-swatting-incident-at-dry-cleaners-1.1319247

These incidents are becoming more and more prevalent, and one happened at QVC’s HQ in West Chester, Pa., last week, according to the CBS station in Philly.

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/04/22/police-investigating-after-swatting-incident-at-qvc-headquarters/

The story said that local responders went to QVC’s complex after getting a that someone with a gun was holding hostages in the facility. It was a hoax.

“The safety and security of our team members is our highest priority at QVC; this incident appears to have been a hoax, and we can confirm that our team members are safe,” the network said in a statement.

The morons who make such calls put emergency responders, who may rush to a scene where they think citizens are in danger, in harm’s way. And it also puts police and firefighters at one location when they may actually be needed to respond to a real emergency.

‘America’s Top Model’ Jay Manuel On His HSN Makeup Line

The New York Post did a story last week on Jay Manuel premiering his makeup line on HSN last month, headlined “Makeup Tips From A Man Who Wears It.”

http://nypost.com/2015/04/24/hey-ladies-this-man-is-here-to-tell-you-how-to-wear-makeup/

Manuel, a longtime panelist on “America’s Next Top Model,” offered his tips on makeup application, and talked about how he uses his own products when he’s on the air: Skin Perfector Foundation and Luxe Powder (which is sold out online).

http://www.hsn.com/shop/jay-manuel-beauty/13231

He also talks about his Soft Focus Powder Blush, Beauty Bronzer, lipstick in “Carnal” and lip and eye liner in “Naked.”

Forget Ecclissi, Go For QVC On The Apple Watch

No social-media opportunity gets past QVC: The home shopping network has hopped on the Apple Watch bandwagon.

Customers can now “engage with QVC content via real-time updates and notifications within the Apple Watch app. Initially available in the U.S., U.K. and Germany, QVC for Apple Watch will sync with and extend the functionality of the QVC app for iPhone,” the network said in a press release last week.

With a tap of the QVC icon (the Q logo) on the home screen, customers can see QVC’s most popular content – the Item on Air, the product currently being shown live on air; and the Today’s Special Value, QVC’s best find of the day. Another tap brings up a close-up product shot with pricing and product details.

Customers can then complete their transaction on their iPhone. Additionally, users who opt in to receive push notifications will see real-time alerts of what’s currently on air on the Apple Watch home screen, and will be able to see additional information by clicking directly on the QVC icon.

“As wearables continue to serve as an extension of the mobile and tablet experience, the Apple Watch app demonstrates QVC’s commitment to investing in new technologies that deliver a fun, seamless and intuitive customer experience,” QVC Vice President of Digital Content Alex Miller said in a canned statement.

“Our customers tend to be early adopters of technology and we believe they will enjoy this new way of discovering the latest from the brands and products they have come to love, now with a simple glance at their wrist.”

QVC for Apple Watch will continue to evolve, offering new features and capabilities over time.

“The functionality of the app will only continue to get more robust. With customer feedback over time, we plan to provide users with a more interactive and engaging on-body experience,” continued Miller. “The developer team here had a lot of fun with this, and we know our customers will enjoy it too.”

Last year, QVC introduced Apple’s Touch IDTM sensor technology for its iPhone app, giving customers the option to log in to their QVC accounts using just their fingertip to authenticate their identity.

QVC also introduced enhanced second screen capabilities on the QVC app for iPad, synchronizing products on air to a consolidated product view on the iPad and further establishing its necessity as a companion tool during QVC on-air programming.

“The launch of the Apple Watch app is the most recent milestone of our multi-year strategy to build a robust and scalable global technology platform,” said Venkatesh Natarajan, QVC’s vice president of IT commerce platforms.

“The strategy’s underlying technology architecture has been instrumental in delivering new capabilities efficiently to our customers across the globe. It also enables us to be more agile and capable of incorporating new features, like TouchID, with ease.”

The QVC app for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch is available for free in the App Store. The Apple Watch app, also available on a user’s iPhone, works with the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

HSN Names Starbucks Alum Executive Vice President And Chief Marketing Officer

HSN has named retail industry veteran John Aylward executive vice president and chief marketing officer, who joins the home shopping network after serving in senior marketing leadership positions at a number of strong consumer brands including DSW, Starbucks, The Gap Inc. and Sony Corp.

At HSN, Aylward will have operating responsibility for the development of the brand and oversee integrated marketing, omni-channel marketing and creative. He will report to Bill Brand, president of HSN and CMO of HSN Inc.

“I am excited to welcome John to the HSN team,” Brand said. “He is a proven talent with a strong record of achievement across a wide range of consumer-facing brands. His background will help us build on the momentum we achieved last year, which included record sales and customer growth.”

Aylward has held senior leadership positions across a range of industries that include fashion/apparel, food and consumer electronics. Most recently, he served as senior vice president and head of marketing, brand engagement and media for DSW, which followed two years as vice president of marketing for Starbucks’ premium tea division Teavana.

He spent seven years, from 2006 to 2012, at The Gap Inc. where he started as senior brand manager for Gap Europe, followed by director of marketing strategy of Gap North America, and then brand director for Gap Europe.

Prior to his work at The Gap, Aylward spent two years at Sony in London, where he was senior manager of marketing communications for Sony Europe. He started his career in the UK advertising agency business with account management positions at BBH and Grey Advertising.

“Everyone in retail today is impressed by the transformational success taking place at HSN,” .Aylward said, “I am looking forward to working with Bill Brand and his team to help accelerate customer engagement, sales and overall brand esteem across all of HSN’s platforms.”

 

Evine Live To Host ‘Invitation-Only’ Investor Day

Evine Live Inc. sent out a press release Tuesday extending an invitation to the investment community to its first Investor Day. However, if you read down in the announcement you learned that attendance was “by invitation only.”

Say what? So does that mean the whole “investment community” can come, or just a select few? BTW, so far we have not been invited.

The dog-and-pony show will be held at the company’s studios in Eden Prairie, Minn., May 28.

The release says:

CEO Mark Bozek will introduce his new leadership team, each of whom will discuss their backgrounds and value creation strategies which the Company believes will drive long-term growth and sustainable profitability. During the presentations, observations may be made regarding the Company’s financial performance and recent developments.

Attendance at the Investor Day in person is limited and by invitation only.

For further inquiries, please contact Beth McCartan at bmccartan@evine.com.

The presentations will be webcast simultaneously and available at http://evine.mwnewsroom.com beginning at roughly 11:30 am EST.

Designer Sigrid Olsen Makes Comeback On HSN

Back in the day, we sported clothes by designer Sigrid Olsen. Then her wares disappeared from brick-and-mortar stores. We’re happy to report she’s back on the scene.

Beauty

Olsen has done a collection for HSN. InStyle magazine just did a story on the designer’s HSN line, pointing out her original retail business shut down seven years ago.

http://news.instyle.com/2015/04/17/eric-wilson-sigrid-olsen-hsn/

Two of Sigrid Olsen’s beachy HSN offerings

InStyle writer Eric Wilson, like us, is fan of Olsen. He wrote that when Olsen’s line shut down, she got back rights to use her name and was running galleries where she sold her prints as paintings, as well as organizing yoga retreats.

Wilson wrote that her HSN frocks are similar to her original clothes, where she stamped designs on fabric using a cut-out potato.

Now living in Florida, Olsen also said that she is doing ageless, comfortable merchandise for HSN. The top price for her clothing appears to be $100.

http://www.hsn.com/shop/sigrid-olsen-studio/13186?rid=3858&query=sigrid%20olsen&isSuggested=False&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hsn.com%2Fshop%2Fsigrid-olsen-studio%2F13186%3Frid%3D3858%26query%3Dsigrid%2520olsen%26isSuggested%3DFalse%26&cm_mmc=cj-_-HSN+RSS+Feed-_-5661516-10699362-_-skim58287X1516329Xdb36f9529ddf4c1de24b4fbb54159b2f-NA

HSN, QVC Set First-Quarter Earnings Releases

It’s that time of the year, first-quarter earnings.

Last week HSN said that it would report first-quarter results May 6 at 8 a.m. Eastern Time before the market opens.

CEO Mindy Grossman and COO and CFO Judy Schmeling will hold a conference call at 9 a.m. Eastern Time to review these results.

There will be a simultaneous audio webcast available via the company’s website at http://www.hsni.com.

A replay of the conference call can be accessed until May 20 by dialing 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406, plus the pass code 16764611 and will also be hosted on the company’s website for a limited time.

QVC’s parent, Liberty Interactive Corp., will do its first-quarter earnings call May 8 at 12:15 p.m.

The first-quarter earnings conference call will be broadcast live via the Internet. All interested participants should visit the Liberty Interactive website at http://www.libertyinteractive.com/events to register for the webcast.

Links to the press release and replays of the call will also be available on the Liberty Interactive website. The conference call and related materials will be archived for one year.