Lady Antebellum Brings Apparel To HSN

Another music artist is coming to the home shopping world: This time it is Hillary Scott of the group Lady Antebellum.

At least that’s what Women’s Wear Daily has reported.

Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott Links With HSN for Fashion Collection

The line, called La Bellum, will debut on April as part of HSN’s Music City Nashville event, according to WWD.

“Scott’s 22-piece collection comprises fringed wraps, peasant tops, acid washed denim, studded moto jackets, faux suede vests, lace tops and accessories, including a belt and cross-body bag,” WWD reported. “The assortment retails from $49.90 for a hi-low knit tank with lace detail to $169.90 for a beaded canvas jacket.”

Scott is slated to be on HSN on April 20 and 21, and she will return in July with new items, WWD reported.

Handbag Designer Sharif Bids Farewell To HSN

Longtime HSN handbag vendor Sharif El Fouly is leaving the network, to the chagrin and anger of his fans.

He apparently announced the news on his last visit to the No. 2 home shopping channel, which was apparently his swan song. That was on Friday.

http://www.hsn.com/shop/sharif/105?rid=1228&query=shariff&isSuggested=false

“We love you and we will miss you so much!” one woman posted on Facebook. “I bought your handbags before you came to HSN and love everyone of them! You are a very special man, dear friend. I’ve had tears and I don’t like to say good byes so I will say God Bless You and keep You and I will never forget your kindness. <3!"

Wrote another, "Gonna miss you on HSN wishing you all the best thank you for all the beautiful bags."

Yet anther said, "It was very sad to see him leave. He seemed nervous also; which was natural. I wonder why he is leaving — anybody have an ideas? At first I thought maybe going to another shopping channel. Whatever I know we all will miss him and his beautiful bags and accessories and wish him the very best. God bless."

And then there was, "Sending you love and peace. So sorry to see you leave! God bless you for your beautiful bags!!!!❤️🙏"

"Sorry to see you leave HSN," another person posted. "You are a handbag genius, true works of art. Please let us know of your future plans, even if you're moving to another shopping network. I will follow you anywhere.." Just don't retire. Love your handbags."

We never purchased any of his pretty leather purses, but he certainly had a following.

One person suggested that Sharif may be leaving to work on a restaurant he is opening in New York. That's news to us.

Here's what HSN.com has to say about him:

It’s not the same old bag! Sharif designs are created with you in mind: the woman who likes to stand out in a crowd, appear just a tad unusual and surprise her friends with the unexpected.

Sharif considers his work little pieces of art, and that’s what you’ll feel like you’re wearing every time you adorn yourself in one of these unique handbags, accessories or fashion items.

Times on Marlo Thomas’s HSN Clothing Line

There was a profile of actress Marlo Thomas in The New York Times last week, with the news hook being her doing a clothing collection, “That Woman,” for HSN.

The article, “New Career In Fashion For ‘That Girl’: Marlo Thomas, Now 79, Is Offering Her First Clothing Line,” is a pretty interesting update on the life of the actress who played single career woman Ann Marie.

There were only a couple of tidbits about the HSN stuff. The story notes that the HSN collection has 15 pieces and a tote, and that during the interview Thomas was wearing clothes from her line.

Those included a “form-fitting” black sweater and black jersey pants, according to The Times. Thomas “her figure still girlish, made the outfit look wonderful,” The Times wrote.

The paper described HSN’s demo as a median age of 59,

One point we thought was interesting was that the clothes Thomas wore on “That Girl” represented “the uniform of the ’60s youthquake — graphic, eye-popping designs from Andre Courreges and Mary Quant — to be followed by the more bohemian accouterments of the early ’70s, like the styles of Halston, Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo and Yves St. Laurent<' The Timed wrote.

We always envied "Ann Marie" her prefectly straight hair, which reminded us of our friend Donna.

Did Designer Mizrahi Diss QVC ‘Sh-t’?

Noted fashion designer and QVC vendor Isaac Mizrahi, who is also launching a cabaret act, made some interesting comments about the No. 1 home shopping network in a story in the New York Post Friday.

Mizrahi was interviewed about his stint, starting next week, singing at the Cafe Carlyle in Manhattan.

http://nypost.com/2017/01/26/how-liza-minnelli-helped-isaac-mizrahi-win-the-war-on-stage-fright/

The curly-headed designer recalls imitating Barbra Streisand as a little kid, and talks about the advice that Liza Minnelli gave him to allay his stage fright when he sings.

But what caught our eye in the Post’s Q&A was this exchange:

Post: I understand your act also involves re-gifting. What are you giving away?

Mizrahi: I go to a lot of gala parties, and you get bags of stuff you don’t need, and it just collects. There’s [also] stuff that didn’t sell too well on QVC, like Christmas ornaments. How do you get your audience to like you? Give them s - - t!

So will Mizrahi be “gifting” his audiences at the Carlyle with leftover QVC items, lie ornaments? And are they the “sh-t” he refers to?

Mmmmmmmmmmm.

QVC’s Parent To Release Fourth-Quarter Results Feb. 28

QVC’s parent company, Liberty Interactive Corp., will post its fourth-quarter earnings Feb. 28, John Malone’s company said Friday.

Greg Maffei, Liberty’s president and CEO, twill host a conference call to discuss results at noon.

Following prepared remarks, the company will host a brief Q&A session during which management will accept questions regarding both Liberty and Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings.

During the call, Maffei may discuss the financial performance and outlook of both companies, as well as other forward-looking matters.

Please call ReadyTalk at (844) 307-2219 or (678) 509-7635 at least 10 minutes prior to the call. Callers will need to be on a touch-tone telephone to ask questions. The conference administrator will provide instructions on how to use the polling feature.

In addition, the fourth-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 rporation website. The conference call and related materials will be archived on the site for one year.

HSN To Post Fourth-Quarter Results Feb. 22

HSN will release its fourth quarter and 2016 earnings Feb. 22 at roughly 8 a.m., the home shopping network announced.

CEO Mindy Grossman, Chief Financial Officer Rod Little and Chief Operating Officer Judy Schmeling will hold a conference call at 9 a.m. to review the results.

Those interested in participating in the conference call should dial 877-307-0246 or 224-357-2394 at least five minutes prior to the call.

There will also 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 March 8 by dialing 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406, plus the pass code 56861501 and will also be hosted on the company’s website for a limited time.

QVC Brings Back California Gold Rush

Kudos to QVC for bringing back its 24-hour California Gold Rush even after an absence of three years. We are promised more than 200 new designs.

When gold prices soared, it put the kibosh on the QVC mainstay for a few years.

And vendor Imperial Gold, which hasn’t been on the home shopping network for seven years, has returned for the gold bonanza.

QVC Finally Gives Refund To Widower

One of our beloved readers tipped us off to this tale of QVC, which apparently was not going to give a refund to a widower whose dying wife had purchased a boatload of merchandise from the home shopping network.

That changed when a local TV news consumer watchdog, at WHTM, called QVC to task.

In Your Corner team helps man win refund battle after tragedy

The story involves Tom Carbaugh, who abruptly lost his wife of 46 years, Gretchen, to lung cancer. It was shocking, because Gretchen had been fighting a spinal infection, and was being treated for it when doctors discovered her cancer.

After she died, Carbaugh found out that Gretchen had ordered many items from QVC, and that the unopened packages were strewn about their home, according to ABC.com.

A lot of this merchandise had been purchased more than 30 days prior, outside of QVC’s return policy and deadline.

Initially a QVC sales rep told Carbaugh to return the items any way, but to explain in writing why he was returning them, that his wife had died suddenly.

But unfortunately, QVC sent the stuff back to him and he got the run-around when he called.

That prompted Carbaugh to contact “Your Corner” investigative reporter Kendra Nichols, who emailed QVC to find out why the home shopping network had reneged on its promise to the widower.

QVC finally stepped up. It apologized to Carbaugh, told him to keep the merchandise and gave him a $1,500 refund. He told the TV station that he will donate the items to a local non-profit.

So the home shopping eventually did the right thing, but only after some prompting.

Melania Trump’s Bio Trimmed To Cut QVC Reference

Oy, can you believe QVC was part of a recent Trump brouhaha? It all had to do with First Lady Melania Trump’s bio on WhiteHouse.gov.

We previously blogged that Mrs. Trump had done a fashion jewelry and watch collection for the home shopping network, but that was a number of years ago.

The initial version of her online bio mentioned her QVC line, according to CNN.com. That raised some eyebrows.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/melania-trump-white-house-biography/index.html

So the bio was later edited “out of an abundance of caution” that the reference to Melania’s QVC wares could be interpreted as an endorsement, a Trump mouthpiece told CNN.

The bio had said that “in April 2010, Melania Trump launched her own jewelry collection, ‘Melania Timepieces & Jewelry’ on QVC.”

QVC doesn’t sell items from the collection any more.

HSN To Sell Goods Placed In Lifetime Flick

Here’s a new one.

HSN and A+E Networks, parent of Lifetime, on Wednesday unveiled “a co-branded retail partnership” for the women’s channel’s upcoming original movie, “Beaches,” which debuts Jan. 21.

This brand integration will showcase the HSN home products in the film and “drive consumer engagement via a shoppable co-branded website (mylifetime.com/beaches),” according to the press release.

“HSN and A+E Networks are at the forefront of this ‘See Now, Buy Now’ non-traditional revenue approach by allowing viewers to shop items from the ‘Beaches’ movie in real-time,” the release said.

“This partnership with HSN shows that brand integrations can live organically outside of the traditional product-placement model that we have all become familiar with,” Peter Olsen, executive vice president of ad sales at A+E Networks, said in a canned statement.

“By extending the collaboration outside of the film and allowing viewers to purchase the products they see in ‘Beaches,’ we are establishing a new relationship with our viewers that keeps the film’s content top of mind throughout the viewing experience and beyond.”

Our buddy, HSN President Bill Brand, also chimed in.

“HSN is thrilled to partner with A+E Networks’ Lifetime to integrate our product assortment into the ‘Beaches’ film and create an innovative approach to shopping,” Brand said.

“Extending the HSN experience to the Lifetime world is a key part of our distributed commerce strategy. These added access points allow customers to shop the collection as they watch the film, providing an unrivaled retail experience.”

During the “Beaches” premiere, viewers will be reminded to visit mylifetime.com/beaches to shop looks from the film.

Then, beginning Jan. 23 during the on-demand viewing experience on the ‘Beaches’ S movie website (mylifetime.com/movies/beaches) users will be encouraged to click through and purchase the HSN home products featured in the beach house.

‘Beaches’ will take over HSN’s “At Home” show Jan. 20, as well.

Here’s the boilerplate on the movie:

Featuring Tony Award winner Idina Menzel (Frozen) and NAACP Image Award winner Nia Long (The Best Man Holiday) as lifelong best friends, ‘Beaches’ is a contemporary remake that follows the serendipitous meeting of two young girls who embark on an unexpected and lifelong friendship.