The Wall Street Journal On HSN Honcho Mindy Grossman, Why Home Shopping Is Hot And ‘Pooh-Poohing’ Designers

Did you realize it’s “The Golden Age of TV Shopping”?

We know, we’ve been telling you that for more than a year now, but The Wall Street Journal made it official Thursday, with a big feature with that “Golden Age” headline.

It looks like Journal reporter Elizabeth Holmes actually plopped her butt onto a plane and made the trek to St. Petersburg, Fla., to find out exactly why the hell upscale designers such as Reem Acra (who is so high-end we had never heard of her), Mark Badgley and James Mischka, and Naeem Khan are now selling their wares on HSN. In the past, they were selling their duds to celebs like Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry.

The Journal story mainly focuses on HSN and its evolution (which has some irate customers wanting to start a revolution) under the helm of CEO Mindy Grossman. But it also references the market’s dominant player, QVC, and its hip vendors such as razor-thin celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and “Mad Men” costume designer Janie Bryant.

Your's truly with designing team Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who are a big part of The Journal's home shopping story

As usual in one of these home-shopping-networks-are-no-longer-downscale stories, we have the usual quotes from Acra and Khan (who has designed for First Lady Michelle Obama) knocking electronic home — that is before they swallowed the Kool-Aid.

“I never watched it before,” Acra told The Journal, referring to HSN. “I pooh-poohed it. But now look at it. There are items I would want every single day.”

Ah, a true believer now.

Naeem Khan's $870 bag for HSN

Then the story gets to the obvious: High-end designers have gone to HSN because they can move a hell of a lot of product on it, which is pretty crucial when sales for upsale goods have crashed. Mischka told Rupert Murdoch’s financial rag that Badgley Mischka sold 18,000 units of one particular jacket on HSN. It would take a lot of couture gowns to ring up that kind of revenue. Volume, volume, volume.

We did learn a few things from The Journal, like that HSN keeps track of sales by the minutes, and uses that “intel,” as Jack Bauer would say, to guide hosts. The story says that when HSN host Bobbi Ray Carter mentioned the quality of one of Acra’s jackets, it’s sales shot up. So HSN had Ray talk in more detail about the material in the piece.

HSN chief Mindy Grossman

The article talks quite a bit about Nike veteran Grossman, who came on board to HSN in 2006 and began making it more fashion-forward by courting a host of big-name designers.

Grossman did her research, asking people about HSN, and told The Journal she got three responses, “Some who shopped, some who didn’t, some who did but they whispered that they did.””

We never whispered, Mindy! We were always loud and proud about our HSN and QVC purchases, despite being surrounded by snobby Manhattanites (most of whom where transplants from the Midwest).

The Journal story goes on about Grossman, saying, “The new CEO cleaned house, shedding brands that she didn’t think made sense for the network.”

We guess the “shedding” refers to the exits of vendors like Suzanne Somers, Terry Lewis, Beyonce’s mom Tina Knowles and a parade of others. The departure of Terry Lewis and her Classic Luxuries line still has some HSN shoppers calling for Grossman to be drawn and quartered.

We did get a kick out of the anecdote in the story about Mischka “falling off the stage” the first time he and his partner Badgley appeared on HSN. But unfortunately for viewers, the camera wasn’t on him when that little mishap took place.

Crabby Designer Arnold Scaasi To Shutter His Couture Business, But Continue His HSN Jewelry Line

One of Scaasi's HSN pieces

Mr. Charm and Warmth himself, Arnold Scaasi, is shuttering his apparel business after 55 years of supplying dresses to women like Barbara Bush and Barbra Streisand (he designed the see-through pants she wore to the Oscars in 1969).

But never fear, home shopping queens, Scaasi will continue to do his fashion jewelry line for HSN.

The New York Times had the news Thursday about Scaasi ending his dress line, in a story headlined “No More Flattery From Scaasi,” which we believe was a sarcastic hede. We hadn’t been aware of this, but Scaasi apparently has criticized Michelle Obama’s fashion style. We guess he feels he’s qualified, since he has dressed five First Ladies during his career, according to The Times.

Scaasi, who had been making 20 custom gowns a month, has a glorious jewelry line on HSN. The pieces are gorgeous, and really well-priced.

But he is a nasty jackass on-air, being rude to hosts such as Colleen Lopez, who gave it right back to him — in a nice way. He acts like he is above selling goods on a home shopping channel.

Well, if Badgley Mischka can come to HSN and not be condescending, so can Scaasi. We don’t care how many First Ladies he has dressed.

Perish The Thought: Is Cable King John Malone Looking To Merge QVC And HSN?

Mr. Malone, your highness, please don't merge QVC and HSN

Well kiddies, is QVC really looking to buy HSN? Que horror! That’s the New York Post’s take on Liberty Media’s announcement Monday that it plans to spin off two of its companies, Liberty Capital and Liberty Starz. That leaves Liberty Media with its Liberty Interactive unit, which includes QVC, as “an asset-based stock,” Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said in a prepared statement.

You can read the boring details of the news here. Thank God we’re not at a trade paper anymore where we have to write that boring financial crap.

Because cable cowboy and legend John Malone is chairman of Liberty Media, anytime the company burps the press is on it like flies on dog doo. So Monday’s announcement got lots of ink. And the cable industry fawns over Malone and thinks he walks on water.

The interesting angle here is whether this complex financial transaction and spin-off is a prelude to Liberty Media, which already owns 35 percent of HSN, trying to acquire the rest of the Southern Channel. Or maybe Liberty Media will go after struggling ShopNBC, which is rumored to be up for sale. After all, NBC Universal is dumping its stake in the ShopNBC, No. 3 home shopping net.

We know one thing, which is that home shopping aficionados wouldn’t welcome a merger of QVC and HSN. Many fans buy from both networks, and like having selections from two channels. People who don’t watch QVC or HSN may think they are the same, but the networks have distinct visions and are quite different.

Since we are jewelry addicts, we love HSN and its willingness to mark down items. We also like what HSN CEO Mindy Grossman is doing to the network, bringing in top name designers such as Badgley Mischka.

As for QVC, we enjoy (or used to, before layoff) its Affinity Diamonds and Artisan Crafted jewelry.

And we want our Colleen Lopez on HSN and our Rick Domeier on QVC, please.

The Post’s Claire Atkinson, a vet of our former sister publication, B&C, plays up the QVC-HSN merger angle in her story. The New York Times even picked up her article.

The Post story in the newspaper has one of those great Post photoshop graphics: Malone’s head superimposed on the body of a guy wearing a Liberty sweat shirt, standing in front of the company’s headquarters in Colorado carrying two shopping bags: One says QVC and the other says HSN.

Atkinson writes that “speculation” is that Liberty is seriously going after HSN. That’s a much sexier story than writing what Maffei actually said on a conference call yesterday, which is that Liberty is not pursuing HSN.

“The market doesn’t believe us; watch August come and go,” Maffei said. “There’s no plan or intention to do anything other than to keep our options open.”

Our former colleague at Multichannel News, Mike Farrell, wrote about Maffei’s denial of the HSN rumors. According to Mike, while the new Liberty Interactive structure makes it easier for the company to go on a buying binge, Maffei said HSN is not a target right now.

“We’re certainly not going to chase HSN stock,” Mike quoted Maffei as saying.

Malone tried, and failed, to merge QVC and HSN back in 2007.

If he’s got any sneaky plans to go after HSN again, we hope he fails this time, too.

And liar, liar pants on fire if Maffei’s denials turn out not to be true.

The Homeshoppingista Gets A Peek At HSN’s New Manhattan Penthouse Offices, And We Meet Mindy

Artist Michael Vollbracht, who created a clothing line for HSN, did four paintings for its New York offices that feature a flower motif from one of his scarves for the home shopping network

We got to visit HSN’s spanking new offices in Manhattan, and they are some pretty stylish, should we say swank, digs.

HSN had off-the-record meetings with the press Thursday, us included. HSN EVP of programming, marketing and business development Bill Brand invited us in.

Brand is a broadcast/cable veteran who got his programming chops at local TV stations, as well as both VH1 — working for Jeff Gaspin, who is now chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment — and at Lifetime Television.

Brand was hired by HSN CEO Mindy Grossman shortly after she arrived at the home shopping channel to shake it up.

We can’t tell you the content of what Brand told us about HSN’s plans (as we said, it was off the record, and if anyone else writes it, we’re coming after Bill). We’d love to relate what Brand had to say about the second network that HSN is launching, the just-announced HSN2. But we can’t. But Brand said we could blog about the new offices.

Bill Brand

Just a few weeks ago the No. 2 home shopping network moved its Big Apple staff from the quarters of the channel’s former owner, Barry Diller’s IAC, to a building on 55th Street, right off Madison Avenue. The building, across the street from the legendary Friar’s Club, is being renovated. The construction permits were in the lobby window.

Brand got programming experience under now-NBC honcho Jeff Gaspin

HSN’s corporate headquarters and TV studios remain in steamy St. Petersburg, Fla., land of the large flying water bugs and hair-frizzing humidity. That’s why we no likey Florida.

But HSN has always had some staff in New York City, and the airy new space with the Madison Avenue address (even though the entrance is on 55th) will serve as a fine venue for the network to host product previews for the press and to meet with its growing list of Manhattan designers and vendors, people like the red-carpet Badgley Mischka team and Iman.

HSN’s got the building’s penthouse duplex, with a great view of the city and a huge terrace.

The space is wide open, and everything is white. There is some artwork on the walls. Four paintings by artist Michael Vollbacht, who has done a clothing collection for HSN, hang near the entrance of the penthouse. But furniture and other decorations are still being brought in.

As we chatted with Brand, HSN CEO Mindy Grossman stopped by. It’s the first time we met her, and she was very gracious, not mentioning the times we’ve poked fun at her (describing her as “cleavage-baring” and all that) in this blog. She’s obviously a pro who knows how the game is played. Any press is good press.

We finally met HSN CEO Mindy Grossman

We know we shouldn’t comment on an executive’s appearance (it’s sexist, some would say) but Grossman is striking looking. She has great style and was dressed all in black, the Manhattan uniform. She was wearing great jewelry, including two huge cuffs from Iman’s Global Chic HSN line.

Brand also introduced us to HSN chief financial officer Judy Schmeling, who is always on the network’s earnings calls. Most of the top executives at HSN are women, not middle-aged white men, as is typical in most of corporate America.

After a lot of chatter and a very quick, but delicious lunch, we were ushered out as the next group of reporters was coming in for their HSN meet-and-greet.

Our only regret is that we didn’t grab a few blondies to eat on the DeCamp bus back to Montclair.

HSN Posts Strong First Quarter, And Mary J. Blige Fragrance Gets Big Play In Women’s Wear Daily

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman

It’s late, it’s been a busy day, and we finally listened to HSN’s first-quarter earnings call. Since it’s 10:40 p.m. — and we’re dying to watch the “24” episode we missed Monday because we were covering “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” party — we’ll keep this very short.

We got a phone call, and now it’s 11:25 p.m. So this is going to be really, really short. And we’ll have to delay watching “24” on Hulu until later in the week.

As we wrote earlier in the day, HSN had a good first quarter, with a 9 percent increase in sales, to $518.9 million. During the call with analysts Wednesday, HSN CEO Mindy Grossman said a couple of new things, beyond all that blah-blah-blah about having differentiated products, products exclusive to the network, etc.

Grossman mentioned the news that we just wrote about, that of singer Mary J. Blige launching a perfume called My Life, in partnership with Carol’s Daughter, on HSN. Blige is an investor in Carol’s Daughter, which makes hair and skin products.

The story made the front page of Women’s Wear Daily, according to Grossman, and that’s a pretty big deal, nice press, for the home shopping network.

“Blige and Carol’s Daughter are breaking the bonds of traditional prestige fragrance retailing by choosing to launch My Life solely on HSN on July 31,” WWD wrote.

During the first-quarter conference call Grossman said that HSN HD is now in 13 million homes, and will be in 25 million by the end of the year. She noted that at some point the HD and standard definition channels will be merged.

There were several successful apparel launches in the first quarter, including that of Badgley Mischka and Twiggy London, with Twiggy due back in June.

There will be eight apparel-line premieres this summer.

And on the hard-core cable side, Grossman said that half of HSN’s carriage deals expire this year, and that several renewals have already been struck with distributors.

“So far, so good,” Grossman said. “It’s progressing…”

Time for bed.

The Dumping of Louis Dell’Olio And Charla Rines Sparks Customer Outrage At QVC And ShopNBC: How Shifts In Strategy Can Alienate Shoppers

Charla Rines

We’ve chronicled two instances now where customers of QVC and ShopNBC have become livid, and threatened to boycott those networks, because the two channels were getting rid of two popular personalities.

In the most recent brouhaha, more “mature” QVC shoppers were ready to tar and feather QVC president Mike George and John Malone and Gref Maffei, who run QVC’s parent Liberty Media, when they got word that the home shopping channel was dropping designer Louis Dell’Olio’s line.

Linea Ladies (named after his QVC Linea collection) this week mounted a focused campaign to keep Dell’Olio on the air, setting up a Twitter account, bombarding the offices of George and Malone with phone calls, and writing to these executives.

Who knows what will happen ultimately. Campaigns like this, no matter how passionate the protesters, seldom work.

But the “Ladies” seem to have made some progress last week on behalf of Dell’Olio. The award-winning designer wrote on his blog Friday that QVC officials now want to meet with him to discuss the future of his line for them. Prior to that, Dell’Olio said that QVC had informed him that it would stop placing orders for his line in the fall.

Customer relations are not much better at ShopNBC, where angry viewers are still shocked that the No. 3 shopping network canned spike-haired Rines, a loud-mouthed but popular host, back in January. Our blogs about Rines have received the most traffic of any items on this site, and more than 80 people have posted comments damning ShopNBC for letting Rines go.

These ShopNBC customers are also posting that the network had gone down the toilet in terms of the quality of its merchandise, especially the high-end jewelry that Rines used to do presentations on.

What’s going on here? You are seeing customer reaction to major changes in strategy at both QVC and ShopNBC.

Mindy Grossman

HSN is making similar changes, but even when veteran vendor Suzanne Somers left last fall after more than a decade at the network, there was no viewer ire. We guess that’s because she had her new home-shopping gig set up — moving over to ShopNBC.

With the recession, it’s a tough environment out there for home shopping networks. Gems TV went black last Thursday, and has filed for Chaper 11 bankruptcy protection. QVC, HSN and ShopNBC obviously don’t want to suffer a similar fate.

All three home shopping networks have shifted their strategies. For one, they have changed their product mixes to include less jewelry (which apparently no one but us is buying nowadays) and much more beauty and consumer electronics producs.

QVC and HSN are going in similar directions in many respects: In particular, they are replacing their older clothing lines with hipper fashions by younger designers. So for example, you have HSN CEO Mindy Grossman bringing in higher-end design talent like Badgley Mischka, Naeem Khan and Stephani Greenfield to the network.

In the case of QVC and Dell’Olio, he makes gorgeous classic tailored clothes, the kind of garments that women my age love. But QVC is trying to attract new, younger viewers, and has brought in more fashion-forward designers such as Isaac Mizrahi and Chloe Dao with their edgier fashions.

Linea Ladies pointed out to QVC that they have lots more disposal income than the kids, and that younger shoppers are fickle and unloyal. Good points.

If you read QVC’s online forums, you will soon learn that the Linea Ladies don’t like the new designers like Mizrahi, and that they feel they are being swept aside in the home shopping channel’s push to draw new shoppers. And these women are probably right.

Keith Stewart

That age issue is also at the center of customer anger over ShopNBC letting Rines go: She was not a 20-something, she was maybe a 50-something. The new generic, picture perfect hosts that ShopNBC has hired just don’t cut the mustard, according to Rines’s fans.

With her bright red lipstick and short platinum blonde hair, Rines didn’t look or act like any other host on a home shopping channel. She was outspoken, blunt, sarcastic and had a real edge to her. She drove us nuts sometimes, but at least she didn’t have the nauseatingly sweet, unskeptical persona of many home-shopping network hosts.

ShopNBC’s situation, except for it getting rid of an older talent, is opposite of QVC’s and HSN’s. Chief Keith Stewart is trying to make the No. 3 home shopping channel less upscale, lowering the average price of its merchandise. You won’t see many $20,000 rings being sold on ShopNBC now, the way you used to.

And he is widening ShopNBC’s product mix to be more like QVC and HSN, in that the No. 3 home shopping network is now selling gourmet food and even 3D HDTV sets (before its two rivals did).

All three home shopping channels will soon be reporting their first-quarter earnings. They have been seeing rising sales, so maybe their new strategies are working.

But their core customers are not happy. And those are the shoppers that they depend on to come back again and again.

Badgley Mischka’s HSN Collection Gets Spotlight In New York Daily News

The New York Daily News Monday is featuring a host of low-priced fashion items, including five pieces from Badgley Mischka’s HSN collection.

The story, headlined “New York’s Best For Less: Designer Duds, And The Prices are Right On Target,” notes that red-carpet designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka are doing a line called “American Glamour” for the No. 2 home shopping channel.

The two-page spread, which must have HSN PR in ecstasy, has photos of three of the collection’s fashion jewelry pieces.

The pair’s $79 medallion necklace is shown.

The other Badgley Mischka jewelry items depicted are a $99 faux turquoise stretch bracelet, and big $79 drop earrrings, which have faux turquoise and citrine-like stones.

Also featured are a pair of $120 sequined flats from the collection, as well as a $150 patent leather tote.

Oprah Winfrey Shines In HSN Vendor Badgley Mischka’s Gown In ‘O’ Magazine

The red-carpet gown design house Badgley Mischka is designing for HSN, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have celebrity clientele.

The designing duo of Mark Badgley and James Mischka “reinterpreted” one of the gowns from their spring collection — a slinky, shimmery, gorgeous crimson dress — for Oprah Winfrey. She is shown wearing it in a photo on page 53 of O: The Oprah Magazine’s May 10th anniversday issue.

The boys also wrote a note to Winfrey, saying, “On O’s tenth anniversary congratulations. Here is to another ten.”

Badgley Mischka Returns To HSN March 18 For 12 Hours, With Today’s Tuxedo Special

The Today's Special is on the far right

The red carpet design team Badgley Mischka will be back on HSN in mid-March, on for a good 12 hours on March 18 when they will have the Today’s Special.

We got a gander Thursday at the design team’s spring American Glamour collection for HSN, and we were eyeing the TS long before it we even knew it was going to be the TS.

And the handbags, jeans, blouses, sandals and fashion jewelry that Mark Badgley and his partner James Mischka have lined up are pretty eye-catching.

During the breakfast press preview Mischka explained that the vendors that do the goods for the design team’s luxury lines, which sell in stores like Neiman Marcus, are the exact ones who are making the merchandise for HSN.

“All of our partners that do our couture range – like the jewelry, the handbags, the scarves, the shoes, the apparel – they’re the same teams that do the HSN projects,” he said.

Badgley Mischka is creating six collections a year for HSN, which is quite a commitment.

The TS for March 18 is a knit tuxedo jacket with removable jeweled belt loops that comes in a variety of colors, including black and a gorgeous turquoise that drew it to us as soon as we walked into the showroom. It will sell for $109.90, and is modeled after a suit that Badgley Mischka did for its couture collection.

The upscale design team also had some stand-out purses for HSN on display.

“Our handbags are one of our strongest categories with HSN,” Badgley said. “They’re just really fun and really chic….We made a conscious decision with them (HSN). We wanted to do fine quality leathers with them. We weren’t interested in… just throwing out a faux bag.”

When they were on HSN in November, they had a $500 snakeskin purse that sold out in a snap. That purse in the Badgley Mischka couture collection would have cost $1,600, according to Badgley.

Soft Napa tote

His favorites in the collection for the spring were a slouchy Napa leather tote with for $329, and “this studded bag has about 500 hand-done studs…I love this bag.”

Then Mischka chimed in, “We’re going to actually count them for you on the show.”

Chunky bangles, $79

Badgley Mischka is know for its bling, and they are bringing chunky gemstone cuffs and a sea life collection – necklaces adorned with rhinestoned starfishes, coral and shells – to HSN this spring.

“I love the jewelry,” Badgley said. “James and I are freaks for stones and vintage jewelry. Jewelry always inspires all the beading, all the artwork, on our evening gowns. So the jewelry is really one of our favorites.”

Badgley Mischka is also doing jeans for HSN this go-around, including a pair of straight legs that we have our eye on now.

“It’s such a super important category for HSN,” Badgley said.

The 5-way maxi-dress for $129.90

And Mischka added, “Our couture customer wears them at trunk shows. She comes in with a Chanel jacket and a pair of jeans on. It’s the dominant category for HSN, too.”

The other items that caught our fancy included a cowl-neck jersey-like top that has a removable necklace; real snakeskin flats; and a georgette maxi dress that can be worn five ways.

We’re not shoe whores, but Mischka pointed out a pair of cork platforms with a fabric “fun and flirty” flower. The runway version of that show was called one of the season’s best shoes by The New York Times, according to Mischka.

Badgley and Mischka will have a jewely show on HSN March 17, and them will dominate March 18. Their shows that day will be from midnight to 2 a.m.; 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. (Jewelry Hour); 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and 10 p.m. to midnight.

Red Carpet Designers Badgley And Mischka Dish About How They Wound Up On HSN: The Mindy Grossman Connection

Couture and HSN designer James Mischka, The Homeshoppingista (my head's as big as Nancy Reagan's) and Mark Badgley

HSN gave the press a sneak peek Thursday at Badgley Mischka’s spring line for the home shopping channel. And it rocked.

We and a handful of other early-rising writers got to interview both bling boys. Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who were charming and down to earth (we hear tell Mischka grew up in Jersey, so that’s a big plus in his favor right off the bat).

They then took us through their merchandise, set up in displays at the couture design house’s headquarters in Manhattan’s Garment District.

When we first heard that Badgley Mischka, the designers of bedazzling couture red carpet gowns, were coming to HSN last year we couldn’t believe it. These are the guys who have done dresses for the likes Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Garner, to name just a few of their clients.

The duo debuted their lower-priced American Glamour apparel and accessory line last November on HSN, and the goods blew out the door.

The design partners, we found out, go way back with HSN CEO Mindy Grossman, and talked to the home shopping network for several years about coming onboard. Mischka, the blond, said he worked with Grossman at his first job at WilliWear from Willi Smith back in the 1980s.

“I’ve known her for 27 years,” Mischka said.

The duo, dressed in their uniforms of jeans and jackets, just opened a store in Palm Beach. They want to spread their wings and expand their brand, and that’s where HSN came in, especially in an economy where the luxury category has been hit hard.

“We were selling $10,000 evening gowns for about 16 years, which is fun, but it’s a specialized niche and a niche that we love,” the bespectacled Badgley said. “But today, you can do more than just that single kind of category.”

A georgette dress, far left, is one of Badgley Mischka's hot items for the spring, along with quality leather purses

Surprisingly, or not, the designers said that the women who guy their luxury couture clothes are also shopping for their wares on HSN.

“After the HSN thing in November, we were walking down Worth Avenue and 12 people stopped us on the street and said, ‘Oh, I saw your stuff on HSN. I bought a bag or I tried to get a bag but it was sold out,’” Mischka said. “So the Worth Avenue-Palm Beach customer also shops HSN.”

And, just as we’ve been preaching, those young fashionistas in Badgley Mischka’s Seventh Avenue showroom watch the No. 2 home shopping network.

“All the girls here in the office are closet HSN shoppers,” Mischka said. “Their closets are apparently full of those hangers.”

He was referring, of course, to Joy Mangano’s Huggable Hangers. Our closet is full of them, too.

The designing duo returns to HSN March 17 for one show, and for 12 hours on March 18, with the Today’s Special, which is a hell of a lot of air time.

The spectator look and studded purses are part of the American Glamour collection this spring

“We’re supposed to be on for 12 hours, if we live to tell the tale,” Badgley said.

Mischka said they recently saw fellow HSN vendor Stefani Greenfield, and she advised them, “Don’t drink too much Red Bull, or you won’t sleep on your hours off.”

Badgley admitted that it’s not easy to be on-air live, trying to come up with dozens of adjectives to describe a shirt, for example.

“James and I don’t really have the gift of gab, so it’s a challenge,” he said.

Well, the HSN hosts sure have it, so don’t worry too much, Mark,

Our blog on the new collection is coming shortly.