HSN CEO Mindy Grossman Took Home A $12 Million Paycheck Last Year

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman is a multi-milllion dollar woman, raking in $12.1 million in compensation last year, triple what she made in 2009.

Grossman’s compensation was reported in an HSN filing, page 37, with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. Her payment package included a $1.16 million base salary, $5.7 million in stock awards, a $2.1 million non-equity incentive plan bonus and $194,000 in other compensation.

The “other” compensation was $114,000 for housing, a $50,000 reimbursement to Grossman for legal fees incurred in connection with an amendment of her employment agreement, and $30,000 for a car.

Mindy, can we borrow $1 million?

Last year’s $12.1 million in compensation was a nice bump up from the $4.1 million Grossman received in 2009.

And it appears that in 2010 Grossman did better than Greg Maffei, who is president and CEO QVC’s parent, Liberty Media Corp. Maffei received $6.4 million in total compensation last year, with a $1.5 million base salary, according to a filing Liberty made with the SEC Monday.

One of Maffei’s performance objectives was “increased focus by QVC on international and Internet expansion.”

Back over at HSN, the rest of Grossman’s management did pretty well.

Chief financial officer Judy Schmeling’s 2010 compensation was $1.9 million, up from $1.4 million in 2009. Her base salary last year was $562,000.

Lynne Ronon, HSN’s executive vice president of merchandising, received $1.3 milllion in 2010 compensation, down slightly from the $1.4 million she received the prior year.

HSN Appoints Mitchell Hara Senior Vice President Of Corporate Strategy

HSN Monday named Mitchell Hara senior vice president of corporate strategy, a newly created position, effective immediately.

He will report directly to HSN chief financial officer Judy Schmeling.

In his new position, Hara will assist with the overall corporate strategy, identifying and developing new strategic initiatives and leading the strategic planning process for HSN. He will also evaluate and oversee potential strategic partnerships and transactions.

“Mitch’s 20 years of investment banking and capital markets experience, as well as his deep knowledge of the retail sector make him a great addition to our team,” Schmeling said in a canned statement. “We look forward to working with him to maximize HSNi’s growth opportunities.”

Hara has experience in the retail and e-commerce sectors and a strong expertise in M&A, leveraged finance and equity capital markets. Prior to joining HSN, Hara was a managing director of mergers and acquisitions at Peter J. Solomon Company. Previously, he led the Specialty Retail Practice at Citigroup Global Markets.

In addition, he has held similar positions at Merrill Lynch & Co., Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Citibank, N.A.

Hara holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Syracuse University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business.

HSN Just Warned Us That An ‘Unauthorized’ Someone Now Has Our Name And E-Mail

We just got this e-mail from HSN, which warns us that someone got access to our name and e-mail through the home shopping network’s e-mail provider.

They did not get access to financial info, but HSN advises us to be extra, extra careful about opening any suspicious e-mails, etc.

We don’t know how many other HSN customers got this warning, but we are not very happy campers. HSN says it takes our privacy very seriously, but if that is so, how did this happen?

Thanks for ruining our Sunday, HSN and customer service dude Gregg

Here it is:

Dear HSN Customer,

HSN values your trust and wants to make you aware of a recent incident. We learned from our email provider, Epsilon, that limited information about you was accessed by an unauthorized individual or individuals. This information included your name and email address and did not include any financial or other sensitive information. We felt it was important to notify you of this incident as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and have outlined below a number of email safeguards to help ensure your privacy online.

Email scams, spam, and other attacks on email systems are on the rise, but, by taking certain precautions when receiving emails, you can continue to safely use email for your business and personal needs:

Don’t open links or attachments from people you don’t know and trust.

Don’t provide personal, financial, or other sensitive information when asked to do so by email. Most reputable companies do not ask for such information by email, and, rest assured, we will not do so.

If you receive an email appearing to come from us that does ask you for sensitive information, do not respond, click on any links, or download any attachments. Instead, please inform us immediately at the toll-free number or email address provided below.

We take your privacy very seriously and work diligently to protect your information, whether held by us or by our service providers. HSN’s internal databases, which store all customer-provided data, were in no way compromised. Our email provider has taken significant steps to further protect the limited customer information held in its databases. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this incident, please contact us toll free at 1-800-933-2887 or email us at customerservice@hsn.com.

Sincerely,
Gregg Stallwood
Senior Vice President, Customer Care – HSN

Better Late Than Never: Christian Audigier Handbags Sold Well On ShopNBC — A Week Ago

ShopNBC got around Thursday to putting out a press release on another designer we’ve never heard of, Christian Audigier, having a successful handbag line on the No. 3 home shopping network.

That debut took place last week, which is when we wish ShopNBC had put out the press release on it.

The self-titled show series “Christian Audigier Handbags” premiered on ShopNBC during three one-hour blocks during March 16 and 17. The Christian Audigier debut also featured a smashing hit with viewers via ShopNBC’s “Today’s Top Value” offer.

Christian Audigier, after his car broke down outside of ShopNBC

Christian Audigier Rocks the Shop on ShopNBC Overall, the namesake collection, performed strongly, with several sellouts.

The Britt Grande Satchel sold out in six minutes. ShopNBC’s best value on the day of the premiere, the Christian Audigier Runway Collection, sold out one of three colors by 10 a.m and neared complete sellout at 4 p.m.

Here is the boilerplate on this designer we never heard of:

Christian Audigier is known worldwide as a fashion designer and successful entrepreneur. Best known for his Ed Hardy brand, Christian Audigier oversees several successful clothing brands and business ventures throughout the world. His namesake handbag line brings European style and a fresh California attitude to ShopNBC with unique and exclusive styles.

“I am excited about joining forces with ShopNBC to introduce my collection to a new avenue of fashion-conscious viewers,” Audigier said in a canned statement. “I’m confident that this partnership will give a broader audience greater insight and more access to my style and design.”

SHioNBC president Bob Ayd had his canned statement, too.

“We are thrilled with the successful launch of Christian Audigier Handbags on ShopNBC,” he said. “Christian’s handbags embody the Hollywood glamour and celebrity style that our customers crave. I’m pleased with how we were able to capture the passion of Christian and bring it to life for the customer in a way that delighted them while providing great value. We look forward to Christian returning in the future with an expanded product offering.”

QVC Puts Its Japanese Network Back On The Air, Pledges $1.3 Million In Disaster Relief

We’ve been so busy at our day job, we’ve barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. But we saw some good news tonight when we were checking QVC.com.

There was a press release that said QVC Japan resumed broadcasting on a 24-hour live basis Wednesday at 10 a.m., local time.

In addition, QVC has pledged $1.3 million to support disaster relief, and has mobilized its operations globally to facilitate customer and employee donations.

“I would like to express our deepest sympathy to those people involved in the disaster,” QVC Japan CEO Chris Horobin said in a canned statement. “Having witnessed so many people’s energy, passion and bravery in response to the tragedy, I am confident that Japan will recover soon.”

Globally, QVC has now pledged a total of $1.3 million, including a $100,000 donation already made to the American Red Cross in the hours following the disaster March 11.

QVC Japan is exploring nonprofit organizations to receive these contributions to support the disaster relief efforts, according to the press release.

In addition, the first hour of QVC Japan programming was devoted to disaster relief, with certain proceeds generated from its sales made between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., local time, pledged to the Japanese Red Cross. This contribution is in addition to the $1.3 million company pledge.

QVC is also encouraging employees and customers to support the Red Cross. QVC in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy has promoted Red Cross donation efforts on air, via company websites, and through social media outreach.

“Our hearts go out to the millions of people who were impacted by the major earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan,” QVC president and CEO Mike George said in his statement. “As a global company, we are committed to supporting the disaster relief efforts.”

QVC Japan has headquarter offices, studios and a customer-contact center in Makuhari, Chiba and a distribution center in Sakura, Chiba.

HSN Says Bon Appetit, With Bon Appetit, With Celebrity Chef Spring Weekend

We wish we could get excited about big cooking events, but we just can’t. But here goes.

HSN will be featuring more than 24-hours of celeb chefs and more than 75 kitchen products during its HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event presented by Bon Appétit on March 26 and 27, the home shopping network said Thursday.

“The epicurean event will feature extraordinary chefs including Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck and Padma Lakshmi preparing mouth-watering springtime dishes alongside an unprecedented lineup of top kitchen and food brands,” or so we were told by HSN’s press release.

HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event presented by Bon Appétit will mark the HSN debut of several culinary experts:

• Southern-food enthusiasts Matt and Ted Lee will introduce an exclusive new line of beautiful Graniteware.

• Chinese-American chef and author Ken Hom. Known for making wok cooking an art form across the globe, Hom will be presenting his signature wok collection and healthy stir-fry cooking guide.

• Jacques “Mr. Chocolate” Torres. French pastry chef and chocolatier Torres will launch his collection of chocolate treats to HSN customers.

“HSN is thrilled to add highly respected figures such as Ken Hom and Matt and Ted Lee to our council of culinary experts,” Sandy Conrad, senior vice president of merchandising – electronics and household said in a canned statement. “HSN has long been a culinary destination for our customers and we look forward to hosting our biggest HSN Cooks event yet.”

Here’s Hom’s canned ham:

“I’ve been an admirer of HSN for some time and am impressed with the company’s ever-expanding culinary category,” Hom said. “I feel privileged to have the opportunity to join such legendary chefs as Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck for my U.S. return and look forward to bringing my 51 years of wok-cooking experience to life while showing the HSN customer how to use my products to cook easy, delicious and healthy meals.”

And Matt and Ted Lee remarkedly responded in unison about their love of HSN.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing a Southern accent to this exciting HSN Cooks weekend, and so honored to be in the company of food experts — chefs and cookbook authors alike — who have literally inspired us to become better home cooks,” they both said, according to HSN’s opress release. “That’s really the greatest hope we have for our own product line: that our high-performing classics (along with a little Southern know-how!) will enable viewers nationwide to enjoy their kitchen more often, preparing scrumptious meals from scratch.”

Additional brands participating in the HSN Cooks Spring Weekend Event presented by Bon Appétit include: David’s Cookies; Debbie Meyer; The Beverly Hills Kitchen; Kent Island Crab Cakes; Leonetti’s; and Aunt Ida’s Baked Goods, among others.

Bon Appétit editor, Dede Wilson, will be on-air providing cooking tips exclusively for HSN customers.

The event will begin at 6 a.m. during a special HSN Today show March 26 and continue throughout the weekend with “Top Chef” star Padma Lakshmi hosting the finale at 11 p.m. March 27, featuring new additions to her line of tea pots, teas and spices.

HSN, Kraft Foods Cook Up Tasty Alliance That Tosses Celebrity Chef Todd English Into The Mix

HSN Thursday unveiled its multi-year partnership with Kraft Foods, the world’s No. 2 food company, in a deal that marks the home shopping network’s first alliance with a consumer products company.

“The program will combine innovative content and commerce across multiple platforms and will allow consumers to purchase HSN cooking products on Kraftfoods.com’s recipe pages while enabling them to access Kraft Foods content on HSN.com and other HSN distribution channels,” the press release says. “The initiative is designed to offer people compelling food ideas, quality cookware products and a richer experience in the kitchen.”

Starting next Tuesday, the Kraft Store on Kraftfoods.com will be “powered by HSN” and will showcase HSN cooking-related products from its experts such as Todd English, Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse. HSN.com will soon start integrating Kraft Foods recipes on product pages in the kitchen category.

Todd English

Other plans include featuring Kraft Foods products in HSN programming; developing cooking video that connects Kraft Foods recipe content with key HSN products for the kitchen and leveraging the video across multiple platforms. The partnership is also leveraging the Kraft Foods portfolio, with a number of power brands developing innovative multiplatform marketing programs with HSN:

HSN’s marketing guru, Bill Brand, had this to say about the pact.

“This partnership further deepens the relationship with our customers by providing them more of what they love about HSN — great experiences and great brands,” said Brand, HSN’S EVP of marketing, programming and business Development for HSN. “We are also excited to introduce new customers to HSN through this initiative while reinforcing our leadership position in the kitchen category.”

Kraft Foods and HSN plan to leverage all of their distribution channels to reach their combined consumer bases. Kraftfoods.com is one of the Top 20 Consumer Products Goods Company food and cooking sites. HSN is available in about 96 million homes. HSN.com Top 10-trafficked e-commerce site that attracts roughly 250,000 unique users every day.

“This partnership is truly unique as it led us to the development of a groundbreaking business model, marrying highly relevant content with interactive shopping and creating multimedia platforms for new product launches,” Julie Fleischer, director of Consumer Relationship Marketing Content Strategy and Integration at Kraft Foods, said in a canned statement. “It will enable us to expand and deepen our consumer engagement with exclusive recipes and brand programs.”

This Saturday Philadelphia Cooking Creme, one of Kraft Foods’ biggest product launches this year, will partner with English (quite the ladie’s man) and HSN for a “unique multi-channel social experience.”

English will appear LIVE on HSN at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. showcasing his GreenPan, cookware as well as cooking recipes featuring Philadelphia Cooking Creme.

On the same day, more than 10,000 homes across the country — a record number for an event coordinated by the company House Party — will be hosting a “Philly Dinnertime Dilemma House Party.”

English will also be chatting llive with home cooks via SKYPE. Let’s hope his ex-fiancee, who he left at the altar, doesn’t call in.

In addiiton, Maxwell House International and HSN have combined for a year-long partnership that integrates Maxwell House International into HSN programming, HSN.com and multi-channel interactive games.

HSN consumers will be encouraged to take a moment in their day to enjoy a cup of Maxwell House International coffee while shopping on HSN. Good luck with that.

During the month of March – International Women’s Month – Maxwell House International will sponsor an interactive game on HSN.com that offers HSN customers the opportunity to win HSN and Maxwell House International coupons and prizes.

Our Ex-Colleague’s Profile Of ‘Nice Jewish Girl’ Mindy Grossman, HSN’s CEO

Mindy Grossman

We’re behind here, but check out our former colleague Mike Farrell’s very well-done profile of HSN CEO Mindy Grossman. You’ll recognize the head shot.

Grossman is one of the Multlchannel News “Wonder Women” this year. We worked at Multichannel, a cable-TV trade paper, for 16 years before being downsized.

But we did write two Wonder Woman profiles this year, on Lori Conkling of A&E Television Networks and Christina Miller of Turner Sports and Cartoon Network Enterprises.

More Celebrity Jewelry Designers, Lisa And Brittny Gastineau, Join HSN ‘Family’

Lisa and Brittny Gastineau, of the E! reality show “Gastineau Girls,” are bringing a jewelry line to HSN.

The mom-and-daughter team will debut “Gastineau Glamour” March 21 on the home shopping network.

Here are the canned quotes from the pair.

“I’ve always had an eye for dressing and accessorizing, and Brittny and I are excited to bring our collection to life when we appear on HSN,” Lisa said.

And Brittny “added,” “My mom and I have always been extremely close and that will quickly become apparent when we appear on HSN. We can’t wait to share the inspirations behind the designs and be able to demonstrate to a large audience the passion we have for jewelry.”

We hate when people use cutesy spellings for their names, Brittny.

The Gastineau baubles will be modern interpretations of vintage, with pieces that feature estate-inspired looks and boho chic designs, ranging from couture-inspired necklaces and earrings, to rings, cuffs and bracelets.

“From the moment I met the Gastineaus, I knew they would be a great addition to our growing portfolio of jewelry brands,” said John Bosco, HSN senior vice president of apparel, accessories and jewelry. “Their charm, creativity and vast knowledge of jewelry will resonate with our customers.”

The Gastineau women apparently do have experience in the jewelry industry. Lisa has worked in the jewelry industry for 15 years both as a buyer and owner of two NY boutiques. The Gastineaus made their debut in fine jewelry with the launch of Tres Glam last year. Tres Glam has graced some of Hollywood’s brightest stars on the red carpet, including Debra Messing, AnnaLynne McCord, Kristin Cavallari and Guiliana Rancic.

Here’s the boilerplate on the Gastineau women.

In the 80’s, Lisa opened her first boutique, Lisa Piece’s on Long Island’s affluent gold coast, followed quickly with the opening of a second haute boutique, Avalon, in the Hamptons. Continuing from the successes of the stores, in the late 90’s, Lisa partnered with her own mother in a culmination of buying and selling expertise when they opened Trends, a vintage jewelry and textiles boutique.

Continuing her love for vintage jewelry, Lisa partnered with her daughter Brittny to create their luxury jewelry collection, Tres Glam. Launched in 2009, Tres Glam, marries timeless New York with modern Hollywood creating elemental jewel masterpieces. The unique reinterpreted and redesigned symbols make for a distinct yet recognizable statement.

The collection’s iconic Anti Envy eye is coveted by Hollywood socialites and supermodels alike, and is at the heart of the brand’s celebration of a woman’s intuition, awareness, and triumphs. Tres Glam has graced Hollywood’s red carpet, worn by leading international actresses Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts, AnnaLynne McCord, Debra Messing, and many more.

ShopNBC To Report Fourth-Quarter Earnings On St. Patricks Day, Our Parents’ 60th Anniversary

Bob Ayd

Isn’t this special, for those of us of Irish descent?

ShopNBC will announce its fourth-quarter results March 17 — St. Patty’s Day, which just happens to be our mom and dad’s 60th wedding anniversay — at 11:00 a.m.

ShopNBC, also known as ValueVision Media, will release its fiscal 2010 fourth quarter and full year results before the market
opens, and will host a conference call and simultaneous webcast at 11 a.m. ET.

CEO Keith Stewart, president Bob Ayd and CFO Bill McGrath will participate in the call. We hope covering this call doesn’t put a damper on our celebrating (St. Paddy’s and Ida and Jim’s anniversary).

Both the call and webcast are open to the general public.

WEBCAST/WEB REPLAY: https://e-meetings.verizonbusiness.com. Conference number 1548956 (passcode: SHOPNBC; archived for 30 days)

TELEPHONE: 800-988-9672 (passcode: SHOPNBC; keypad: 7467622)