Back On Home Shopping, Raquel Welch Is Bringing Her Wigs To QVC

Still-hot sexpot Raquel Welch is coming to QVC, with wigs.

We tuned in Thursday night on the tail end of host Shawn Killinger showing off three of Welch’s “Breeze” textured layered wigs.

Killinger was telling viewers, we guess, when the Welch wig show will debut. But we didn’t catch the date.

Welch is no stranger to home shopping. She briefly had a jewelry line on HSN, with pieces made of gemstones and silver. We still have a cross — which has peridot, citrine and smoky topaz on it — from that collection.

But the actress’s pieces were pricey, and the jewelry line didn’t last too long on HSN.

QVC’s Rick Domeier Heads To New York To Try To Land Book Deal

QVC Host Rick Domeier the author?

The Aryan-looking Capricorn is coming to the Big Apple to attend Book ExpoAmerica, an annual conference of publishers, agents, writers and booksellers.

“Proposals in hand, and meetings with publishers. Wish me luck!” Domeier wrote on Facebook Wednesday.

We wish you the best of luck Rick. But don’t give up your day job.

Domeier said he will be offering updates today from the show.

HSN Host Colleen Lopez’s Home Remedy For Laryngitis

We saw HSN host Colleen Lopez coughing up a storm during one of her Designer Gallery shows last Saturday, one of our favorite segments on the network.

She was trying to be a trooper, telling viewers that she was at the tail end of a cold, and even though she sounded terrible, she felt pretty good.

Well, the next day poor Colleen lost her voice and had to call in sick.

On Facebook Monday, she offered up her home remedy for laryngitis, which is something we get fairly often.

3 Tbls. apple cyder vinegar
3 Tbls. honey
Squeeze of lemon
A few shakes of cayenne pepper

Put in a cup with hot water and sip.

“Might sound like a strange combo, but it really works – my voice is coming back and throat is a lot less sore….Try it next time you have a sore throat :-),” she wrote.

Thanks for the tip, Colleen!

Stop The Presses: You Can Say ‘Orgasm,’ As In NARS Cosmetics, On QVC Now

QVC has apparently lifted its ridiculous ban of the word “orgasm.”

Monday morning prim QVC host Jill Bauer used the naughty “O” word during a presentation on a three-piece collection of NARS Orgasm lip gloss and blush. Orgasm is a popular, pretty peach makeup shade by NARS.

But in the past, as recently as a week or so ago, QVC host Lisa Robertson was not allowed to say “Orgasm” when talking about the NARS cosmetics. Hello, it’s 2010, not 1950!

Today, however, Bauer started off the NARS presentation by saying, “We’re going to say a grown-up word here.”

She warned viewers to shoo any children out of the room.

Then she and the NARS rep discussed the Orgasm makeup.

“It’s a magical color,” Bauer said.

It sure is, Jill.

QVC Morning Host Pat James-DeMentri’s Bad Boy Ex-Husband (We Think) Is Fired From New York City TV Station

We don’t know if Pat James-DeMentri is still married to him or divorced from him, but the QVC’s host’s one-time better half got himself in trouble again. In fact, newscaster Vince DeMentri has been fired from WPIX-TV in New York City, according to the New York Daily News Saturday.

The tabloid’s story, headlined “DeMentri Gets Canned From Channel 11 News,” says he was let go just days after allegedly slapping a chauffeur during a fight over a parking space.

Read the story for all the juicy details.

DeMentri joined WPIX in March after getting in trouble, and scandals, at a station in Philadelphia “after bedding a co-anchor and engaging in an overly public beef with the station’s weatherman,” according to the News.

While working for WCBS in New York City in 2001, DeMentri was arrested for posing as a federal agent to get access to Ground Zero just two days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Those charges were dropped.

ShopNBC’s Net Sales Drop 7 Percent In The First Quarter, While The Home Shopping Network Posts An $11 Million Loss

It was a very bad first quarter for ShopNBC. Maybe it’s bad karma for letting popular host Charla Rines go in January.

The No. 3 home shopping network Wednesday reported that its net sales dropped 7 percent, to $125 million, from the year-ago period. And it posted a $11 million net loss, down from its $12 million net loss a year ago.

“While sales in the business segment of consumer electronics were soft in the quarter, we have clearly defined strategies in place to ensure this business improves,” ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart said in a statement. “We remain excited about our multi-channel offerings and go-forward plans to drive the top line and deliver sustained, profitable growth.”

The network’s first-quarter performance is especially disappointing when compared to the dominant players, QVC and HSN, who saw sales gains of 10 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

ShopNBC’s adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $4.3 million compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6.8 million in the year-ago period, driven by improvements in gross margin.

Gross profit increased 8.4 percent to $45.7 million and gross profit margin improved 510 basis points to 36.6 percent versus 31.5 percent last year, driven by merchandise margin rate improvements in several key categories.

“We continued to make progress in the first quarter across the many leading indicators that drive our business,” Stewart said. “Our gross profit margin improved by 510 basis points to 36.6 percent. Our e-commerce penetration continued to perform at industry-leading levels, up 950 basis points to 39.6 percent. Disciplined execution in merchandising and financial planning remained in focus, reflecting well-controlled inventories, working capital management and tight expense controls, as we offered the customer a continuous flow of new and exciting merchandise….Looking ahead, we expect our customer activity and leading indicators to continue trending positively.

ShopNBC Kicks Off Fashion Week Monday, With Those Geox Shoes We Can’t Afford At The Mall

ShopNBC launches its “Fashion Week” Monday, which will feature the most fashion premieres, new footwear and apparel products ever shown within one week on the network.

The five-day event will feature the premiere of Geox Footwear — the breathable shoe from Italy; One World Fashion — designed in Los Angeles for a laid back and cool vibe; Fever Apparel — knits and casual looks for stylish multi-tasking women; and the Christine Alt Fashion Collection — designed by the former plus-size fashion model to offer great style for all sizes and body types.

The event will also feature the debut of Olivia & Grace Fashions, and fresh styles from the Pamela McCoy Collection, Encanto shoes and more.

The event will also highlight a daily “Fashion Feature,” which will appear at 9 a.m. during the 2-hour block of the ShopNBC show, “Sunrise Style”. The Fashion Feature will be head-to-toe must-have looks, along with style tips to help viewers easily update their wardrobe. In addition to the Sunrise Style shows, there will be daily fashion programming at 3 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.

“Our customers have continued to ask us for newness,” Cindy Chen-Derkacz, ShopNBC’s vice president of fashion, said in a canned statement. “For this May Fashion Week, our buying team sought out great brands and the newest styles. We look forward to presenting our finds during this week jam-packed with great looks that go from work to weekend.”

ShopFASHION at ShopNBC’s Facebook page will provide behind-the-scenes updates and stylish giveaways throughout the event.

HSN Steps Up Courting Of African-American Women With Mary J. Blige Perfume Launch

Mary J. Blige's new fragrance is part of HSN's courting of African-American consumers

Of all the major home shopping networks, HSN has been the most aggressive in courting African-American consumers.

And it took another big step in that strategy with its announcement last week that singer Mary J. Blige was launching a fragrance, My Life, on the channel July 31.

Grammy-winner Blige is partnering with one of HSN’s vendors, Carol’s Daughter, with this marking the beauty brand’s first foray into a celebrity perfume. HSN described Carol’s Daughter as “a polyethnic beauty brand,” but fact of the matter is the hair and beauty products on Carol’s line are mainly aimed at black women and their unique beauty needs.

Carol’s Daughter was created by a black entrepreneur, Lisa Price. She would mix essential oils and natural moisturizers and give these skin and hair products as gifts to her friends. She launched it as a business in 1993.

We were introduced to the Carol’s Daughter line long before its HSN debut. It is sold in one of our favorite shops in Montclair, N.J., Dem Two Hands. The store, which has artisan-crafted jewelry to die for, is owned by African-American women and caters to larger women in terms of clothing.

HSN vendor Serena Williams

It’s no wonder that HSN did the Blige deal, after the success of its show last year with rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs. He did one hour, and his award-winning men’s fragrances — Sean John I Am King and Unforgiven — blew out the door and sold out. The music and style entrepreneur fielded endless calls from his devoted fans during the show. And they were all eager to buy his fragrances.

We’re sure HSN is looking for that kind of success with Blige. The network said its marketing for My Life will aim at the singer’s fans, as well as Carol’s Daughter’s HSN fans.

HSN host Marlo Smith

The No. 2 home shopping channel didn’t just start targeting women of color. HSN also has several African-American fashion designers that have been on the air for years, including Antthony Design Originals.

The model-businesswoman Iman and tennis pro Serena Williams also have jewelry and clothing lines on HSN, as does former HSN host Terry Lewis.

We’re not saying that Iman and Williams’ clothes and accessories aren’t popular with Caucasian women. But those two women get many on-air calls from a large number of their African-American fans.

HSN’s host roster, as well as its vendor list, has several women of color. That includes Marlo Smith and Tamara Hooks.

In its announcement last week, HSN said that the debut of Blige’s My Life is the first exclusive launch of a fragrance on a home shopping channel. And it’s a complex, “multi-platform” effort, as they say in the biz.

As part of HNS’s marketing campaing, video segments called “Life Chapters” will “capture various facets of Mary J. Blige’s compelling life story, including her philanthropic, music, and beauty projects. The segments will be seeded online, on HSN and through social media such as Facebook and Twitter,” according to HSN.

This Life Chapters campaign will also flow over into the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans July Fourth, with HSN a sponsor of that event. HSN will set up an interactive My Life booth where fans can learn about the fragrance and meet Blige. They will also be able to post pictures from the Festival on http://www.hsn.com/maryjblige.

Iman's HSN line is called Global Chic

Part of the proceeds of My Life’s sales will benefit the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, which was founded by Blige “to help women gain the confidence and skills they need to pursue and realize their goals and dreams.”

The risk with Blige is that her often rocky relationships with men may resurface. In December, the New York tabloids reported that Blige had punched her husband Kendu Isaacs at a record-launch party.

She later said she was just trying to break up a fight between Issacs and her brother, according to the New York Daily News.

QVC Host Mary Beth Roe Thanks 10,000 Viewers Who Came To Her Blog On Her Mom’s Death

QVC host Mary Beth Roe Wednesday graciously thanked viewers who had read her blog about her mother passing away recently.

Roe said that 10,000 people had read her blog, with more than 170 posting condolences and good wishes. She read every comment on that blog, tissue in hand to wipe away tears, even though it took her three hours.

Roe has a new blog posted Wedneday, a follow-up.

We felt bad last Wednesday when we saw that Roe, fresh off her mother’s death, was back on the air with a show on Mother’s Day’s gifts. And Roe blogged that it was in fact tough for her.

“It was difficult for me to choke back my emotions which were right on the edge last Wednesday morning in ‘My Time with Mary Beth’ and put a smile on my face the whole time,” she wrote.

“But knowing there were many of you who were concerned as to why I had been off the air for two weeks, I knew I needed to tell you what had happened and be right up front with you as has been my motto for over 23 years on air. I always say, ‘Tell it like it is.’ That’s the old news reporter in me, but it’s also what friends do with friends.”

Roe blogged that after that show last Wednesday, she and her husband Mark left for a three-day vacaton to celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary.

“That had been planned a long time ago, but it was God’s perfect timing once again, because we were both physically and emotionally exhausted, and it was the best thing for us,” she wrote.

“I slept a lot and literally did nothing except take the photos from my mom’s visitation and funeral and put them all into a photo album. That was therapeutic for me. It gave me some quiet time to just reflect on what had taken place, because when you are going through it, it’s a bit of a whirlwind. It was helpful to take a few steps back and kind of replay it in my mind and cry when I wanted to cry without having to stuff my emotions or attend to the kids or answer questions, etc. So that time away was incredibly helpful!”

She and her husband did go out for a special dinner for their anniversary.

We wish her all of God’s healing.

QVC Is Going Green For Earth Day, With Danny Seo And A ‘Brand Ambassdor’

Danny Seo

QVC will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day Thursday with 24 hours of “unique ideas” — in other words, merchandise — to “help its customers live a little greener,” the home shopping channel said.

And HSN has Earth Day festivities planned, too. It will have shows featuring Earth Footwear and “Go Green With Your Garden.”

QVC claims it’s going to be featuring green products and advice to help its customers save energy and money. So-called environmental lifestyle expert Danny Seo is scheduled to make his QVC debut. The network will also premiere the Portico Natural Bed and Bath home collection.

“There’s no better time to celebrate Mother Earth and evaluate the environmental footprint each of us is leaving on the planet,” Doug Howe, QVC’s executive vice president of strategic multichannel planning and merchandising, said in a canned statement.

“QVC’s Earth Day programming will show our customers just how easy it is to adopt simple changes that will make a big impact in the long-term,” Howe said. “We hope our customers embrace some of the solutions and ideas we are planning to offer in the hopes that it will encourage a more sustainable way of living.”

Seo, green expert for CBS’s “The Early Show” and author of the nationally syndicated column “Do Just One Thing,” will share tips and advice on how to live “simply green.”

Seo and QVC want you to buy their compact shopping bags that can fit into your pocket, like Baggu Set of Six Reusable Shopper Bags by Danny Seo (QVC Item No. F08744). The bags are strong enough to hold up to 50 pounds of groceries.

QVC is also scheduled to premiere Portico Natural Bed and Bath, an assortment of 100 percent organic linens, towels and bedroom accents, which will be presented by Summer Rayne Oakes, a “Portico brand ambassador,” model and activist.

“Brand ambassador?” No comment.

QVC will also be selling Earth Smart Jewelry, made out of recycled sterling silver.