What We Missed: Michael O’Connor, Kristen Keech, Joy Mangano

First of all, we were happy to see Michael O’Connor back at QVC, where he was once its spokesman for its Affinity Diamond line.

After exiting QVC, O’Connor did a line for JTV and was doing some direct-to-consumer jewelry. Now, he is at QVC+ and HSN+ as a style editor. Nice.

Kristen Keech, after leaving JTV, has started her own business curating and selling goods on Facebook full-time.

And finally, our friend Ann a few weeks ago told us that Joy Mangano, after HSN severed its long-time relationship with their Queen of Invention, is back doing a show on HSN.

Guess it’s true you should never burn your bridges.

Ex QVC-HSN Super Star Joy Mangano Puts Her House On The Block For $20 Million

You can’t deny that Joy Mangano, home shopping’s mother of invention, worked hard for her success and wealth. So we can’t begrudge her the fact that she’s selling her gorgeous Long Island house for $20 million.

The Wall Street Journal, in its “Mansion” section on Friday, did a story about Mangano’s mansion. She told the Journal that she spent millions of dollars renovating the home, which was built in 1917. She bought it in 2000 for $1.35 million.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/miracle-mop-inventor-joy-mangano-lists-long-island-home-for-20-million-11653500713?page=1

Mangano said that the place’s huge kitchen was inspired by celebrity chef Todd English, the bloke she worked with on a cookware line for HSN. The story also mentions some of Mangno’s most successful products, such as the Miracle Mop and her Huggable Hangers.

The house? It has 14 bedrooms, a two-story great room, two sunrooms, an indoor pool, a gym, sauna, massage room, four-car garage, a waterfall and a tennis court. Divorced for some time, Mangano is now downsizing.

The article says that Mangano has sold $3 billion worth of products on TV.

Some of Mangan’s admirers posted comments on the Journal story.

“My wife and daughter have so many huggable hangers (they are great, BTW) that I feel like I should have a small stake in this beautiful property…..,” one man wrote.

“The beautiful house and grounds are a tribute to Ms. Mangano’s creativity and success – well done!” another reader posted.

“Yeah, but does she mop the floors?” asked one wiseacre.

Ex-HSN Mother of Invention Joy Mangano Coming To Our Home State With New TV Show

Now ain’t this a kick in the pants: Joy Mangano has a new TV show on USA Network, “America’s Big Deal,” and it debuts in New Jersey on Thursday.

The crafty inventor of products like Huggable Hangers will be using Newark Symphony Hall as the location of her so-called “first-of-its-kind shoppable competition series.” It is slated to broadcast nationwide live at 9 p.m.

“From famed inventor Joy Mangano, who inspired the 2015 movie ‘Joy’ starring Jennifer Lawrence, ‘America’s Big Deal, will feature entrepreneurs hailing from across the country, selling their ready-made products to live home viewers through One Platform Commerce @ NBCU,” according to a press release.

“Each week entrepreneurs will take the stage for a product pitch and the entrepreneur with the highest dollar sales before the buying window closes during the episode will win the chance to strike a life-changing deal with one of the show’s retail giants,” the announcement said.

“We are pleased that ‘America’s Big Deal’ has chosen Newark Symphony Hall for its debut season,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement. “This project will not only boost recognition of our city’s most historic performing arts venue, but it will also serve as an economic development tool by creating jobs for local residents, helping put event staff and stagehands back to work.”

Mangano started out on QVC, but then was a fixture on HSN for years. But when Qurate, QVC’s parent, acquired HSN it marked the end of her company, which had been part of the No. 2 home shopping network.

The production of “America’s Big Deal” at Newark Symphony Hall will help regenerate a workforce that has been inoperative for nearly 18 months due to COVID-19.

“’America’s Big Deal’ helps keep the American dream alive by uplifting entrepreneurs and small businesses,” said New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way. “We are delighted to host this groundbreaking competition right here in the Garden State and wish all contestants much success.”

“New Jersey is enjoying a record amount of production work this year, and Newark continues to be a magnet for film and television projects,” said Steve Gorelick, executive director of the NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission. “A unique show such as ‘America’s Big Deal’ will bring great excitement to the city, and we are thrilled to welcome their production team.”

“Its stunning architecture, compelling history and prime location are just a few of the many reasons we chose Newark Symphony Hall as the home for ‘America’s Big Deal,’ our exciting new competition series,” said Tony DiSanto, CEO of DIGA Studios. “We can’t wait to hit the air live every Thursday night beginning October 14 on USA Network, and to share this great locale and show with the world.”

Newark Symphony Hall recently joined forces with the Newark Alliance to host a free job training program for aspiring production assistants. The program – exclusive to Newark residents – is part of NSH’s new Training Academy, created to help people build careers in arts and entertainment.

“America’s Big Deal” is produced by New York City-based DIGA Studios, a full-service production company and studio founded by MTV’s former president Tony DiSanto. Serving as executive producers are DIGA’s DiSanto, Nick Rigg, Shawn Strickland, and showrunner Alison Holloway, along with Mangano, one of today’s most successful product inventors, having created and sold more than $3 billion in product to American consumers to date.

For a sneak peek of the show, visit: https://youtu.be/EcfpjwZUP8s. For the latest updates on “America’s Big Deal,” visit http://www.shopamericasbigdeal.com.

Joy Mangano Returns to HSN With The ‘Boss’

One of our readers tipped us off, and we thank her, that former HSN clean queen Joy Mangano is returning to the home shopping network.

On Facebook Mangano, inventor of Huggable Hangers and a zillion other items, announced she will be on July 31 hawking her Clean Boss product. We looked it up, and it is self-described as the “most powerful botanical disinfectant,” according to its website.

Mangano was a fixture on HSN for decades, and the network owned her company. But when HSN was absorbed by Qurate Retail, QVC’s parent, that seemed to put an end to Mangano’s tenure on HSN.

A few years back there was a feature film about her life, where she was portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence.

It was quite a jolt and disappointment when Mangano exited, or was forced to exit, HSN.

We admit, she did get on our nerves sometimes, but she will be better than some of the other fare that HSN is airing, we suspect.

Is Iman The Next HSN Exit?

Is entrepreneur/super model Iman on her way out, or already gone, from HSN?

All of Iman’s Global Chic merchandise is on clearance on the No. 2 home shopping channel, which has undergone dramatic changes since QVC’s parent, Qurate Retail, acquired it.

The new regime has shuttered “Miracle Mop” and “Huggable Hanger” queen Joy Mangano’s company, Ingenious Designs, and showed Mangano the door. And Iman’s clothing and accessory line was part of Mangano’s Long Island-based company.

Has anyone heard anything?

Joy Mangano Exits HSN in Wake of Its Purchase by QVC

For anyone who has been following what is going on after HSN was purchased by QVC’s parent, this should not be much of a surprise: HSN mother of invention Joy Mangano is leaving the network. We think she’s steamed.

So the inventor of the Miracle Mop and Huggable Hangers, whose life story was depicted in a movie, is hitting the road.

The press release doesn’t have any comment from Mangano, which we read as a tip-off that she is not happy about all of this.

Here it is:

HSN Announces Joy Mangano Departing to Pursue Other Professional Opportunities

December 20, 2018: Retailer will continue to offer inventive products, such as Huggable Hangers and My Little Steamer.

St. Petersburg, FL (Dec. 20, 2018) – HSN announced today that after nearly two decades with the company, inventor, designer, entrepreneur and HSN team member, Joy Mangano, will be leaving HSN to pursue other professional opportunities.

“We and our customers are enormously grateful for all that Joy has done for our shopping community,” said Mike Fitzharris, President, HSN. “She has been an important part of the family for many years, and her creativity has influenced us all. We thank her for her contributions.”

Over the years, Mangano has delighted HSN customers with a steady stream of innovative products, such as her record-setting Huggable Hangers (more than 800 million units sold via HSN platforms), her My Little Steamer, SHADES Readers, Forever Fragrant line of cleaners and fresheners, Ultimate Closet line of organizers, and her collaborations with IMAN and Ming Tsai. Mangano launched her first invention, the Miracle Mop, on QVC in 1992 and continued with QVC until HSN acquired Mangano’s company, Ingenious Designs, Inc., in 1999.

“Joy may be leaving, but our customers will be able to continue to shop Huggable Hangers, My Little Steamer and many of the great products she has presented on HSN over the years,” said Fitzharris. “And at the same time, customers will continue to see other fresh, innovative brands come to HSN as we add to our product assortments and create engaging new customer experiences.”

Fitzharris added that HSN has launched more than 100 brands over the past year, including new brands, propriety brands, crossover brands from QVC, and brands that HSN had worked with in the past. “We are incredibly encouraged by our customer response to our new offerings and look forward to bringing more for her to shop and enjoy in 2019,” he said.

In October, Qurate Retail Group, announced a series of initiatives designed to restore HSN to growth by focusing the business on offering more diverse products, enhancing the on-air presentations, driving digital growth, and improving the customer experience. These initiatives included the consolidation of the HSN and QVC US buying teams into one organization, with the goal of increased speed to market with the best brands, products, ideas and entrepreneurs; optimized product assortments to maximize customer choice; a more aggressive pursuit of “white space” opportunities; and better alignment with product suppliers.

The writing was on the wall when Qurate, owner of QVC and HSN, in its October announcement said it was merging buying functions for the two home shopping networks. In that press release was also word that Qurate was shutting down Mangano’s company, Ingenious Designs on Long Island, and shifting its work to West Chester, where QVC is based. We mentioned all that in our blog. And in our lede we wondered how Mangano would be affected.

Integrated QVC-HSN, Dubbed QXH, Means 2,000 Layoffs

Newsday later reported that Ingenious Designs had issued so called “WARN” notices that it was going to lay off 66 workers starting in late December and ending Feb. 28.

https://www.newsday.com/business/miracle-mop-joy-mangano-layoffs-1.22406818

Integrated QVC-HSN, Dubbed QXH, Means 2,000 Layoffs

When QVC’s parent company acquired HSN last year, everyone knew it would mean massive changes and eventually, massive layoffs. Well, that other shoe dropped Wednesday. We’re still not sure where “Miracle Mop” creator Joy Mangano ends up in all of this.

Here is the lengthy press release:

http://ir.qurateretail.com/news-releases/news-release-details/qurate-retail-group-announces-initiatives-deliver-long-term

So no, the QVC and HSN TV networks will not be merged into one. But they will be placed under one business unit, called QXH. Catchy, huh?

The new unit was part of Qurate Retail Group’s announcement about a massive restructuring that calls for integrating not only QVC and HSN’s fulfillment centers but also its buying organizations.

The end result? Some 2,000 people will be out of jobs, about 350 coming mainly from HSN’s HQ in St. Petersburg, Fla., which will remain open, and the rest from three fulfillment centers that Qurate will be closing.

The company also plans to lease space in a new warehouse facility, a honking 1- million-square-foot logistics center in Bethlehem, Penn. There will be 1,200 to 1,500 new jobs there, if you are looking for a silver lining.

Here’s the send-off that Mike George, Qurate president and CEO, gave to workers losing their jobs, including some folks who apparently had worked at the home shopping networks for 25 years.

“Today’s initiatives are the next step in our ongoing review of how to best continue the integration of HSN and QVC,” George said in a statement.

“With a focus on driving digital transformation, these efforts will extend our leadership in social, digital, and video commerce. I want to thank the many dedicated team members who will be impacted by these changes. Their commitment to HSN, QVC, and our customers, in some cases spanning 25 years or more, has been instrumental to our success. Our excitement today over the positive impact of these changes is tempered by the loss of many valued team members.”

The consolidation will result in streamlining that “will ensure an aligned approach to the U.S. market and better leverage the combined scale and resources of the two organizations, while still maintaining the unique identity of each brand and the St. Petersburg, Fla., campus for HSN,” Qurate said in its press release.

“The QXH name reflects the continued importance of the QVC and HSN brands, the multiplying power of bringing these brands together to maximize performance in the US market, and the engaging customer experiences we will offer across our five HSN, QVC, and Beauty iQ networks and digital properties,” George said.

OK, know we get it: QVC times HSN = QXH.

There will no be only one buying team for HSN and QVC, which to us seems it will make it hard to keep distinct identities for each network.

“HSN and QVC US buying organizations are being combined and structured around seven strategic category groups: Apparel, Accessories and Jewelry, Beauty, Kitchen Electronics and Cookware, Home Innovations, Home Style, and Consumer Electronics,” Qurate’s press release said. “Category leaders will be responsible for developing and driving strategies to maximize growth in the US market, across both the QVC and HSN platforms.”

The release goes on, “This integrated buying organization is expected to provide several benefits, including: increased speed to market with the best brands, products, ideas and entrepreneurs; optimized product assortments across QXH’s five US networks and multiple web and social platforms to maximize customer choice; a more aggressive pursuit of white space opportunities; and better alignment with our vendor partners.”

As for merging fulfillment operations, Qurate said it will be far more efficient and mean we customers will get our packages sooner. Right now Qurate operates four HSN and five QVC fulfillment centers, with many of them dedicated to specific categories, such as hard goods or apparel.

Over the next three to four years Qurate plans to combine HSN and QVC fulfillment centers so that they carry “the full product assortments” of both brands, in order to combine shipments to the customer and lower operating expenses.

“Once completed, the integrated fulfillment network is expected to: increase average delivery speeds to customers by two days; enable more items to be consolidated into single shipments to improve customer convenience; and deliver significant savings in freight and fixed costs,” Qurate said.

The press release also has possible ominous news about Ingenious Designs, inventor Joy Mangano’s company, which is part of HSN and home to the Miracle Mop and Huggable Hangers.

“HSN is closing its Ingenious Designs facility in Long Island, NY, shifting the design and sourcing of those product lines to QRG’s (Qurate’s) in-house design and sourcing team,” the parent company said.

Does that mean that Mangano is losing her own design team, and control of her company? Will she be staying on-board?

There are a couple of winners in this QVC-HSN scenario.

Mary Campbell, chief merchandising officer for Qurate and chief commerce officer for QVC U.S., will be responsible for QXH merchandising, marketing, brand and digital strategy and the QVC U.S. digital, content and broadcast operations. She will have primary responsibility for the development and growth of the QVC brand.

HSN President Mike Fitzharris who will be responsible for QXH video platform expansion and distribution and the HSN digital, content and broadcast operations. He will have primary responsibility for the development and growth of the HSN brand and oversight of the St. Petersburg campus.

They will both report to George.

QVC U.S. President Steve Hofmann is being kicked to the curb. His position is being eliminated, and his last day is Friday.

To sum up, some of us were surprised to see veteran QVC jewelry vendor Judith Ripka appear on HSN a few days ago. Expect to see a lot more of that QVC-HSN crossovers.

As someone who has been laid off twice, with the first time more devastating than we could ever explain to you, we certainly feel for those who are getting pink slips. But we lost our jobs during the Great Recession, the worse economic period since the Great Depression.

The U.S. economy is booming now, with unemployment at record lows, so we know you HSN and QVC folks will find new jobs a lot faster than we did. We wish you the best.

HSN Sells 42,000 Copies of Mangano’s Book

It looks like the debut of huggable Joy Mangano’s first book on HSN was a humdinger!

Mangano hawked hand-signed copies of her tome, “Inventing Joy,” last Saturday on the No. 2 home shopping network.

She pre-sold more than 42,000 copies leading up to its world launch this week, according to an HSN press release.

“I am so excited to share my journey with everyone!” Mangano said in a canned statement. “‘Inventing Joy’ was years in the making, and now so many people will be able to benefit from my roller coaster of a life story. It makes the unbelievable believable because it really happened! Now it’s your turn.”

The HSN offer included a hand-signed copy of the book, plus free readers with a slipcase, an inspirational book mark with $20 off coupon, a CBS All Access one-month subscription and a two-year subscription to Good Housekeeping magazine.

To coincide with the book’s launch, Mangano partnered with CBS to bring exclusive video content to the network’s subscription streaming service, CBS All Access. The video-series features Mangano and her family.

“The book is an entertaining and binge-worthy read that will unlock the best and brightest version of you,” HSN’s press release says. “And filled with lively anecdotes, catchy principles, and high-octane inspiration, it serves as a powerful and encouraging blueprint for readers who want to live with more success, confidence, and happiness.”

HSN’s Joy Mangano Invents A Book

HSN is crowing that it will be launching the sale of mother-of-invention Joy Mangano’s first book, hand-signed no less, this Saturday. It is being published by Simon & Schuster and is called “INVENTING JOY: Dare to Build a Brave and Creative Life.”

“My life is proof that, no matter who you are or where you’re from, you have the power to change the world,” Mangano said in a canned statement. “I know it, because I’ve lived it, and I continue to live it every day at HSN. My book is about helping others find and take that first step in creating a better life and better world — and I am so honored to be debuting it here with my HSN family.”

The company that Mangano founded — IDL, a subsidiary of HSN — holds more than 100 patents and trademarks for her inventions, the No. 2 home shopping network said in a press release Wednesday.

“Since joining HSN more than 15 years ago, she has simplified everyday challenges for millions with innovative products that make a real difference, and INVENTING JOY might be her most important invention yet,” the release goes on.

“The book is an entertaining and binge-worthy read that will unlock the best and brightest version of you. And filled with lively anecdotes, catchy principles, and high-octane inspiration, it serves as a powerful and encouraging blueprint for readers who want to live with more success, confidence, and happiness.

HSN’s book package will include a signed copy of the book plus a set of free readers with a slipcase and a coupon book mark for $19.95 with free shipping and handling.

“We are proud to be the home of Joy and help her write the next chapter in her unending story of success,” HSN President Bill Brand said. “INVENTING JOY will not only delight, inspire and encourage readers, but take them on a relatable journey, celebrating life’s trials and tribulations.”

Joy Mangano’s New Miracle Mop Gets Lousy Reviews

Joy Mangano’s updated Miracle Mop has only averaged a 2.2 rating out of five stars, based on more than 1,400 reviews, according to HSN.com.

But when we started to go through them, we had a hard time finding anything but “pristine” five-star ratings. What’s up with that?

http://www.hsn.com/products/joy-new-miracle-mop-wself-wringing-helix-technology/7861086

We heard from one reader that the mop is so tricky to assemble that the home shopping network has now included special instructions on putting it together on its website.

We’re a little behind to blog about this point, but Mangano’s products are now not only being sold in Macy’s. They are also being peddled in other brick-and-mortar retailers such as Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target.

If we had known that, we would not have bothered to order Mangano’s mop and bucket from HSN.

Right now they are sitting, still in their boxes, in our living room.

Mangano, the inspiration for the Jennifer Lawrence film “Joy,” sold more than 210,000 mops in one day.