Barry Manilow, Suzanne Somers’ Buddy, To Perform Live For QVC From Las Vegas Next Week

Suzanne Somers’ good friend, singer Barry Manilow, will be doing a live concert for QVC from the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas to unveil his new almum “The Greatest Love Songs of All Time.” The appearance will be Jan. 19 at 9 p.m.

During the special QVC Presents QSessions Live broadcast, the Grammy-, Tony-, and Emmy Award-winning Manilow will perform a selection of songs from the new album, while also giving viewers an inside look at the inspiration behind the collection.

QVC will be selling a specially packaged five-track bonus disc of songs that Manilow put together especially for QVC viewers, a week before street date.

“Barry Manilow continues to be a favorite among our viewers,” QVC director of merchandising Rich Yoegel said in a canned statement. “Performing his brand-new songs live from Las Vegas, this show promises to be one that no one will want to miss.”

The new album has Manilow once againt working with his longtime collaborator and Arista Records founder Clive Davis (now Chief Creative Officer, Sony Music Entertainment).

“The Greatest Love Songs of All Time” features his interpretations and arrangements of classic love songs, including” “Love is Here To Stay,” “The Look of Love,” and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love.”

Manilow, whose 2006 QVC appearance marked the highest single-day sales by a musical artist in QVC history, also continues to hold the record as the highest single-hour music sales event in QVC’s 23-year history.

The new album will be available starting Jan. 19 through QVC.

Designer Wayne Scot Lukas, A Vet Of HSN, And ShopNBC Have Parted Ways

Celebrity stylist and fashion designer Wayne Scot Lukas and ShopNBC are parting ways, the designer tells us.

Lukas did not offer us many details, other than to say he was not happy at the Minnesota-based home shopping network.

Lukas moved to ShopNBC from HSN earlier this year, and he was soon followed by actress/entrepreneur Suzanne Somers. She left HSN after more than a dozen years there to go to ShopNBC.

Lukas did a line of knits, easy-fitting pieces for both HSN and ShopNBC.

These Lukastyle items are now on clearance on ShopNBC.com.

Handsome Lukas, who has the more gorgeous hair we’ve ever seen on a man (but he doesn’t bat on our team, if you get our drift) has a biting sense of humor, full of double entendres. We caught him once on ShopNBC, and he did not seem like a happy camper.

He didn’t like the camera-work on his show, and his attempted bantering with the host did not work as well as his rapport with Colleen Lopez, who he always cracked up, on HSN.

HSN and ShopNBC have been swapping many jewelry and clothing designers this year, almost too many to list here. For example, jewelry designer Dallas Prince went to HSN from ShopNBC.

We hope you find a new home-shopping home, Wayne!

Bling King Charles Winston Heading To HSN From ShopNBC Next Month

Looks like more musical chairs at the home shopping vendors, with blingy fashion jewelry designer Charles Winston headed to HSN from ShopNBC.

According to a sharp-eyed poster on QVC’s jewelry forum, actually, Winston is set to debut on HSN Jan. 9, with an early-bird show from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. and then another show at a more godly hour.

There are already three items from Winston’s costume jewelry line up on HSN’s Web site, including a tanzanite-look CZ pear-shaped ring for $80 and a fancy CZ bracelet for $130.

Winston had been on ShopNBC for some time, but we guess we should have known his days were numbered there when his jewelry started showing up at TJ Maxx.

Jewelry and apparel vendors are constantly moving back and forth between HSN and ShopNBC, with Suzanne Somers the most famous one to move after more than a dozen years at HSN to go to ShopNBC in September.

But a number of veteran ShopNBC vendors moved to HSN, as well, including upscale jewelry designer Dallas Prince.

Uptown Girl Mindy Grossman Is Taking Space For HSN Executive Offices In A Madison Ave. Penthouse, New York Observer Reports

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman

We guess St. Petersburg, Fla., is not good enough for HSN CEO Mindy Grossman. She wants a penthouse in the Big Apple.

The home shopping network is taking space for executive offices in Manhattan, far away from HSN’s HQ in Florida, The New York Observer reported Monday.

HSN is renting at the luxurious, newly renovated tower at 545 Madison Ave., according to the paper.

Grossman’s company will be renting the whole 18th floor, glass-encased penthouse of the LCOR building, The Observer reported. It will provide digs for some HSN executive offices, a marketing center and some studio presentations.

The story quotes LCOR exec David Sigman, who says, “Home Shopping Network was looking for high-end, highly visible executive space that also had great light and views.”

If we were HSN shareholders, we’d be questioning why the network will be paying sky-high rents for space in Manhattan.

An HSN official contacted The Homeshoppingista to stress that HSN’s home office and corporate headquarters will remain in St. Petersburg.

But it looks like Grossman wants to stake a claim for HSN in Manhattan. She strikes us as an uptown girl, and that’s certainly the direction she is taking the No. 2 home shopping channel. Madison Avenue is what HSN is aspiring to.

Grossman’s strategy is to attract younger, hipper women to HSN. To do that, she has brought on a load of new Manhattan-based vendors, such as Stefani Greenfield and Badgley Mischka. Now, they won’t have to take a plane trip to Florida.

The blonde Grossman’s strategy that has meant that veteran HSN vendors such as Suzanne Somers parted ways with the Southern Channel. The blonde actress-author-entrepreneur is now on ShopNBC.

Of course, The Observer had to take some pot shots at HSN. Welcome to Manhattan pretensions.

“What better place to hawk tracksuits and sweater sets than a Madison Avenue penthouse?” The Observer wrote, calling “the Home Shopping Network…that seemingly inevitable destination of ex ‘Project Runway’-ers” and P. Diddy.

First of all, HSN changed its name years ago from Home Shopping Network. And second, it’s QVC that has the former ‘Project Runway’ winner, namely Chloe Dao.

It is true that Sean “Diddy” Combs is selling men’s fragrance on HSN, and it sold out on his first visit.

ShopNBC’s Suzanne Somers And HSN’s Lauren Hutton Figure Prominently In New York Times Story On Big Pharma And Menopause Drugs

Illustration from New York Times story on controversy over Big Pharma and menopausal drugs

Former HSN vendor Suzanne Somers, who is now on ShopNBC, and current HSN beauty vendor Lauren Hutton are both featured Sunday in a New York Times story on menopausal hormone drugs.

The business story is headlined “Menopause, As Brought To You By Big Pharma,” and it chronicles the history and litigation revolving around drugs such as Prempro, a hormone drug made by pharm giant Wyeth.

According to The Times, more than 13,000 poeple have filed suit against Wyeth charging that its menopause drugs caused breast cancer and other medical problems.

Hutton, a former model who now sells a makeup line for women over 40 on HSN, appeared in commercials for Prempro.

According to The Times, in one spot Hutton said, “My doctor said if you don’t replace estrogen that you lose at menopause, your risk for certain age-related diseases could increase.”

The very end of the lengthy story talks about actress-best-selling-author Somers’ and her advocacy of so-called “bio-identical hormones” in her books “The Sexy Years” and “Ageless.”

“With sales of more than 2 million books, Ms. Somers has become a menopause guru to millions,” The Times writes.

But newspaper also quotes Dr. Lynne Shuster, director of the women’s health clinic at the Mayo Clinic, who argues that bio-identical hormones haven’t been studied in depth and don’t have approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Formerly Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty Suzanne Somers

In an interview with The Times, 63-year-old Somers defended the hormones as safe, and provided the newspaper with stories from medical journals in support of her position.

Somers also takes credit in The Times story for “making the word ‘menopause’ mentionable.”

The blonde Somers, who moved her line of jewelry, clothes and nutritional items to ShopNBC after 17 years at HSN, also has described in detail what menopause without hormone replacement meant for her.

According to The Times, Somers says that she suffered “The Seven Dwarves of Menopause,” namely “Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful, All Dried Up.”

Too much information, girlfriend. Too much information.

Somers’ books often spark controversy and put her at odds with the medical establishment. Her latest tome, “Knockout: Interviews With Doctors Who Are Curing Cancer, And How To Prevent Getting It In The First Place,” created a firestorm and drew criticism from the American Cancer Society.

But “Knockout” is “a No. 1 NY Times bestseller,” according to Somers’ Web site.

QVC, HSN and ShopNBC Should Give Thanks For Home Shopping’s Sea Change: They’ve Attracted Luxury Brands Like Gucci, Badgley Mischka And Stephen Dweck

QVC CEO Mike George

We thought we were seeing things a few days ago when we checked ShopNBC’s Web site and saw that it was selling dozens of Gucci watches. What happened, did they fall off a truck? Why was Gucci, a premier luxury brand, being sold on a home shopping network?

Then back in October, we couldn’t believe it when a sharp-eyed poster on QVC’s jewelry forum said that upscale jewelry designer Stephen Dweck, whose chunky gemstone masterpieces are featured in Neiman Marcus, was on the No. 1 home shopping network’s schedule. THE Stephen Dweck?

We checked QVC’s program guide ourselves, and there it was: Dweck was doing a lower-priced jewelry line for QVC called Dweck’s Diamonds. His Neiman Marcus pieces didn’t even have diamonds. The high-end stuff is made with semi-precious stones.

Also in October, we were checking the press releases on HSN’s Web site when we saw the network had struck a deal with one of the most famous and elite fashion houses: Badgley Mischka, designers of bejeweled gowns for the red carpet and celebrities.

We’ve written bits and pieces of this during the past two months, but we thought we’d tie it all up in a tidy package for Thanksgiving: There has been a sea change in the home shopping world, prompted by the disastrous economy and the crash of the luxury market.

Yes, home shopping networks have seen their sales hurt by the economy, like everyone else. But they claim they are still managing to steal market share from brick-and-mortar retailers. In fact, QVC is making a full-frontal assault on them this Black Friday, with 28 hours of special products and programming stunts starting Thanksgiving night.

The consumer press will continue to mention “cubic zirconia” in every story it writes about QVC or HSN, oblivious to the fact that some of the most esteemed names in fashion, jewelry and cosmetics — brands you find in Saks, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus — are plying their wares on the aforementioned home shopping channels.

ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart

Male journalists are blind to this. You still have the nerds at Gawker, a snide Web Site for the navel-gazing media, chiding HSN for selling “useless crap.”

If you have ever seen how male journalists dress or their fashion and style sensibilities, you will realize that you can’t expect them to know names like Badgley Mischka, Judith Ripka, Robert Lee Morris, our fellow Montclair, N.J., resident Bobbi Brown, Yves Saint Laurent, Smashbox, Lancome and Dweck. And these brands and artists don’t represent “useless crap.”

Luxury-good makers are hurting, and they need to make up their loss in sales. So they are turning to outlets like QVC, as CEO Mike George explained at a recent Liberty Media conference, as outlets to distribute new lower-priced lines to the masses. George cited fashion designer Vivienne Tam’s QVC alliance at the meeting held in Manhattan by his parent company, Liberty.

“This complete implosion of luxury retailing in America has caused all these folks to rethink their business model,” George said.

And that means partnering with QVC, HSN or ShopNBC.

As we said, it will take the consumer press years to figure out that home shopping channels are distribution powerhouses that have undergone a transformation, in part because of the infllux of talent like a Morris, who does couture jewelry for designers like Donna Karan and RLM Studio sterling silver jewelry for QVC.

The Big Three — QVC, HSN and ShopNBC — are aggressively trying to broaden their audience and potential customer base, those who don’t normally watch any of these three networks. That means the three are actually “programming” the channels, doing “shows” that have entertainment value, not just product shilling, so they will attract non-QVC or non-HSN watchers.

We remember once interviewing a QVC exec years ago and asking what the network’s ratings were. He said ratings were irrelevant: QVC was only concerned about how many products were sold in an hour.

HSN CEO Mindy Grossman

That’s a totally different tune from what we heard recently from QVC’s George, and from the strategies that HSN CEO Mindy Grossman and ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart have initiated.

Like traditional TV networks, the home shopping players want viewers to “sample” a QVC or an HSN. These new audience members, hopefully, will then see products that they want to buy.

For example, singer Natalie Cole recently did a live concert on HSN to promote a new Holiday CD set she is selling on the channel. If you’re a fan, you might tune in to HSN to see her, and then actually decide to purchase her CD. Artists such
as Jose Feliciano have also performed live on QVC.

QVC alum Stewart on a recent third-quarter conference call pointed out that actress-entrepreneur Suzanne Somers, who came to ShopNBC from HSN, had succeeded in attracting new viewers to Minneapolis-based ShopNBC because she was “entertaining.” And these networks want new eyeballs.

And home shopping networks’ capacity to reach millions of consumers and do fulfillment of orders has not been lost on magazine publishers, celebrities or cable’s reality TV stars. With circulation falling, women’s magazines such as Lucky, Allure, Glamour and Self are partnering with HSN to sell subscriptions.

And stars have seen the light. In a recent interview in Oprah Winfey’s O magazine, Joan Rivers, who’s had a jewelry line on QVC for almost 20 years, told O she was on home shopping when “nobody except dead celebrities was doing merchandise on TV.”

Nowadays, it’s hard to find a celebrity or TV star who doesn’t have a home shopping line. Even Madonna was interviewed on HSN when she was selling her children’s book.

Here’s a partial list:

Paula Abdul, HSN, formerly “American Idol,” Fox

Rachel Zoe, QVC, “The Rachel Zoe Project,” Bravo

Isaac Mizrahi, QVC, “The Fashion Show,” Bravo

Padma Lakshmi, HSN, “Top Chef,” Bravo

Ramona Singer, HSN, “The Real Housewives of New York City,” Bravo

Susan Lucci, HSN, “All My Children,” ABC

Carson Kressley, QVC, “How to Look Good Naked,” Lifetime Television

Dr. Robert Rey, ShopNBC, “Dr. 90210,” E! Entertainment Television

Tori Spelling, HSN, “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” Oxygen

Paula Deen, QVC, Food Network

Rachael Ray, QVC, “The Rachael Ray Show,” syndication

Ingrid Hoffmann, HSN, Food Network and Univision

Home shopping is a big business. ShopNBC is the also-ran in the group, but in the third quarter Stewart made some nice progress cutting its losses. Sales for the Big Three were all down, but down less than previous quarters.

And we are not talking chump change for these networks. The three home shopping channels generated $8.3 billion in net revenue in 2008. QVC domestic posted $4.9 billion, HSN netted $2.8 billion and ShopNBC had $568 million.

Even with revenue still slipping this year, for the first nine months QVC had revenue of $3.308 billion; HSN had net sales of $1.4 billion; and ShopNBC had $372.6 million in net sales.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Very Skinny Suzanne Somers In ShopNBC Photo: Is It The Result Of A Photo Touch-Up, The EZ Gym, Somersize Or The ‘Shaper Garment’?

Actress-entrepreneur Suzanne Somers is back at ShopNBC Friday with the network’s Top Value, a $66 EZ Gym.

It includes a pulley system, a travel bag, wall posters and an instructional DVD. Call us cynics, but Somers looks suspiciously thin in the photo ShopNBC has online showing her demonstrating the EZ Gym. We think there was some PhotoShop work done here.

This visits Somers, who moved to ShopNBC from HSN this fall, also has apparel, beauty and nutritional items, including Somersize food products. There are protein bars and protein shakes, for example.

Somers is also selling a new “shaper garment,” Maybe she’s wearing that in the photo.

ShopNBC Has Gained Traction For Turnaround, CEO Keith Stewart Says

Keith Stewart

ShopNBC saw a slip in sales, but substantially cut is losses in the third quarter, prompting officials to say Wednesday that the company’s turnaround is moving forward.

“The turnaround of ShopNBC has gained traction,” ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart said during a third-quarter conference call.

“Changes to the business merchandising efforts are starting to unlock our customers growth potential,” he added. “And once you have traction, it’s full speed ahead…Q4 is the right quarter to continue accelerating forward.”

Third-quarter revenue was $119.4 million versus $124.8 million, a 4 percent drop versus the same period last year, as ShopNBC intentionally lowered its average selling price by 49 percent and increased unit volume by 90 percent. Net average selling price was lowered to a record $95 during the quarter versus $187 in the year-ago quarter.

“This reduction in our average selling price is an essential part of our strategy to increase viewership, rebuild out customer base and increase unit volume,” ShopNBC chief financial officer Frank Elsenbast said.

He noted that ShopNBC had changed its product mix to more health, beauty and home items and less high-ticket consumer electronics products.

Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $5.6 million compared to a loss of $13.3 million in the year-ago period. The net loss for the third quarter was $12.9 million compared to a $20.8 million for the same quarter last year.

Net sales in the first nine months were $372.6 million, a drop from $423 million in the prior-year period. The net loss for the first nine months was $33.2 million, down from $54 million a year ago.

In the third quarter ShopNBC got 1.1 new customers each minute every day, and saw 4 percent growth in net orders, the first increase in seven quarters, according to Stewart.

Judy Crowell

The network added 122 vendors, included big names like actress Suzanne Somers and celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Rey, who has a show on E! Entertainment Television.

SHopNBC is now “the definitive destination for watches,” with sales up 66 percent in the third quarter, according to Stewart.

Beauty “was another out-performer in the quarter, and it’s firing on all cylinders,” Stewart said.

Beauty sales were up 77 percent over last year, with 29 new brands launched, including Rey’s skincare line.

On the fashion side, ShopNBC debuted 50 new brands and concepts in the third quarter with sales up 6 percent, according to Stewart. It will launch 17 fashion lines before the end of the year, including the Judy Crowell Collection, from the former QVC and HSN host.

Stewart was upbeat about the home shopping business in general and ShopNBC in particular.

“This industry itself will continue to grow over brick-and-mortar,” he said. “The power of the Internet and television is pretty tough to beat.”

As for ShopNBC, the CEO said, “We also have stated previously we will double our sales every five years.”

The network needs 15 percent compound growth quarterly to achieve that target, according to Stewart.

ShopNBC Says Actress Suzanne Somers Has Been A Hit On The Network, Drawing New Customers

Suzanne Somers

ShopNBC claims that its new vendor, actress/entrepreneur Suzanne Somers, has been a huge success on the network.

In one of home shopping’s hottest stories this year, Somers left HSN after more than a dozen years there and joined ShopNBC to sell apparel, beauty jewelry and nutritional items.

“We’re very pleased with the sales results of Suzanne and the products that Suzanne has brought to us,” ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart said during a third-quarter conferece call Wednesday.

She has even succeeded in bringing in new eyeballs to ShopNBC.

“In fact, she has a very high new-customer count for the sector where she operates, primarily beauty and fitness and apparel,” Stewart said. “Most recently in her last visit, 32 percent of her orders came from new customers. For someone that has been in the industry for so long, that’s an amazing statistic in itself.”

Shortly after debuting on ShopNBC in September, best-selling author Somers became the center of a storm of controversy over her new book on alternative treatments for cancer, “Knockout: Interviews With Doctors Who Are Curing Cancer, And How To Prevent Getting It In The First Place.”

But there was apparently no blow-back on ShopNBC, which believes Somers will draw an audience.

“We also anecdotally believe that Suzanne brings tremendous viewership opportunities,” Stewart said. “That’s how we pull in new customers. When you see Suzanne on the air, you stop. You want to listen to her. She’s a very, very bright woman. So we’re pleased to have Suzanne aboard.”

When investor asked if ShopNBC had offered any special incentives or stock to Somers to get her to come over.

Stewart told him that there were no special deals, that ShopNBC buys products from vendors like Somers and then sells them online and on the air.

“It’s really the long-term potential that all these new vendors see at ShopNBC,” Stewart said. “They know how big this industry is and how fast it is growing…“The economics are no different than any other vendor.”

The CEO added that talent like Somers are “are smart, smart people,”

According to Stewart, “It’s really the long-term potential that all these new vendors see at ShopNBC. They know how big this industry is and how fast it is growing.”

He added that has a great team in place at ShopNBC to lure celebs like Somers, people who were with him “in another life,” namely at QVC.

The investor remained perplexed about why Somers would join a smaller shopping network than HSN, but it’s no secret.

HSN’s new management, led by CEO Mindy Grossman, is looking to add new vendors to the No. 2 home shopping channel to attract younger, hipper customers. Somers did not fit into that new strategy. And HSN had been whittling down the kinds of products that Somers was selling, like her Somersize line.

ShopNBC Reports 4 Percent Revenue Drop In Third Quarter, But The Home Shopping Network Cuts Losses In Half

New ShopNBC vendor Suzanne Somers

ShopNBC saw sales slip 4 percent in the third quarter as it shifted its product mix and lowered its average selling price, but the beleaguered No. 3 home shopping network substantially cut some of its losses, the company reported Wednesday.

Third-quarter revenue was $119.4 million versus $124.8 million in the same period last year, as ShopNBC intentionally lowered its average selling price by 49 percent and increased unit volume by 90 percent. Net average selling price was lowered to a record $95 during the quarter versus $187 in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $5.6 million compared to a loss of $13.3 million in the year-ago period. The net loss for the third quarter was $12.9 million compared to a $20.8 million for the same quarter last year.

Customer trends continued to improve with new and active customers up a record 118 percent and 64 percent, respectively, in the third quarter.

Increased customer demand in the quarter led to a 4 percent growth in net orders over last year, the company’s first increase in seven quarters. This is an acceleration of the company’s first half performance of new and active customer growth of 60 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

Return rates for the quarter were 21.9 percent versus 29.2 percent in the year-ago quarter, reflecting improvements in delivery time, customer service, product quality, and lower price points. The customer service contact rate decreased 24 percent in the quarter.

ShopNBC’s Gross profit margin was 33.2 percent, 130 basis points lower compared to last year, driven primarily by increased promotional activity. These promotions contributed to the significant new customer growth the company achieved in the quarter.

ShopNBC noted that it had added a record 122 new vendors to the new and existing merchandise categories of home, fashion, beauty and jewelry.

ShopNBC CEO Keith Stewart

The company launched 58 new show titles, product categories and brands in the quarter, such as Suzanne Somers, Esprit Outerwear, Laundry by Shelli Segal, Sensual Solutions by Dr. Robert Rey, Sensa Weight-Loss System, Brilliante Purely Platinum, the Culinary Institute of America and Griot’s Auto Care.

And a record 103 new guests, 90 of those being experts in their field, were added to the network’s talent ranks, including the hottest celebrity hair stylist Ted Gibson, chef Marcus Samuelson and shoe expert Meghan Cleary.

Operating expenses were trimmed $12 million year-over-year or 20 percent in the quarter. This decrease was driven by broad-based reductions in the company’s cost structure, including lower cable and satellite fees, lower headcount versus the prior-year period, and a significant decline in transactional costs in the areas of order capture, customer service, credit and fulfillment.

In the quarter, ShopNBC successfully concluded all of its carriage agreements that were up for renewal in the last year while preserving 100 percent of its distribution footprint of 73 million homes, leading to a cost savings of about $24 million in 2009 and improved channel positions in many markets.

“Merchandising efforts to unlock our customer growth potential showed real signs of progress in the third quarter, as we build new businesses in strategic product categories,” ShopNBC president and CEO Keith Stewart said in a prepared statement.

“Record gains were made in new and active customer counts,” he said. “Net shipped units were at record levels. E-commerce is proving to be a powerful complement for additional growth. With a focus on delivering a premium shopping experience across our multichannel platform of TV and the Web, the customer is reacting strongly to our initiatives.”

Stewart added, “Year-to-date EBITDA, as adjusted, is $18.2 million better than last year. We are highly focused on delivering the high expectations that have grown during the turnaround of ShopNBC. I remain confident about our fourth quarter plans.”