QVC Parent Completes $2.1B Acquisition of HSN

Liberty Interactive Corp, parent of cable and online shopping service QVC, has completed its acquisition if HSN, Inc. (HSNi) in a $2.1 billion deal. The acquisition creates the third-largest e-commerce company in the U.S., behind Amazon and Walmart. The QVC Group now comprises eight retail brands: QVC, HSN, zulily, Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road and Improvements.

“We are a third way to shop — beyond traditional brick-and-mortar or transactional ecommerce,” said Mike George, President and CEO, QVC, Inc., who leads the QVC Group. “We’re a select group of like-minded businesses, offering highly engaging, content-rich shopping experiences for customers who want more than an impersonal transaction.”

The newly expanded QVC Group is now reaching consumers via 17 television networks and multiple e-commerce sites, social pages, mobile apps, print catalogs, and in-store destinations.

“We bring together large audiences of enthusiastic shoppers across our platforms,” George said. “We deliver increasingly personalized content to customers through our powerful data analytics and machine learning. And across our brands, we build strong personal connections and long term relationships with our customers, achieving outstanding levels of customer loyalty and retention.”

With approximately 27,000 team members, the QVC Group brings together highly engaged, highly innovative teams to learn from and inspire each other. Teams drawn from across the organization will share ideas and collaborate on new product discovery, content development, digital innovation, data analytics, and other areas.

"We welcome the HSNi team to our company, creating the leader in discovery-based shopping," said George. "The combination of QVC, HSNi and zulily will enhance the customer experience, accelerate innovation, strengthen our brands and allow us to leverage our resources and talents."

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Hear QVC outline the importance of IT and the Business working together to solve key challenges facing many retailers at NRF 2018 on Sunday, January 14 from 10:45 to 11:30. Todd Sprinkle, Chief Digital Officer and Mary Campbell, Chief Interactive Experience Officer, QVC Group, will share their insights in the "Technology and the business: An essential partnership" session.

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HSN will continue to be based in St. Petersburg, FL, and Ballard Designs, Frontgate, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road, and Improvements will continue to be based in their current locations.

Mike Fitzharris, formerly representative director and chairman, QVC Japan, has been named president of HSN and Claire Spofford, formerly president, Garnet Hill, has been named president of Cornerstone. Both will report to George. In addition, the Liberty Interactive board of directors has been expanded by one to include Fiona Dias, previously a director of HSNi.

Liberty Interactive Corporation completed the acquisition of the 62% of HSNi it did not already own in an all-stock transaction. As a result, shares of HSNi common stock no longer trade on Nasdaq.