QVC Group, whose networks pioneered the concept of live TV shopping in the 1980s and built it into a mainstay of the late-20th century media business, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The voluntary filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Southern Texas was cited by company management as a way to help it transition from TV to live social media retailing via a restructuring program. The move is expected to provide “a more appropriate capital structure,” QVC Group CEO David Rawlinson said. Debt is projected to be reduced to $1.3 billion from $6.6 billion.
The company said its portfolio, which includes QVC, HSN, and Cornerstone Brands, is operating as usual across channels and platforms during the bankruptcy process, which is expected to wrap up this summer. QVC said it has “ample liquidity” to keep the business running, fulfill restructuring obligations to vendors, suppliers and other unsecured creditors, and continue paying employees.
No layoffs or furloughs are planned as part of the restructuring, and employees “should fully expect to continue receiving their wages and benefits without interruption,” the company said in an announcement.
“QVC Group is uniquely positioned to compete and win in live social shopping,” Rawlinson said. “Over the past year, we have become a top seller on TikTok Shop U.S. while expanding our business on streaming and other platforms. We have consolidated our HSN and QVC operations, struck new deals with critical social and media partners, and rebalanced sourcing to account for the changing tariff environment.”
QVC launched in 1986 as an alternative to Home Shopping Network, which had started several years earlier. The two competed for many years. John Malone’s Liberty Media took a controlling stake in HSN during the 1990s. QVC, which had gained early support from Comcast founder Ralph Roberts, was acquired by Barry Diller a short time later.
Years later, when the internet, smart phones and cord-cutting eroded both networks’ business, HSN acquired QVC in a $2.1 billion all-stock deal. QVC Group remains part of the Liberty portfolio, with former Liberty CEO Greg Maffei serving as executive chairman. It rebranded last year from Qurate Retail and also consolidated operations in West Chester, PA, shuttering HSN’s longtime headquarters in St. Petersburg, FL.
