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| Is ShopNBC really for sale? | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12th, 2008 08:30 pm |
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1st Post |
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tny795 3T WIS 
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http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=502010 From the MINNEAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL 9/11/08 PM: ValueVision Media Inc., which runs the ShopNBC television and online shopping network, said Thursday it's hired an investment banker to review "strategic alternatives" - a corporate term for shopping the company around for a buyer or merger deal. The Eden Prairie company hired Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray & Co. to serve as its financial adviser, and appointed a committee of independent directors to consider possible moves. The panel will consist of independent directors George Vandeman, formerly an Amgen executive, and former Opus Corp. executive Robert Korkowski. A third committee member will be named later. ValueVision (Nasdaq: VVTV) announced the move two weeks after shareholders suggested the organization be put up for sale. Shares of ValueVision were trading Thursday up 14 cents o $2.38.
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 04:02 am |
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2nd Post |
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mcwright Admin 
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It will be interesting to see if they can find a buyer in this market. It is not a great time to be on the block. At least I wouldn't think so. cat28.gif
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 07:22 pm |
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3rd Post |
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tny795 3T WIS
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Angry Shareholders Want ShopNBC Shopped Around Home Shopping Service’s Sales Drop 26% In Q2 By Linda Moss  Irate investors want ShopNBC parent ValueVision Media to shop the beleaguered network around. But management last week said it's trying to lift the home-shopping network's sagging sales by replacing its CEO and bringing in an executive from industry leader QVC. The hue and cry surrounding ShopNBC comes at a time when the home-shopping sector as a whole is seeing a slowdown in sales growth. ValueVision's board faced tough questions and brutal criticism last Monday during a second-quarter conference call, all in the wake of the company posting a 26% drop in revenue, to $142 million, and a net loss of $15.7 million, compared with a net loss of $5.4 million in the year-ago quarter. “It's frankly a shame that you are not hiring an outside investment banker to put the company up for sale,” Debra Fine of Fine Capital Partners said during the call's question-and-answer session. Alan Erinson, who said he was a ValueVision founder and shareholder, also spoke up on the call. “I still own over 100,000 shares and I've seen the stock at $52 and now it's below $3,” he said. “We are, you'll pardon the expression, pissing away our legacy, what we have.” ValueVision actually announced its second-quarter earnings Aug. 22, the same day that it let go president and CEO Rene Aiu, who had only been with the company since March. The board replaced her as CEO with John Buck, who had served in that post on an interim basis from November 2007 until Aiu came in. The company also named QVC veteran Keith Stewart president and chief operating officer. In addition to Aiu, three other officials exited the company: Glenn Leidahl, chief operating officer; Terry Curtis, senior vice president of customer analysis and sales planning; and John Gunder, senior vice president of media and on-air sales. ValueVision, which is 30% owned by GE Commercial Finance-Equity and NBC Universal, is looking at its options, and hasn't decided if it will hire an investment banker, according to a company spokesman. During the conference call, Buck acknowledged that shareholders were “upset, frustrated and losing patience, if not already run out.” He apologized for the company's performance. “The results for the past six months are unacceptable and that's why the board took prompt and decisive action with a leadership change,” Buck said. “I am sorry for the current situation. … We've got such wonderful, wonderful assets, that it is shame on us. … We need to be better stewards of this.” Officials blamed the tough economy, ShopNBC's high distribution costs — namely, the revenue it pays to cable operators — and its high rate of merchandise return, at 33% to 35%, in large part for its financial woes. “We're giving back $300 million in returns,” Buck said. ShopNBC ranks third behind electronic-retailing giants QVC and HSN, which was spun off by IAC/InterActive Corp. in August. Home-shopping players, like brick-and-mortar retailers, have seen sales growth slow down as worried consumers pull back spending because of the troubled economy. In the second quarter, domestic sales for QVC, a unit of Liberty Media, decreased slightly to $1.181 billion from $1.184 billion in 2007, while operating income before depreciation and amortization, or OIBDA, fell 2% to $286 million. In the same quarter HSN fared better: Revenue increased 11%, to $460.9 million, with operating income up 23%, to $26.7 million. A “majority” of ShopNBC's carriage deals with cable operators and satellite providers, representing 65% of its distribution, expire at the end of the year, and the network recently signed an extended carriage deal with a top-five cable operator, according to Buck. ShopNBC is in 70 million homes. “We are pleased with the progress made so far and are seeing a meaningful reduction in our cable-distribution carriage fees,” Buck said. NBC Universal handles ShopNBC's affiliate sales. Multichannel News Copyright © 2008 Reed Business Information A division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13th, 2008 09:21 pm |
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4th Post |
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scottran 3T WIS 
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I hate to see any company having trouble. I know how tough it is owning a business. I think they may need more personel changes than just at the top.
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 12:28 am |
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5th Post |
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Skipdawg 3T WIS 
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I think I have a spare nickle laying around here some where. :P :D
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14th, 2008 10:29 am |
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6th Post |
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KenC Admin 
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scottran wrote: I hate to see any company having trouble. I know how tough it is owning a business. I think they may need more personel changes than just at the top. I hate to see any REPUTABLE company having trouble. My experience is that SlopNBC does not operate in an acceptable, ethical manner. While I am, admittedly, not familiar with most of their merchandise offerings, I cannot imagine that their Watch Shows are atypical. They offer "so-so" merchandise, primarily from a company touted as one of the (if not the) worst watch manufacturers in the world. They allow the owner to constantly and consistently misrepresent his merchandise and they know full well about the company's reputation of non-existent customer service. Add to that, the fact that the Watch Shows are primarily hosted, if we can believe the overwhelming evidence posted on the cigar forums by those who have been "screwed"....those individuals with personal knowledge of his activities (and I do), a known con-artist. SlopNBC is well aware of his reputation and has made no effort whatsoever to correct the situation...he is equal to the Invicta owner with his BS, product and customer service reputation...and yet, SlopNBC make no effort to adhere to even the basics of "truth in advertising" or product presentation. The quality of the merchandise and the representation of it is evidenced in their 35% returns rate which is unheard of!!! So, again, I hate to see any REPUTABLE company having trouble, but I do NOT feel badly for SlopNBC! They are now reaping what they sowed....they have knowingly screwed the consumer through less than honest business practices, and now, the consumer is answering back.
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