Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Friday 7 July 2017
A25

QVC parent buying HSN as shopping power shifts online

By DAMIAN J. TROISE unique, exclusive products
Associated Press at a compelling value.
NEW YORK (AP) — QVC’s Otherwise, he said, com-
parent company is taking petitors including Amazon
control of the Home Shop- and Walmart will be tough
ping Network for about $2.6 to beat online.
billion in stock to create Liberty Interactive Corp.,
what they say will be the which owns QVC already
third-largest e-commerce owned 38 percent of HSN.
company in the United Integrating them will make
States. The companies long them “stronger than they
known as bases for home are individually and stron-
shopping on TV had been ger yet as a stand-alone
dealing with sluggish sales entity” in a “changing and
as Amazon dominates on- difficult market,” said Greg
line. Both had long moved Maffei, Liberty’s president
beyond cable channels and CEO.
and were trying to refash- Under former CEO Mindy
ion themselves for younger Grossman, HSN had worked
shoppers buying more on to build its e-commerce
their mobile phones. presence and transform it-
“They’re a little bit late to self into a lifestyle network.
the dance of the online It derives half of its revenue
arena, but are catching from e-commerce, featur-
up now,” said Craig John- ing more than 50,000 prod- This photo shows a sign outside of the headquarters of the Home Shopping Network on Thursday,
son, president of Customer ucts on its website along July 6, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. QVC’s parent company is taking control of the Home Shopping
Network for about $2.6 billion in stock to create what they say will be the third-largest e-com-
Growth Partners, a retail re- with broadcasting to more merce company in the United States.
search consulting firm. than 90 million households. (Scott Keeler/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
The combination will help Grossman departed for
give QVC and HSN the Weight Watchers earlier this overlapping customers, Zulily, which QVC bought in tomers worldwide and ship
scale they need to take year. Executives on Thurs- their strength in video and 2015, to drive younger cus- more than 320 million pack-
on more established on- day highlighted the poten- the larger reach the two tomers to both brands. ages every year, said Mike
line competitors. A key fo- tial for cost savings, com- will have. The companies Combined, they’ll serve an George, QVC’s president
cus will have to be offering plementary but not wholly also said they hope to use estimated 23 million cus- and CEO.q

Tesla, for now, loses spot as most valuable carmaker in US

By The Associated Press car market shifted a bit
(AP) - After three months as when Volvo announced
the nation’s most valuable that by 2019, it would be
automaker, a bad week producing only electric
in an otherwise stellar year and hybrid vehicles, the
has knocked Tesla from the first traditional automaker
top perch. to make that leap. Volvo,
Over the first six months owned by Chinese firm
of the year, Tesla shares Geely, will launch five fully
gained more than 50 per- electric cars between 2019
cent and the electric car and 2021. q
company passed General
Motors and Ford in mar-
ket cap. But shares have
plunged almost 15 percent
this week, translating to lost
market value of $8.7 billion.
GM has regained the top
spot with a value of $52.67
billion compared with
$50.74 billion for Tesla. A Tesla car recharges at a charging station at Cochran Commons shopping center in Charlotte,
Tesla has been hit by a tri- N.C. After three months as the nation’s most valuable automaker, a bad week in an otherwise
stellar year has knocked Tesla from the top perch.
fecta of bad news, start- (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
ing with a tweet from Tesla
CEO Elon Musk. Shares per month in December,
are on track for their worst which was below previous
weekly percentage de- estimates. Tesla also said
cline since early 2016 — Monday that first-half deliv-
they fell nearly 6 percent eries of the Model S sedan
Thursday alone. and Model X SUV totaled
On Monday, Musk sent about 47,100, at the low
out tweet saying that the end of the company’s pro-
Palo Alto, California, com- jections.
pany anticipates produc- Then on Wednesday, the
tion of 20,000 Model 3 cars dynamics of the electric