Qurate Retail President and CEO David Rawlinson II shared a three-year company turnaround plan called Project Athens designed to stabilize and differentiate the core businesses while expanding the company’s leadership in video streaming commerce.
The five-point plan, outlined by Rawlinson (pictured above) in a livestream presentation, includes actions to strengthen customer relationships, improve execution, reduce costs, optimize the brand portfolio and grow streaming, the company reported.
- Improve Customer Experience and Grow Relationships. In its followup to the appointment of Mike Fitzharris as president of QVC U.S and Rob Muller as president of HSN, Qurate is doubling down by positioning QVC as the premier experiential retailer for women over 50 who love to shop; and HSN as a destination for 40-plus boutique shoppers looking to celebrate their uniqueness and individuality.
- Rigorously Execute Core Processes. Qurate Retail Group tells the human story behind a product, sharing it as part of a clear and compelling value proposition for the merchandise involved. And it will increase the rigor around the process that delivers the goods in areas such as assortments, pricing and programming.
- Lower Cost to Serve. Qurate Retail Group is resetting its cost base to improve profitability and cash generation. Over the next 24 to 36 months, the company plans to reduce operating costs in its fulfillment network and improve delivery times while following up on opportunities in product costs, supplier costs, inventory, real estate footprint and staffing.
- Optimize Brand Portfolio. Qurate Retail Group is exploring strategic opportunities at Zulily and Cornerstone brands based. Zulily aims to benefit from influencer marketing trends and excess inventory across retail. Cornerstone plans to deliver strong top- and bottom-line performance over the next two years.
- Build New High-Growth Businesses. The video streaming shopping market is at a tipping point, and Qurate Retail Group is poised to benefit on large screens such as smart TVs with the company’s newest business unit, vCommerce Ventures, launching several new, exclusive content program and deal concepts. For small screens, such as smartphones, the company is developing a next-generation shopping app featuring vendors with self-made content.
Rawlinson noted Qurate streaming viewership has grown by more than 70% since the beginning of the year; and monthly active QVC+ and HSN+ user audiences for their streaming experiences have grown to almost 600,000.
Project Athens will not happen overnight or without hard choices and relentless focus on execution, Rawlinson said, adding the company’s intent is returning Qurate Retail Group to stable revenue and double-digit compound annual growth in OIBDA and free cash flow through 2024.
“We are fully committed to the successful execution of this transformation plan,” Rawlinson stated. “Qurate Retail has a highly differentiated core live video streaming business that is the worldwide leader in video-based commerce with a loyal, subscription-like, higher-income customer base that is engaged. We have a clear and executable transformation plan that is poised to deliver a stable top line and an expanding bottom line over the next three years. We also have the opportunity to exploit market-leading complementary brands for mom and for home, and we are well positioned to take advantage of two fast growing trends: streaming and livestream shopping.”
