Managerial Expectations for Technology at QVC, Inc.
During the early 1990s, tens of millions of American consumers gained access to cable television and a number of retailers took note of this technological innovation by launching cable television programming featuring their products. These new shopping venues quickly became enormously popular with many consumers because of their convenience, value and wide range of merchandise. One of the companies that emerged from this initial foray into unknown marketing waters was QVC, Inc., which has used emerging technologies to grow its business in innovative ways. To determine how managerial expectations for technology have affected QVC's growth in recent years, this paper provides a review of the relevant literature concerning past expectations as well as how current technologies are meeting the company's business needs. A summary of the research and important findings are provided in the conclusion.
Review and Analysis
By the early 1990s, nearly two-thirds of American consumers had cable television in their homes (Copley, 2004). Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel (also founder of the Franklin Mint), QVC, Inc. (hereinafter alternatively "QVC" or "the company") has grown its business by taking advantage of this emerging technology to improve the retailing experience for tens of millions of loyal customers. Standing for "quality," "value" and "convenience," QVC's management team has leveraged the home shopping channel into a global enterprise that includes the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Europe (Copley, 2004). The business model has been enormously successful, and QVC even established a sales record for a new public company in American business history during its first full year of operation (QVC at a glance, 2012).
Today, QVC carries a wide range of products comparable to those found in large high-quality department stores, but it reaches far more customers with its televised programming than its competitors....
In this regard, Lawrence (2010) reports that, "QVC is the digital television channel which broadcasts 24 hours a day, 17 hours of them live, selling everything from bed linen to garlic peelers, facial bullworkers (a machine to exercise those saggy jowls), joints of beef, computers and pearl necklaces to millions of viewers every day" (p. 70). According to the company's promotional literature, "Reaching more than 98 million U.S. households and approximately 195 million cable and satellite homes worldwide, QVC became the first multimedia retailer to offer a native high-def service to customers in May 2009" (QVC at a glance, 2012, para. 2).
While QVC remains committed to its televised sales programming, the company's online services at QVC.com are also enormously popular (Parsons, 2008), with more than 6 million monthly visitors (QVC at a glance, 2012). Furthermore, QVC in Germany and the United Kingdom have both launched their own highly popular interactive Web sites as well (Copley, 2004). To its credit, the company also ensures that televised programming is culturally sensitive and appropriate to its setting through the use of local national producers and on-air personalities, all with an overarching reliance on technology to support the process. For instance, Lawrence reports that in the United Kingdom, "The QVC set-up is incredibly swish; a three-storey, ultra-modern office block near Battersea power station, with three TV studios, all linked electronically to an enormous warehouse in Liverpool, from where stock updates are relayed through to the on-air presenter" (2010, p. 70). This business model, replicated in other venues, has provided the company with a competitive advantage by reducing the number of humans that are involved through technological innovations. In this regard, Lawrence adds that, "Far from being the last resort of the underemployed, QVC is now adored by the middle classes too. And unlike most shops, QVC doesn't need armies of sales staff. Instead, there are…
