QVC prepares for bankruptcy protection in the era of influencers, TikTok and Temu
The owner of home shopping network pioneer QVC _ which for years garnered the attention of millions of TV viewers looking for a deal on baubles and housewares, is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
NEW YORK (AP) — The owner of home shopping network pioneer QVC — which for years garnered the attention of millions of TV viewers looking for a deal on baubles and housewares, is planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
A filing about imminent bankruptcy protection by parent company QVC Group, which also owns HSN, formerly the Home Shopping Network, arrives as long-running TV shopping networks struggle to adapt to the rapid shift by consumers now tuning in to livestreams on TikTok, or online marketplaces like Shein.
According to an annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week, the company said that it intends to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas after reaching a restructuring agreement with creditors.
Its goal is to emerge from bankruptcy protection before the summer is over, but the West Chester, Pennsylvania, company warned that its access to funding is difficult to predict. It noted significant fees and other costs in connection with the preparation for the bankruptcy protection.
“We cannot assure that cash on hand, cash flow from operations will be sufficient to continue to fund our operations,” it wrote.
QVC Group has attempted to revive flagging sales for some time, which in 2024 were down almost 30% compared with its peak of more than $14 billion in 2020. Shares in QVC Group, which went for over $900 a decade ago, were trading for less than $3 earlier this week.
Recommended for you
Founded in 1986 by Joseph Myron Segel, QVC, which is short for Quality Value Convenience, built a following primarily of women aged 50 and older, according to Lawrence Duke, a clinical professor of marketing at the university’s LeBow College of Business. He said in a blog post that QVC benefited from repeat purchases by its base of viewers. But that group has aged and is shrinking, he noted.
And competition has increased substantially.
Consumers have increasingly dropped cable subscriptions and look less and less to scheduled programming, Duke said. Such programming has been replaced by live platforms such as TikTok Shop, where consumers can buy products touted by influencers with tens of thousands of followers on Instagram and YouTube. Low-cost marketplaces like Shein and Temu are also commanding more attention, Duke wrote.
QVC has significantly expanded its digital sales and expanded its presence on social media, but those maneuvers have fallen short.
QVC "competes in a crowded marketplace where attention is fragmented and switching costs are low,” Duke said.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.