U.S. web sales for QVC Inc. were up moderately in the first quarter, but it is Liberty Media Group Inc.’s niche online retailers that are providing the fastest growth.
QVC’s domestic web sales grew by 4.5% in Q1 to $282.2 million from $270 million in the prior year. At the same time QVC, a unit of Liberty Media and No. 11 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, reported domestic revenue of $1.18 billion vs. U.S. sales of $1.17 billion in the prior year.
Overall QVC in the first quarter had combined domestic and international operating income of $250 million on total sales of $1.76 billion, compared with total operating income of $243 million on sales of $1.68 billion in Q1 of 2007. In the first quarter, the web accounted for 24% of QVC’s U.S. sales, compared with 23% in the prior year. Liberty Media and QVC don’t break out international e-commerce sales.
“While we demonstrated slight revenue and operating cash flow improvement in a challenging retail environment, our results this quarter remained below targets,” says QVC president and CEO Mike George. “We continue to invest in attracting new customers and pleasing existing customers by expanding and upgrading products, enhancing QVC.com and showcasing products in an entertaining format.”
Liberty also continues to grow Liberty Interactive, a new business unit that includes recent acquisitions such as Backcountry.com, Provide Commerce, Bodybuilding.com and BuyCostumes.com. Year-over-year revenue and operating cash flow grew by 113% and 144%, respectively, though Liberty Media didn’t break out any specific numbers. “Liberty's other e-commerce businesses had strong financial results in the first quarter and continue to grow at a rapid pace,” the company says.
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