I've been doing business with QVC and HSN for more than 15 years, and there's one question I've probably been asked more than any other:
“I've got a great product. How do I get it on QVC?”
My first answer is usually another question:
“Tell me about the product.”
Because getting a product in front of QVC or HSN isn't really the objective.
Getting the right product, properly developed, properly priced, properly packaged, properly demonstrated and backed by a business capable of supporting it in front of QVC or HSN — that's the objective.
There's a very big difference. During our years working in this business, our teams have helped introduce hundreds of new brands and thousands of products to QVC and HSN, generating millions of dollars in sales across numerous consumer categories.
And every one of those brands started the same way:
They were new to the channel.
So if you've never sold on QVC or HSN before, that's not necessarily a disadvantage.
But being new and being unprepared are two very different things.
A Great Product Isn't Necessarily a Great QVC Product
I've spent most of my career developing products and brands.
I've been involved with everything from cookware and kitchen products to food, housewares and homewares, bed and bath, pet, toys, gifts and other consumer-product categories.
One thing I've learned is that different retail channels require different products — or at least different ways of presenting and merchandising those products.
QVC and HSN are particularly interesting because they give a product something a store shelf or conventional web page rarely can: time to tell its story.
A product can be demonstrated. A problem can be shown. A solution can unfold in front of the customer. The inventor can explain why it was created. A brand can have a personality.
That's enormously powerful.
It's also why some very good retail products aren't particularly good QVC or HSN products. QVC itself tells prospective vendors that it looks for products that are highly demonstrable, solve a problem or make life easier, appeal to a broad audience, and offer unique features and benefits. It also emphasizes products and brands with compelling stories. Those aren't arbitrary requirements. They're clues to how the business works.
Before You Pitch, Ask Yourself Seven Questions
1. Can somebody understand what's special about your product quickly?
I don't mean, “Can you explain it?” Almost anything can be explained eventually.
I mean: Can you show it?
What happens when your product is placed next to the thing the customer already owns? Does something happen? Does it work faster? Better? More easily? Can we see the problem — and then watch your product solve it?
If it takes five minutes of technical explanation before somebody understands why they should care, we probably have work to do.
Sometimes that work means changing the presentation. Sometimes it means changing the product.
2. Is there enough of a story?
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of television retail.
“Story” doesn't mean inventing a heartwarming marketing tale. It means answering the customer's natural questions: Why does this exist? Why is it different? Why should I care? Why should I buy it now?
Sometimes the story is the inventor. Sometimes it's the technology. Sometimes it's a problem everybody has experienced but nobody has solved particularly well. Sometimes it's simply a familiar product redesigned in a genuinely clever way.
The best stories are usually already inside the product. Our job is to find them.
3. Is the product configured correctly?
Here's where years of product development become particularly important.
The item you currently sell may not be the item you should offer on QVC or HSN.
Perhaps it should be a two-pack. Perhaps it needs accessories. Perhaps there should be several colors. Perhaps a family of products should become one configuration. Perhaps an exclusive size, pattern, feature or bundle creates a stronger proposition.
QVC itself recognizes exclusivity not only in products, but in configurations, bundles, upgraded versions and other product characteristics.
Bundling isn't simply putting more things in a box. Done properly, it changes the value proposition, economics, demonstration and competitive positioning of the entire offer.
We've spent years doing exactly that.
4. Do the numbers actually work?
This is where enthusiasm has to meet a spreadsheet.
You need to understand your manufacturing cost, freight, packaging, warehousing, margins, returns, inventory requirements and the economics of the proposed retail price.
A product can be terrific and still have the wrong economics.
Sometimes we can fix that. Maybe the product needs to be sourced differently. Maybe the packaging is too expensive. Maybe the configuration is wrong. Maybe there's a manufacturing change that lowers cost without damaging quality. Maybe the retail price simply doesn't leave enough room.
I've spent decades developing and sourcing products around the world. Long before anyone discusses television time, we need to know whether there's a sustainable business underneath the product.
5. Can you actually supply it if it works?
Everybody worries about whether their product will sell. There's another problem: What happens if it really sells?
Can your factory make enough? Can it make enough consistently? Can you finance the inventory? Can you meet quality standards as volume increases? Can you replenish? Can your packaging and logistics withstand scale?
A successful airing followed by an inability to supply the business isn't the kind of success anybody wants.
HSN's own product-search guidance makes a similar point to prospective vendors: allow adequate time for design, sourcing, testing and development, assess suppliers' quality processes and production capabilities, and pay close attention to safety, performance, workmanship and packaging.
In other words: The factory is part of the product.
6. Who is going to sell it?
A terrific product doesn't walk onto television and demonstrate itself.
Who tells the story? The founder? An inventor? A celebrity? A subject-matter expert? Someone else who authentically belongs with the brand?
Being knowledgeable isn't enough. Being enthusiastic isn't enough either. The person representing the product has to communicate naturally, demonstrate clearly, respond comfortably, and make the customer understand why the product deserves a place in their life. That can be developed and coached. But it shouldn't be an afterthought.
7. What happens after the first airing?
This may be the most important question of all. I don't believe the objective should be: “Get my product on QVC.” The objective should be: “Build a successful QVC business.” Those are entirely different ambitions.
What's product number two? What happens if the first product works? Can the brand expand? Are there logical line extensions? Can we create new configurations? Can we give the customer another reason to come back?
A single product can create a wonderful sales event. A product pipeline can create a brand. And brands create businesses.
So How Do You Actually Get Your Product Considered?
Both QVC and HSN provide ways for prospective vendors to submit products for consideration. QVC's current Product Pitch process begins with an online product submission reviewed by its Product Discovery Team; selected applicants can then speak directly with a buyer.
So yes, you can pursue the process yourself. And for some companies, that's exactly what they should do. But knowing where to submit a product and knowing how to build a product and business that are ready to be submitted are not the same thing. That's where we come in.
Three Ways We Work With Brands
At The Product Foundry, we don't believe every company needs the same relationship with us. Some need advice. Some need someone to take the wheel. And occasionally we find something we like enough that we want to become part of the business ourselves.
1. We Help You Do It — Consulting & Product Readiness
You own the product. You own the company. You develop your own relationship with QVC or HSN. You hire us for the experience.
We can evaluate the product and help work through the things that determine whether it's genuinely ready: product development, configuration and bundling, demonstration, sourcing, costing, pricing, margins, packaging, inventory planning, storytelling, presentation strategy and operational readiness.
Sometimes a company needs a complete readiness program. Sometimes it needs us to solve one specific problem.
You don't have to wait until you have a QVC or HSN opportunity to call us. In many cases, we'd much rather meet you before you pitch.
2. We Do It With You — Representation & Launch Management
Some companies have a terrific product but don't want to learn an entirely new retail business from scratch.
In those situations, The Product Foundry can take a much more active role.
We can work as your representative and help manage the process — from preparing the product and proposition through merchandising strategy, economics, presentation, operational planning and, where appropriate, ongoing development of the business.
Your brand remains your brand. You gain a team that has spent years working inside this very unusual retail environment.
This is a fee-based engagement structured around the needs of the particular company and project.
3. We Do It For You — Strategic Brand Partnership (By Invitation Only)
And then there are the products that make us stop. The ones where we see something special.
For a small number of opportunities, The Product Foundry may consider a deeper commercial relationship in which we purchase the product, develop the opportunity and manage the QVC/HSN business ourselves through our established vendor operations.
We're highly selective about these relationships because now we're not simply advising. We're putting our own resources, organization and reputation behind the opportunity.
One Last Piece of Advice
If you believe you have the next great QVC or HSN product, don't begin by asking:
“How do I get it in front of a buyer?”
Begin with:
“If I get the opportunity, am I ready?”
Because an introduction isn't a business. A purchase order isn't a brand. And one successful airing isn't a strategy. The opportunity is what you build around all of those things.
That's the part of this business that still excites me after more than 15 years. Finding a good idea. Making the product better. Finding the story. Getting the numbers right. Building the proposition. And then seeing whether we can turn it into something much bigger.
From Idea to Market.
Think Your Product Belongs on QVC or HSN?
Before you pitch it, let's find out whether it's ready.
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The Product Foundry LLC is an independent company and is not affiliated with or an agent of QVC or HSN. QVC and HSN independently determine which vendors and products they select. Consulting, representation or other services do not guarantee acceptance, placement, airtime or sales.