QVC CEO discounts silver-lined tariff panic and says “all retailers are experiencing this together”, taxation should not prefer “one company” over another company



  • QVC may need to change the supplier and price to adapt According to CEO David Rawlinson II, these changes will not fundamentally change the business on President Donald Trump’s tariffs. My boss said New York Times One of the silver linings of navigating tariffs is that all retailers have to stand up to them.

QVC CEO David Rawlinson II suggested that if there was comfort in President Donald Trump’s sudden tariffs that shook the market and spurred the fear of a recession, he might have found it.

As the shopping network prepares to weather the cards, 145% tax For most imports from China, Rawlinson said QVC is ready to adapt, and at least all retailers are on the same taxable ship.

“I’ll navigate as the environment changes,” says Rawlinson. I said New York Times In an interview released on Friday. “One good thing is that all retailers are going through this together, so it shouldn’t be prioritized over too many retailers.”

QVC represents quality, value and convenience, but we are already thinking about what tariffs mean for businesses in the television and online marketplace. Gregory Maffei, executive chairman of QVC-Parent, said supply from China is “crucial in business.” Quarate RetailI said this in February Call the investorconsider whether you need to give it to the consumer when you add a company.

QVC thrived during the pandemic lockdown, when more prospective shoppers spent time at home watching TV, but the company couldn’t keep up with momentum. Consumers turned their backs on cable bundles in favor of streaming, and QVC saw a sharp competition with platforms like Temu and Shein. QVC announced plans to revive sales earlier this month Partnership with Tiktok Launch 5 non-stop shopping streams in the app.

Rawlinson said that when it comes to customs duties, QVC should evaluate changes in manufacturers, importers or customer prices, but the changes will not shake up the company’s core.

“We may have to buy differently. We may have to source differently. We may have to take different prices,” Rawlinson said. now. “We may compete differently, but the basics of what we do will not change.”

He added: “What really matters is to help people see the path to the other side.”

Many CEOs have despite countless retail executives addressing investor tariff concerns since Trump returned to the White House I kept the level head Regarding the impact of taxation, diversifying supply chains and moving production from China in response to Trump’s first tariffs during his first administration. According to Maffei, QVC is no exception, having acquired a “slight amount” of source supply from China since 2018.

QVC did not respond luckRequest a comment.

Does tariffs affect all retailers equally?

The tariff environment is very unstable and unpredictable, but Moira Weigel, a professor of comparative literature at Harvard University who studies social media and market platforms, says that due to its almost universal dependence on products from China, all retailers need to fight similar supply chain questions.

But not all retailers experience taxation the same way, she says, and the impact can vary depending on the size and type of business platform.

“It’s not unreasonable to believe that tariffs will affect e-commerce and will affect markets like this. Amazon It’s a little different from what they affect Walmart Or a large brick and brick-and-mortar retailer,” Weigel said. luck.

For example, on Amazon, pricing competition is fierce and transparent, Weigel said. Many shoppers are looking for products rather than brands, so they are more likely to buy more affordable products, encouraging their suppliers to keep costs down. Amazon has good reasons to keep costs low, so as not to lose prices and attract criticism from consumers. The same goes for the company Punish some sellers To raise prices as a result of tariffs that led to a sharp drop in sales, luckJason Del Rey of the company reported Friday, citing about 12 sellers.

The relationship between retailers and tariffs can be further complicated by their size and supply chain, Weigel said. Some platforms may rely heavily on Chinese suppliers. Small markets may not have the same resources as giants like Walmart to eat the costs of tariffs rather than hand them over to consumers.

QVC, which curates inventory and spends a lot of resources on the storytelling components of its business, will face unique challenges, said Daninadel, president and chief operating officer of e-commerce advisory feedvisor. luck By email. Because of the entertainment component of the business, QVC is more involved in the platform’s marketing and pricing components, Nadel suggested, making tariffs navigating the rhythm of its operations more disrupted.

“If tariffs reduce costs, delay shipments, or force bundle changes at the last minute, you can throw away the entire rhythm, and QVC needs to pivot quickly, repackage value with vendors, re-adjust their on-air strategies to maintain the customer experience,” she said.

This story was originally introduced Fortune.com


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