The New York Times reported that QVC and HSN are undergoing a merger. One of the largest merits of the deal, which cost $2.1 billion, is the strong ecommerce platform both companies have, giving them the ability to tackle competitors such as Amazon.
“The increased scale of this combination will allow us to more effectively compete, we think, in a changing and evolving retail and digital environment,” said Gregory Maffei, the chief executive of Liberty Interactive, which owns QVC.
American Public Media’s Marketplace noted that last year sales grew by 7 percent for QVC. This merger could grow sales by 7 billion dollars, it added – with its eyes on Amazon. Strong mobile platforms and becoming an early adopter in augmented reality could give the QVC-HSN merger an edge as it goes up against other tech giants.
The new company will also set its sights on younger consumers, in light of Baby Boomers spending less money.
This is the second large purchase that Liberty Interactive has made in recent years. Two years ago, it purchased the flash sales website Zulily for $2.4 billion.
