QVC may file for bankruptcyaccording to a new report. Here’s what to know.
Bloomberg reported that the West Chester-based home shopping pioneer was in talks with creditors. QVC Group had $6.6 billion in debt in Septemberaccording to its latest earnings report.
The West Chester-based QVC Group is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as its financial troubles mountaccording to Bloomberg.
The TV shopping network has been negotiating the voluntary restructuring of billions in debt during confidential conversations with creditorsBloomberg reported Tuesdayciting anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
A final decision had not been made on whether the company would fileaccording to Bloomberg. As of midday Wednesdaya search for “QVC Group” in online court records did not show any bankruptcy filings.
In SeptemberQVC Group had $6.6 billion in debt and $1.8 billion in cash or cash equivalentsaccording to its latest earnings report.
A QVC Group spokesperson did not return a request for comment from The Inquirer. On Tuesdaycompany representatives did not immediately respond to Bloomberg or the Philadelphia Business Journal.
After Bloomberg’s article publishedQVC Group’s stock price took a nosedivelosing about two-thirds of its value by the end of the trading day.
How QVC got into these financial straits
Based in West Chester for more than three decadesQVC pioneered home shopping.
Before consumers could make purchases on laptops and smartphonesthe network and its smaller counterpart HSN — which until recently was based in Florida — broadcast on live TV at all hours. Anchors sold a wide array of clothingelectronicshousehold goodsbeauty productsand other wares.
The news of a potential bankruptcy comes after a tumultuous few years.
In early 2025executives closed HSN’s studio in St. PetersburgFla.and consolidated both networks on its West Chester campuslaying off hundreds of employees in the process.
Around the same timethe parent company rebranded as QVC Group. Executives said they planned to focus more on livestreaming and social-media shopping to keep up with stiff competition from the likes of TikTok Shop.
“Live social shopping is a natural evolution for us,” David L. Rawlinson IIthe company’s president and CEOsaid in a November 2024 statement. “Our customers are spending dramatically more time on social mediaand that is increasingly where they are finding inspiration and shopping.”
The strategy did not prove fruitful.
By Mayas President Donald Trump’s tariffs took a tollRawlinson said the company was taking steps to cut costs and win back customers who were feeling down on the economy. That included an agreement with TikTok that the CEO said would create “the first 24/7 live shopping experience in the U.S.”
Then in Augusta company spokesperson announced plans to hire about 250 employees by early 2026. It was not clear Wednesday whether those hires were ever made.
Despite these changesQVC’s revenue and operating income have continued to decline, according to earnings reportsand the company has continued shedding customers.
As of Septemberabout 7 million people had shopped on the networks in the past yeardown from 8.1 million in fiscal year 2023.
QVC Group is set to release its fourth quarter 2025 earnings report later this month.
What Chapter 11 bankruptcy could mean for QVC
A Chapter 11 bankruptcy would not mean the end of QVC.
Chapter 11 is different from Chapter 7which involves the liquidation of assets. (Iron Hill Brewery closed all restaurants when it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this fall.)
After filing for Chapter 11 protectioncompanies usually continue to operatethough they often decide to close locations or downsize in other ways amid the restructuring process.
Saks Globalfor instancewhich filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last monthannounced Tuesday that its restructuring would involve the closure of its longstanding Bala Cynwyd store, as well as nine other Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus locations.