QVC may file for bankruptcy, according 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 September, according to its latest earnings report.
The West Chester-based QVC Group is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as its financial troubles mount, according to Bloomberg.
The TV shopping network has been negotiating the voluntary restructuring of billions in debt during confidential conversations with creditors, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
A final decision had not been made on whether the company would file, according to Bloomberg. As of midday Wednesday, a search for “QVC Group” in online court records did not show any bankruptcy filings.
In September, QVC Group had $6.6 billion in debt and $1.8 billion in cash or cash equivalents, according to its latest earnings report.
A QVC Group spokesperson did not return a request for comment from The Inquirer. On Tuesday, company representatives did not immediately respond to Bloomberg or the Philadelphia Business Journal.
After Bloomberg’s article published, QVC Group’s stock price took a nosedive, losing 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 decades, QVC pioneered home shopping.
Before consumers could make purchases on laptops and smartphones, the 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 clothing, electronics, household goods, beauty products, and other wares.
The news of a potential bankruptcy comes after a tumultuous few years.
In early 2025, executives closed HSN’s studio in St. Petersburg, Fla., and consolidated both networks on its West Chester campus, laying off hundreds of employees in the process.
Around the same time, the 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 II, the company’s president and CEO, said in a November 2024 statement. “Our customers are spending dramatically more time on social media, and that is increasingly where they are finding inspiration and shopping.”
The strategy did not prove fruitful.
By May, as President Donald Trump’s tariffs took a toll, Rawlinson 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 August, a 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 changes, QVC’s revenue and operating income have continued to decline, according to earnings reports, and the company has continued shedding customers.
As of September, about 7 million people had shopped on the networks in the past year, down 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 7, which 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 protection, companies usually continue to operate, though they often decide to close locations or downsize in other ways amid the restructuring process.
Saks Global, for instance, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, announced 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.