ValueVision Media yesterday announced the premiere of Hartmann luggage, a leader in the travel goods industry for more than 130 years, on Thursday, November 3rd at 11pm ET, during the network’s Holiday Countdown Event. ShopNBC Press Release Nov. 2, 2011
Touchstone Home Products, which manufactures “lift” cabinets for flatscreen televisions, today announced a two-part agreement ShopNBC. Touchstone’s products will be available for sale through the retailer’s usual electronic channels and will also help spruce up its Eden Prairie, Minnesota, sets. Apparently Touchstone has already scored some good publicity on TV. Company Vice President Frank Quinlisk, said “Some of the best exposure Touchstone’s received has been on various home improvement and home fix-up shows, where our cabinets have been displayed. Now viewers who are excited about our cabinets have a direct connection to make their purchase. ” Touchstone Press Release Nov. 1, 2011
Homeshoppingista applauded the return of Dallas Prince to ShopNBC (after a two-year hiatus at HSN) and noted that one of her pieces, a multi-gemstone Etruscan ring, was the Today’s Top Value yesterday. In the press release announcing the return of Prince earlier this month, ShopNBC offered the following mea culpa for allowing a number their branded jewelry lines to walk. Prince’s return is apparently part of making amends:
Shop NBC had several of its brand name jewelry concepts leave during a management change that threatened the success of the multi channel network. However, many changes including the arrival of CEO Keith Stewart and several others from his team at QVC have raised the successful climate at the network. It was a goal to rejuvenate their previous luxury jewelry brands such as Sonia Bitton and Dallas Prince Designs to bring back their high end jewelry customer.
The original ShopNBC press release is available here.
Nancy E. Andres Kunkle (from the Andres Consulting, LLC., website)
Yesterday, ShopNBC appointed Nancy E. Kunkle to the newly-created position of senior vice president of customer experience. Reporting to company CEO Keith Stewart, Ms. Kunkle will lead ShopNBC’s
customer experience program with a mission to maximize customer satisfaction, acquisition and
retention. An alum of both the home shopping business and the military aerospace industry, Ms. Kunkle’s skill set seems to combine an unusual mix of “planes, brains and TV’s best deals.” She can both “lock and load,” and “shop til she drops.”
Ms. Kunkle had worked for ShopNBC as a strategic consultant since April, “focusing on
process engineering and customer engagement initiatives to foster a premium
customer experience,” presumably through her business Andres Consulting, LLC. The following message above the introduction to that site suggests that she will shutter the business to focus on her new, ShopNBC responsibilities:
Oct 10, 2011 update: Dear friends and clients, I am pleased to let you know that, due to a full time assignment with Value Vision Media/ShopNBC, I am no longer available for consulting work in the ecommerce/retail area. Please be sure to visit and shop with ShopNBC! I think you’ll be pleased with the value and customer experience; and by all means let me know if otherwise so we can make improvements. This web site site will remain up only for a limited period of time to allow for contacts via email.
