Promoting Excellence in (a Formerly) Small Business: QVC, Winner of the Visionary Award

The winner of the Visionary Award for the Chamber’s 2008 Excellence Awards Honoring the Region’s Small Businesses is featured in this issue: QVC. The 26th Annual Excellence Awards Honoring the Region’s Small Businesses will be November 6, 5:30 – 10:30 at the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing.

Visionary Award, QVC (Mike George, President)

PHOTO CREDIT: Mike George, QVC and Bill Sasso, Stradley Ronon. Top Guns Photography

This year marked the inaugural presentation of the Chamber's Visionary Award - honoring a large national or international corporation that began as a small company in Greater Philadelphia and continues to contribute to the growth and success of the regional small business community.

QVC is one of the world's finest electronic retailers. Just over twenty years ago, Joseph Segel, who was also founder of The Franklin Mint, envisioned a new kind of retail service built on technology to provide "Quality, Value and Convenience" in the televised, home-shopping market. In its first full fiscal year, QVC set a record in American business history for sales of a new public company.

In 2005, Michael George was named president of QVC, Inc., and less than a year later was named CEO when then-CEO Doug Briggs retired. Today, QVC is one of the largest multimedia retailers in the world, with annual revenue of more than $7 billion. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Interactive Group (Nasdaq: LINTA). Thirty-four hundred of QVC's 17,000-plus employees are based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Its cable program is distributed to more than 166 million homes worldwide and the company's Web site, QVC.com, is ranked among the top general merchant Internet sites.

QVC is committed to providing its customers with thousands of the most innovative and contemporary beauty, fashion, jewelry, and home products. With subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan, QVC has shipped more than a billion packages in its 21-year history.

Numbers aside, QVC says its philosophy has not changed from its first day in business: exceed customer expectations at every opportunity. The results: QVC continues to attract a customer base it describes as upscale, discerning and loyal. QVC has also attracted a growing list of the world's most recognized consumer brands which have found a way to reach an unprecedented number of new customers while sharing the stories behind their brand.

The award was sponsored by Stradley Ronon.