Eden Prairie's ShopHQ has another management shakeup, announces programming changes

A senior executive at Eden Prairie-based ShopHQ has been let go, and the cable-shopping channel has undergone a broader organizational restructuring, a move leaders said will improve on-air programming and "accelerate the company's return to profitability."

Executives at ShopHQ's parent company, which last summer changed its name to iMedia Brands Inc., have been trying to steer a turnaround since May, when a new executive team and investor group led by the Invicta Watch Group took over.

Officials declined to comment about the moves or to quantify how many additional jobs were lost.

Effective Jan. 30, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Michael Porter, who had worked at the home-shopping retailer since 2015, was "terminated from his positions" but will be paid as a consultant through the end of February, according to regulatory filings.

Porter had been promoted to those roles in May when new Chief Executive Tim Peterman returned to the company then known as Evine. Peterman had served as chief operating and financial officers at Evine under previous leadership and will take on additional finance and accounting duties until the company finds a replacement for Porter.

The company also has overhauled the way merchandising teams work together and with on-air producers, taking steps to streamline what Peterman described as "a series of complicated internal handoffs among six departments that often resulted in inconsistencies, delays and incompleteness."

The moves will carve off $15 million in annual costs, according to the company, including $10.5 million in salaries and benefits.

Investors haven't signaled their support so far. Shares are down nearly 9% since the announcement last week, closing Monday at $3.37.

Viewers will see changes starting March 1. For the first time, ShopHQ will have a fixed broadcasting schedule.

"We believe television retailing customers prefer predictable routines of watching shows with their favorite hosts, their favorite categories and at their favorite times of day," Peterman said in a news release.

The company will take a $2.1 million charge for the restructuring, which includes $1.9 million in severance expenses.

Online job-loss boards indicate that iMedia has had two rounds of layoffs, one in early October and another in mid-January. Peterman laid off 20% of the corporate workforce in May within his first month, referring to it as a "cost optimization event" that also slashed $15 million in annual overhead.

ShopHQ is a distant third to QVC and HSN in the home-shopping category and hasn't been profitable since 2017.

Peterman and board vice chairman Eyal Lalo, the CEO of Florida-based Invicta Watch Group, have sought to engage a more diverse and male viewership.

It launched the Bulldog Shopping Network in November, which, despite its name, is described as advertising-sponsored original programming "that will not sell anything — it will simply entertain."

A Spanish-language channel, LaVenta Shopping Network, also is in the works.

The company made a splash earlier this year when it inked a deal with basketball superstar, TV personality and restaurateur Shaquille O'Neal to sell a line of Invicta watches on ShopHQ starting in March. Shares of iMedia Brands soared as much as 55% on Jan. 17 after the announcement. More than 15.8 million shares were traded, while a typical full-day trading volume might range from 10,000 to 50,000.

Next month, O'Neal also will debut a one-hour cooking show on ShopHQ called "In the Kitchen with Shaq."

Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335 Twitter: @JackieCrosby