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.
