ShopHQ gets $4M infusion from Invicta as losses swell

Amid widening losses, the parent company of Eden Prairie-based television shopping channel ShopHQ said Wednesday it will receive a $4 million infusion of cash from an investment group tied to its largest vendor, Invicta Watch Group.

The announcement came as iMedia Brands Inc. reported substantial losses in the fiscal fourth quarter. It's the second large infusion from Invicta in recent months and provides the struggling retailer another buffer as shopping slows because of the coronavirus pandemic.

For the quarter ended Feb. 1, the company reported a net loss of $18.4 million compared with a $10 million loss during the same period a year ago. Sales plunged 22% to $124 million.

Shares of iMedia Brand fell nearly 8% Wednesday, to $1.79.

The financing deal with Hollywood, Fla.-based Invicta adds to that company's growing influence over the future of ShopHQ and other projects, such as the recently launched Bulldog Shopping Network, focused on men.

Invicta has been selling its watches on ShopHQ — known through the years as Value­Vision, ShopNBC and Evine — for more than 20 years.

The investment group, Invicta Media Investments, is led by Eyal Lalo, who spearheaded a corporate shake-up last May. At the time, Lalo and his partners sank $6 million into the TV shopping network, which trails competitors QVC and HSN.

In an earnings call, Peterman called fourth-quarter results "a mixed report card" that included growing viewership, the launch of several shows featuring basketball superstar and personality Shaquille O'Neal and the acquisition of St. Paul's heritage brand J.W. Hulme.

Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335

Twitter: @JackieCrosby