HSN Plans to Sell Off 2 Catalog Businesses

TV and online retailer HSN Inc. reported a 4 percent drop in net sales and a sharper 36 percent decline in profit for the second quarter, prompting a shuffling of managers and the planned sale of two of the company's apparel lines — TravelSmith and Chasing Fireflies. CEO of HSN, Mindy Grossman, said the company was "focused on execution, combined with disciplined operating expense management and optimizing operational efficiencies," in a statement to the press. To help HSN navigate "a challenging macro environment," the TV/online retailer will focus on selling products with limited availability at other retailers, add new programming and find more compelling partnerships.

Total Retail's Take: It would seem to be a smart move to scale down product lines available at HSN. With a very competitive online retail environment, and competition heating up between HSN and QVC, HSN is scaling down to optimize profits. It seems like catalogs are increasingly becoming a casualty of this cost-cutting mind-set. Victoria's Secret announced earlier this year it would be getting rid of its catalog. I'm interested to see what's in store from HSN.