Make Way For The Moms
QVC and NBC's TODAY Honor the "Mothers of Invention" with a Country-Wide Search for "Mompreneurs"
Apr 13, 2016, 10:52 ET
WEST CHESTER, Pa., April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Calling all moms with a money-making invention! For the second year, QVC is collaborating with NBC's TODAY to discover the next big product to be sold by the world's leading video and ecommerce retailer. Nine budding mom entrepreneurs, or "mompreneurs," will take center stage next week to showcase their creative inventions during TODAY's Next Big Thing 2, a week-long competition where promising mom inventors and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to pitch their breakthrough ideas each day to NBC's TODAY's panel of experts.
The country-wide search began in February as inventors were asked to submit their inventions. From those submissions, nine finalists were chosen across three different categories including: "gadgets for mom's purse," "mom on the go" and "mom gets organized." All of the products are created by moms, for moms. During the week of April 18, the products in each category will be pitched live on NBC's TODAY to a panel of judges that includes Doug Howe, QVC's Executive Vice President of Merchandising, Jill Martin, NBC's TODAY contributor and Creative Director of QVC's contemporary fashion and accessories line, G.I.L.I. got it love it® and Savannah Guthrie, NBC's TODAY anchor.
Beginning Tuesday, April 19, viewers can vote for their favorite product each day by visiting TODAY.com. On Friday, April 22, the inventors of the product receiving the most votes in each category will have one last chance to win over the judges and explain why their product deserves to join the ranks of QVC's best-selling items. The overall winner selected by the judges will sell their product live on QVC Saturday, April 23 at 10AM (ET).
"Joining together with TODAY once again provides us with the opportunity to highlight budding entrepreneurs and inventors across the country," said Howe. "The joy of discovery and the power of storytelling is a big part of what we do at QVC. Through TODAY's Next Big Thing, we're able to discover promising mom entrepreneurs and provide them with national distribution and a powerful platform to showcase the story and inspiration behind their products."
Last September, QVC and TODAY launched TODAY's Next Big Thing. Leslie Pierson, the inventor of GoodHangups, a reusable magnetic display systems for posters, art, photographs and more, was named the winner. The product achieved immediate success on QVC selling out during Pierson's first appearance on air and it continues to be a popular item. The experience has given Pierson the opportunity to expand and further develop her business.
"Presenting my product on TODAY and then QVC was such an amazing opportunity to tell my story and demonstrate my product to millions of people and get instant feedback," said Pierson. "So often in retail, your product is standing on its own either online or on a retail shelf with little or no opportunity to tell the story of how you came up with it or showcase how it works. With QVC, you're talking directly to your customer and have the opportunity to explain your inspiration and demonstrate how it works in a way that's usually not possible."
Over the past 29 years, QVC has launched and fostered the growth of some of today's most successful brands. TODAY's Next Big Thing 2 aligns with QVC's commitment to bring their customers an ever-changing mix of new and innovative products from inventors and entrepreneurs as well as national and boutique brands. It also supports QVC Sprouts®, the ongoing, crowd-sourced product search that seeks the best up-and-coming products from inventors and entrepreneurs, where those with a retail-ready item have the opportunity to sell on QVC.com and the chance to grow their businesses through a scalable and nurturing process.
Tune in to Saturday Morning Q® on QVC Saturday, April 23 at 10AM (ET) for a firsthand look as the TODAY'S Next Big Thing winning invention is showcased. Visit QVC.com to purchase the winning product, plus the products of all nine finalists. To learn more about QVC Sprouts, visit http://www.qvc.com/qvcsprouts.
About QVC
QVC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: QVCA, QVCB), is the world's leading video and ecommerce retailer. QVC is committed to providing its customers with thousands of the most innovative and contemporary beauty, fashion, jewelry and home products. Its programming is distributed to approximately 358 million homes worldwide through operations in the U.S., Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France and a joint venture in China. Based in West Chester, Pa. and founded in 1986, QVC has evolved from a TV shopping company to a leading ecommerce and mobile commerce retailer. The company's website, QVC.com, is ranked among the top general merchant Internet sites. ©2016 QVC, Inc., QVC, the Q and Q Ribbon Logo, are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. and QVC, Inc.
SOURCE QVC, Inc.