One of Utah's best known entrepreneurs is helping QVC kick off "Utah Week" - a seven day series of shows that will highlight Beehive State business people and their products and, with any luck, put them on the national map.
Singer and TV star Marie Osmond has enjoyed a successful partnership with the television shopping channel for five years marketing her Marie Osmond Fine Porcelain Collector Dolls.QVC has sold more than $50 million worth of Osmond's dolls since she first appeared on the channel, and her line comprises more than 35 percent of QVC's total doll business.
Utah Week begins Sunday with Osmond appearing at Sundance Resort from noon to 1 p.m. to discuss and sell nine dolls from her collection.
QVC will be broadcasting from several Utah locations throughout the week including the State Fairgrounds on Monday, from 7-10 p.m. before a live audience. In all, 50 businesses will be featured.
Osmond said she has been a lifelong doll collector and when she began designing dolls, she deliberately selected QVC as a major marketing medium.
"First of all, QVC is very quality oriented," Osmond said. "The reason I chose it is because I had a barrier to break in the beginning. I didn't want to be a celebrity endorsing a product - I really design these dolls. These are my golf game, this is how I relax. My time is so limited, I don't spend time on anything that I don't find fun or enjoyment in.
"I thought the best way to get this across is (for viewers) to see me talking about it. And television is the best medium to do that quickly. Other avenues might have taken 15 years," she said. "We have become one of the top-selling doll companies in five years, which I attribute a lot to the power of television.
"QVC also give people a chance to call in, ask questions and talk," Osmond said. "One reason I love QVC is that they (viewers) can hear the stories behind my dolls. There's always something behind it. I get so many fun letters on that."
Osmond now has more than 300 dolls in her line ranging in price from about $25 to $700.
Doll collectors love dolls because they are timeless, beautiful and genuine works of art that can bring different age groups together, Osmond said. "They are something that, if they get old, they get better," she said. "People decorate with dolls. They never get dirty - and they're a lot better for you than chocolate!"
QVC with its audience of 56 million cable households can move products pretty fast:
- Osmond's Olive May Doll, which is named for her mother, was featured as a QVC "Today's Special Value" on Aug. 5, 1995. That one appearance sold 15,000 dolls and fetched more than $2 million.
- Osmond's Mother's Day Greeting Doll shown on QVC during the March 16, 1996, show sold more than 45,000 dolls.
Salt Lake businessman Gregg Murray of Spelcor Inc. doesn't think he'll be selling that many of his products during Utah Week, but he's eager to bring his line of fine art decorated sportswear to a bigger audience.
Working with individual department stores and chains is useful, but with QVC, "We deal with one buyer, write one purchase order and go to one meeting - and we've done the equivalent of 10-20 department store deals," Murray said.
`It's an amazing venue for selling stuff. As a people, we're busier than we've ever been. People want to channel surf, see something they like and say, `Hand me the phone.' We're truly excited about this. There are no guarantees that we're going to sell out, but we're sure excited for the opportunity to try," Murray said.
The Utah Department of Community and Economic Development worked with QVC to bring about the series of shows and helped get the word out so entrepreneurs could apply to be chosen for airtime appearances.
"We see an immediate payoff for small business people. They can say, `I went on QVC and sold X-thousands of merchandise.' It's an immediate economic infusion," said Deborah Lindner, the agency's communications director.
In the long run, many of the Utah companies that appear on the channel could develop a national marketing presence. QVC also pledged to present many scenic Utah attractions, which Lindner said is expected to boost tourism.