PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Joseph Segel, the Philadelphia businessman who founded the QVC cable shopping network, died Saturday, according to the network. He was 88.
In a statement, the West Chester-based company, which Segel founded in 1986, said he founded the network "with the idea that we can do it better." KYW Newsradio's Molly Daly was one of the original QVC hosts hired in 1986. She explained that idea meant operating in a lower key, as opposed to the more high-pitched Home Shopping Network.
"QVC was meant to be the anti-HSN," Daly said. "Conversational, entertaining, informative, not high-pressure." It worked, as the network recorded $112 million in sales its first year.
"He was a visionary who changed the way the world shops," said Mike George, president and CEO of QVC's parent company Qurate Retail, in the network's statement. "He instilled the importance of customer focus and putting the customer first in everything we do."
Daly remembered not only Segel's business acumen, but also his kindness. "One day, my boss John Eastman took me aside and asked if I could stay a little after my shift," she recalled. "I sat down and he said to me, 'Mr. Segel feels you're not making enough money.' Then he doubled my salary. That was characteristic of who Mr. Segel was."
Segel served as chairman of QVC until his retirement in 1993. He remained an advisor until 2013.
Across his five decades in business, Segel founded over 20 companies, including the Franklin Mint, which was founded in Delaware County, and produces collectibles, including coins and medals. He was inducted into the Direct Marketing Association's Hall of Fame and received an honorary doctorate from Drexel University.