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QVC parent plans to close fulfillment center in Lancaster County
Plan also includes opening new center in Bethlehem in 2019
Listen to this articleWest Chester-based Qurate Retail Group, formerly known as Liberty Interactive, said Wednesday in a news release that it plans to close three fulfillment centers in 2020. One is the facility in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. The other two are in Roanoke, Virginia, and Greeneville, Tennessee.
The closings will eliminate about 1,725 jobs.
“This difficult decision was made after much discussion and thoughtful analysis and is expected to provide us with the capability to fulfill packages across brands and consolidate shipments for a better, faster and more environmentally friendly customer experience with lower shipping costs,” COO Bob Spieth said in a statement. “Our operations in Lancaster, Roanoke and Greeneville have served us well over the years, and will continue to do so over the near-term. We thank our teams there for their dedication and support as we move forward.”
But there is a silver lining for one community.
The company said it will open a new fulfillment center next year in Bethlehem, though it declined comment on the center’s location or size. The Lehigh Valley center, which is expected to open in mid-to-late 2019, will employ 1,200 to 1,500 workers. It will handle both QVC and HSN products.
The joint QVC and HSN fulfillment center in Bethlehem will join a center serving online retailer Zulily, another Qurate brand. Zulily’s facility is located at 10 Emery St. in the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VII.
Qurate said QVC and HSN generated $8.5 billion in revenue last year, reaching 100 million U.S. homes through five broadcast networks. The brands shipped more than 170 million items to customers in 2017.
