HSN’s Holt On The Hunt For Next Housewares Hits: Part Two

During the recent International Home + Housewares Show, HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® spent the morning of Monday, March 7, with Allyson Holt, HSN's vice president of merchandising, culinary and food, as she met with current HSN vendors StoreBound and Clipper Corp. and spoke to entrepreneurs to offer advice on developing products and doing business with HSN.

In part two of HomeWorld's video coverage, Holt switches gears from small electrics and makes her way over to the South Building to talk cookware and kitchenware with Clipper Corp. and Jeff Malkasian, the company’s evp/consumer packaged goods.

Clipper’s assortment features the Allrecipes and Chopped licensed cookware and kitchenware brands. The meeting gives Holt an opportunity to see some of the final products in person and brainstorm marketing and strategies for the future.

“What is exciting for us from Allrecipes is the user-generated content. This whole community coming together to develop that is natural for what we do,” said Holt.

The Allrecipes line is featured at Clipper’s booth and the company is also demonstrating key cookware and kitchen gadgets from the brand. The live demo is something close to Holt’s heart. Holt and Malkasian then spend time looking at the new lineup, and discussed the product features that make the Allrecipes kitchenware unique.

“Clipper Corp. is essentially a sourcing company, that is really our expertise,” Malkasian explained. “For us, it’s about listening to our customers, hearing what HSN has to say. How do we make a product that is going to fit their model? What’s innovative, what’s demonstrable and will do well on television, as well as fit the general market as a whole?”

Malkasian and Holt point out the Sizzle Sensor skillet as a perfect example of Clipper working to meet consumer preferences. The skillet has a heat sensitive handle that will change colors to alert consumers when the pan is hot.

Not surprisingly, Holt is eager to share a live demo of the cookware with HomeWorld and her passion for the skillet is evident.

For more on HSN’s Allyson Holt at the Housewares Show, see the April 25, 2016, issue of HOMEWORLD BUSINESS®. HomeWorld’s coverage also includes a video presentation: