HSN retail network chief sets stage for spin-off

By Michele Gershberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mindy Grossman is very particular about what makes it to air on the HSN cable retail network she helms, down to the blouse worn by a presenter.

That eye for detail is credited with helping the network, part of Internet conglomerate IAC/InterActiveCorp, climb out of a multi-year funk. Now she may well be the executive to take HSN to the public market, under a plan by IAC to spin off four of its businesses, including HSN.

"I think I've been preparing for it for 30 years," Grossman said in an interview with Reuters in New York. "You don't cram and take a test for it. It's something you've been building for, and that's probably what's most exciting."

Since she became chief executive in 2006, Grossman has added smarter fashion to HSN's fare of crock pots and cubic zirconia, and spruced up its shows with celebrity stylists and chefs.

A former executive for high-impact brands like Nike and Ralph Lauren, she faced no easy task at HSN, which stands for Home Shopping Network.

The unit, including its web site and Cornerstone catalog business, accounts for about 42 percent of IAC revenue and has slowly pulled back up to report revenue growth of 2 percent in the first quarter. Excluding Cornerstone, growth was 9 percent.

Add to that plenty of confusion over its future. IAC -- run by media veteran Barry Diller, and its controlling shareholder Liberty Media Corp, built by cable mogul John Malone -- tried repeatedly to negotiate a swap deal for HSN.

The two sides at one point a year ago came close to an agreement to hand HSN over to Liberty, which already owns larger rival QVC, in exchange for Liberty's stake in IAC.  Continued...