QVC Assessing Impact of Tragic Fire
QVC is continuing to assess the impact of the deadly fire that swept through its North Carolina distribution center early Saturday morning.
David Rawlinson, president and chief executive officer of Qurate Retail Inc., the parent company of QVC, was in Rocky Mount on Sunday to support his team and help evaluate the situation.
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“On behalf of QVC and all our team members, we are heartbroken to learn of the passing of one of our contractor colleagues, Kevon Ricks, in the wake of the tragic fire at our QVC Rocky Mount, N.C., distribution facility. Our thoughts and prayers are with Kevon’s family and friends,” QVC said in a statement. “Our continued focus is on all our impacted team members and ensuring their well-being and safety in this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them as well.”
It’s not clear yet how the fire will affect deliveries to consumers.
“For our customers, we are still working to understand the impact to their orders and returns,” QVC said in its statement. “Our customer care representatives are prepared to help as this situation continues to evolve. We appreciate our customers’ patience and their outpouring of support to our Rocky Mount team.
“We thank the first responders, state and local authorities who are still working to put out the fire so that they can investigate its cause,” QVC indicated. “We are supporting them in their efforts, including working together to coordinate local resources for our team members, and we deeply appreciate their commitment to partnership and to the Rocky Mount community.”
QVC said it is providing shutdown pay to all team members unable to work due to the facility shutdown from Dec. 18 through Dec. 31 and is actively assessing next steps for 2022.
QVC has set up an alternate site for Rocky Mount team members to meet in-person with team leaders for one-on-one support and has created a team member information hotline with updates on this tragedy and for questions. In addition, QVC has an employee assistance program, which provides counseling and other health-related referrals.
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