On the set at QVC with Jane Treacy (L), Kim Gravel (C) and Amy Goins (R) Courtesy of Kim Gravel Kim Gravel has rocketed to business success in record time, going from what many might consider the role of a “trad wife” to being honored among the women on the Forbes 50 over 50 list. In less than a decade, her company’s sales eclipsed $1 billion. Gravel waited until she was 46 to get started in business. She began selling fashion and beauty on QVC in 2016 with no retail, fashion or beauty product development experience, yet she most definitely lived in those worlds after becoming the youngest Miss Georgia beauty pageant winner and competing for Miss America at age 19. However, Gravel’s down-home Southern charm – her brands are called Belle by Kim Gravel and Love Who You Are (LWYA) Beauty – and indefatigable energy, combined with on-air confidence – she hosted a beauty contest coaching show on A+E for two years – gave her all the right ingredients to shine on the QVC television shopping platform. Made For TV Emerging as a credible QVC star in so few years – holding her own alongside customer-favorite hosts, like David Venable, Jane Treacy and Shawn Killinger, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with powerhouse brands and personalities such as Martha Stewart, Susan Graver, Laura Geller, Lori Goldstein, Isaac Mizrahi, IT Cosmetics, Beekman 1802 and so many more – is nothing short of extraordinary. “I had no retail experience, no manufacturing experience, no sales experience. I just went in to QVC with a lip gloss and a pair of blue jeans that my husband and I put all our savings into having made and I’ve been there ever since,” Gravel explained and confided that before her pitch, longtime QVC host Treacy advised her that combining apparel and beauty wouldn’t fly at the network. “You have to pick your lane,” she told Gravel. MORE FOR YOU But characteristically Gravel went in undeterred – her bestselling book is Collecting Confidence –and became the first brand in QVC history to sell over $250 million in one year. And she has been honored this year and in 2021 as QVC’s vendor of the year, a notable achievement since QVC maintains particularly high product quality and logics standards for its vendors. Her product development philosophy is simplicity itself. “People say you have to look for problem/solution in product development. That’s not me. I look for what I love, things that I would give my mom, my sister or my girl friends. If I love it, there’s got to be other people out there that will love it too,” she explained, adding, “I am the shopper. I literally am the QVC viewer.” Stepping Into Social Selling The QVC television shopping platform is a perfect place for Gravel to shine. She’s able to reach across the screen and interact directly and personally with each viewer. “QVC calls it ‘over the fence’ selling where I say,‘Hey neighbor, I love this and you’re going to love it too.’” To make that connection even more personal, Gravel innovated on QVC with live social selling. She recruited her friend and business partner Amy Goins to join her on air with Gravel storytelling about the products and Goins interacting with viewers directly over social media. All the while, the two of them kept the banter going in BFF fashion. Beyond QVC, Gravel furthers her community connection with “The Kim Gravel Show” podcast. “What I love about QVC is they are so fluid, flexible and really ahead of their time. They pivot so fast,” Gravel shared. “QVC had never done social selling live on the platform until we did it. And it took our business from $75 million to $250 million in one year with only four hours of live social selling a week, plus my regular shows. It is all about the connection with ‘our girl.’” QVC is benefiting from Gravel’s initial trial and ultimate success in social commerce as it pivots to TikTok with some 74,000 TikTok creators presenting original content on TikTok Shop. “We are uniquely suited to bring our large-scale, high-volume, live social shopping experience to TikTok,” QVC CEO David Rawlinson shared in a statement. “Our agreement [with TikTok] will be a catalyst to transform shopping and discovery, not only for QVC Group, but also for social shopping at large.” Social commerce, like on TikTok and the repurposed regular broadcast content on Facebook, will complement the company’s and Gravel’s reach across its regular channels and that reach can be amazingly strong. Gravel shared that her highest revenue hour brought in some $1.2 million in sales, and that she recently sold a pair of $59 jeans that produced sales of $52,000 per minute, what QVC insiders call DPMS – dollars per minute sold. Beyond apparel and beauty, Gravel is pursuing her home decorating passion by expanding into home decor and outdoor living with QVC. And a new personal venture is in the works: developing a masterclass on social selling. “Live social selling is the next generation of retail and shopping for consumers. I’ve learned some tricks to break through the wall that is the screen, so it’s a way to give back to the younger generation and help them flourish in business,” she explained. QVC Struggles QVC will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year and it might benefit from Gravel’s masterclass as well. QVC Group revenues, which also include the HSN television shopping channel acquired in 2017, peaked at $12.5 billion in 2020, adjusted for the sale of Zulily, and have fallen ever since, dropping to $10 billion in 2024 and off another 8.6% in the first half of 2025 to $4.3 billion. Noting that QxH continues to experience a decline in linear television, Rawlinson also said its social and streaming business is now approaching double digits of total QxH revenues. In the first half 2025, QxH generated $2.8 billion in sales. QVC International has brought in $1.2 billion and Cornerstone brands, including Ballard Designs, Frontgate and Grandin Road that specialize in DTC home goods, generated $452 million in the first two quarters. Back To Basics While Gravel is self-effacing about her business credentials – “I’m no Harvard graduate. I’m not even a college graduate and no business mastermind.” – she is loaded with common sense and life experience that has powered her through setbacks, just like QVC is facing these days. “But sometimes in business, as in life, we complicate things. There’s something to be said for simplicity,” she concluded. Forbes50 Over 50: LifestyleBy Maggie McGrathForbesWhy Qurate’s QVC And HSN Believe The Future Of TV Shopping Is On StreamingBy Pamela N. Danziger Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions