I posted the following on another thread about Philosophy the other day:
I wouldn't be surprised if Philosophy disappeared from QVC Uk and, indeed, UK retailers altogether. Something is quite definitely peculiar since Lee's deaparture, and I know for a fact, after having it confirmed by someone in the know, that the range is not selling nearly so well now, and the last fragrance TSV attracted a lot of complaints from regular users of the Grace fragrances that the fragrance was 'watered down' and could not be detected on the skin after a very short period of time. The majority of Philosophy buyers stopped watching after Lee's departure, and made enquiries to CS about where he had gone, only to be given the scripted, pat response, which is fine, but he was never again mentioned on-air, and this miffed a lot of loyal customers, since they had purchased due to his enthusiastic and informative presentations, when not constantly interrupted by the 'resident beauty expert with 12,000 years in the business. I don't believe there has been one sell-out since he left, and that is most unusual, as there were sell-outs every Philosophy hour when he was on. I'm guessing that Lee has had the last laugh on this one. Good luck to him, the man is a born salesman and must have been the most popular and successful guest expert on QVC.
And later in the same thread:
My contact is a buyer in the beauty department at Selfridges, and she is adamant that Lee was pushed from Philosophy, and that a lot of people were very unhappy about it. She also tells me that that Philosophy is on the downslide in the UK, hence there are now fewer outlets for the brand. The changes seem to have taken place since Philosophy was bought by another company, and, judging by the QVC US reviews, there is a Tova-Gate type of situation going on, with poorer quality products and less scent in the fragrances. Typical of what happens when a company changes hands.
