Joseph Segel Dies At 88: Former Colleagues React To QVC Founder’s Death

Joseph Segel, the founder of television shopping network QVC, died Saturday in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. He was 88 years old and died of natural causes.

His death was officially announced on QVC’s website.

Segel, regarded as the "quintessential entrepreneur," has founded over 20 companies in diverse fields like publishing, minting, photography, aviation, software, hospitality, and television broadcasting in his more than 50 years of career.

“Among his many notable achievements was the launch of QVC," QVC said in the statement.

He was born on Jan. 9, 1931 in Philadelphia and had acquired a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951. He started his career as a marketing teacher at the Wharton School when he was only 20 years old. He became an honorary of the Harvard Business School’s selection of “The Great Business Leaders of the Twentieth Century” in 2005.

He founded QVC in 1986, which is a West Chester based free-to-air television network, and flagship shopping channel. QVC is owned by Qurate Retail Group.

"Joe Segel was a remarkable leader, entrepreneur, marketer, teacher and friend," Mike George, Qurate Retail Group’s president and CEO, told CNN. "He was a visionary whose ideas changed the way the world shops."

“Mr. Segel believed in excellence and giving customers more than they expect,” Ginger March, director of Creative Design at QVC and an old employee in the company, said.

"While he will be sorely missed, we gain strength in the fact that his legacy lives on at QVC and always will," program host Jane Treacy, who earlier worked with Segel, said.

QVC, which stands for “Quality Value Convenience" was initially broadcasted in 20 states. In the first year, QVC clocked $112 million, setting a record for first-year sales of a new public company that hadn’t taken over an existing business, according to his biography site.

It now has transcended national barriers serving nearly 380 million homes worldwide through 15 TV networks and 11 websites. QVC has now become a premier global retailer, garnering $14 billion in annual revenue.

Segal retired as the chairman of QVC in the year 1993 but continued his role as an advisor to the company till 2013.