ECi Stores Joins Qurate Retail Group’s Small Business Spotlight, a Partnership with the NRF Foundation to Help Small Businesses Weather COVID-19

 Leominster, MA- ECi Stores, including Cutie Patuties and Cutiques, has been selected for Qurate Retail Group’s Small Business Spotlight, a partnership with the NRF Foundation to help 20 small businesses navigate the unprecedented turmoil created by the pandemic.

Qurate Retail Group, a multiplatform retailer that includes QVC, HSN, Zulily, and several other brands, is using its production resources, television broadcasts, and digital platforms to help ECi Stores share its story with millions of consumers nationwide. ECi Stores’ story began appearing on QVC’s and HSN’s websites and social pages on May 11 and the company will be highlighted on air on QVC and HSN on June 4, 2020.

Zulily is promoting the campaign on its website, email, and social, and ECi Stores can also tap Qurate Retail Group team members for advice on solving a business issue related to COVID-19 through a virtual mentoring initiative.

“ECi Stores is excited for this opportunity to learn from Qurate Retail Group in how to reach customers in their homes, and provide services and products they can benefit from” said Neil Abramson, Owner of ECi Stores.

ECi Stores, including Cutie Patuties Consignment, and Cutiques, have been strong community leaders since 1998. ECi Stores is North Central Massachusetts’ favorite stores for gently worn clothing, shoes, accessories, home décor and furniture. ECi Stores has grown with their customers, from a small storefront with only the Abramsons as staff, to now employing a team of over 20. Many customers have become friends, consistently shopping while their families have grown up, and now have second generation shoppers.

Qurate Retail Group has a long tradition of helping small business owners and entrepreneurs launch and grow their brands through the incredible power of storytelling and shopping discovery. QVC, HSN, and Zulily provide compelling platforms, with unmatched reach, that enable small businesses to speak directly to millions of consumers in their homes.

“We have a special relationship with the small business community, which generates so much of the innovation that drives our economy and has played a special role in the growth of our business,” said Mike George, President and CEO, Qurate Retail, Inc. “Ordinarily, the companies in our Small Business Spotlight would not be on QVC, HSN, or Zulily, because they are not part of our vendor family. Our aim with this initiative is to help rally the public around these vital businesses, so they can come through this crisis and continue to anchor their local communities for many years to come.”

The Small Business Spotlight runs from May 11 through June 6 and is part of Qurate Retail Group’s $29 million COVID-19 global relief efforts.

“From national relief efforts to local giving, the retail industry has stepped up in extraordinary ways to serve communities large and small throughout the health crisis,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “The Small Business Spotlight lends support to local, small businesses that are the lifeblood of our national economy. We’re honored to work with Qurate Retail Group to share their world-class expertise and multiple platforms with these small business owners during such a critical time.”

For additional information on ECi Stores, Neil Abramson, Neil@ECistores.com or visit ECistores.com. To learn more about Qurate Retail Group’s Small Business Spotlight, visit QVC.com and HSN.com.

 

ABOUT ECI STORES

ECI Stores have four unique consignments stores known for offering the largest selection of high quality gently-used products. Cutie Patuties specializes in children’s clothing; Q specializes in teen and young adult styles; CP & Company specializes in misses, petites and plus sizes for ladies clothing and accessories and Cutiques ETC offers home decor and furniture to make your house a home.

To learn more visit, http://www.ecistores.com

Contact: Neil Abramson

About Qurate Retail Group

Qurate Retail GroupSM comprises eight leading retail brands – QVC®, HSN®, Zulily®, Ballard Designs®, Frontgate®, Garnet Hill®, Grandin Road®, and RyllaceTM – all dedicated to providing a Third Way to Shop®, beyond transactional ecommerce or traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Globally, Qurate Retail Group is #1 in video commerce, reaching approximately 380 million homes worldwide via 15 television networks and multiple ecommerce sites, social pages, mobile apps, print catalogs, and in-store destinations. Qurate Retail Group is among the top 10 ecommerce retailers in North America (according to Internet Retailer) and is a leader in mobile commerce and social commerce. Qurate Retail Group combines the best of retail, media, and social to curate products, experiences, conversations, and communities for millions of highly discerning shoppers – bringing joy, inspiration, and humanity to shopping. Qurate Retail Group also curates large audiences, across multiple platforms, for thousands of brand vendors. Headquartered in West Chester, PA, Qurate Retail Group has 25,000 team members in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan, Italy, Poland, and China. For more information, visit www.qurateretailgroup.com, follow @QurateRetailGrp on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, or follow Qurate Retail Group on YouTube or LinkedIn.

Qurate Retail, Inc. (NASDAQ: QRTEA, QRTEB) includes the Qurate Retail Group portfolio of brands as well as other minority interests and green energy investments.

About NRF Foundation

The NRF Foundation builds the bridge between a growing industry with hundreds of thousands of open positions and job seekers around the country. Through education, training, scholarships and experiences for job seekers of all ages and backgrounds, we help more people take their first steps toward promising careers. The NRF Foundation is the educational arm of the National Retail Federation and is funded in part by generous donations from retail industry supporters. www.NRFFoundation.org

LEOMINSTER, Mass – Fidelity Bank is doing its part to help protect local front line healthcare workers  during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank has donated a total of 6,000 KN95 face masks worth nearly $14,000 to and UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital with locations in Leominster, Fitchburg, and Clinton;  UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester,  Heywood Hospital in Gardner, and Central Care Nurses Association. On May 8, Fidelity Bank provided free lunches to 400 employees at six of UMass Memorial HealthAlliance’s facilities as well.

“Our community has continued to show immense support for the hospital in myriad ways,” commented Steve Roach, interim President of UMass Memorial HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital. “This commitment raises the spirit of our caregivers and has immediate impact in our community. We can’t thank Fidelity Bank enough for this generosity.”

The money comes from Fidelity Bank’s LifeDesign Community Dividend, which donated more than $330,000 to more than 250 worthy organizations in Central Massachusetts last year. “Healthcare workers are heroes who are putting their lives at risk daily to get us through this crisis,” says Fidelity Bank Chairman and CEO Edward F. Manzi, Jr. “Donating masks to keep them safe and providing free lunches are just two ways we can live up to our Caring LifeDesign promise to provide support to our community, clients, and colleagues.” Fidelity Bank has given out more than $2 million since the dividend program was formally named in 2013.

About Fidelity Bank:

Founded in 1888, Fidelity Bank is one of the oldest independent community banks in Central Massachusetts. Fidelity Bank’s exclusive LifeDesign approach offers a range of banking, investment, and insurance solutions to clients in 14 full-service offices in Leominster, Worcester, Fitchburg, Needham, Gardner, Stow, Shirley, Barre, Millbury, Paxton, Princeton and Winchendon. The Bank has consistently earned a “5 Star” rating from BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank rating and research firm. In 2018, Fidelity Bank was voted Worcester Telegram & Gazette Best Bank in Central Massachusetts and Best Financial Services. It was also named Best Bank by both Leominster Champion and Baystate Parent for 2018. It has been recognized by the Worcester Business Journal as a Top Workplace and in 2019 named to the Boston Globe’s Top Places to Work list for the fifth time. As of March 31, 2020, the bank had total assets of approximately $1.2 billion. For more information, visit www.fidelitybankonline.com or www.facebook.com/fidelitybankma

FITCHBURG, Ma., April 30, 2020 – Workers Credit Union is pleased to announce it has donated more than $31,000 to area organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Charitable giving is an important part of our culture at Workers and it is crucial that we continue to support our local organizations. There is more need than ever for us to stand together and support our most vulnerable members of our community” said Doug Petersen, president and CEO of Workers Credit Union. “Needs for services do not end because we are staying at home. I hope other businesses in the area who can donate will do so as well. We’re all in this together.”

The bulk of the donations were sent to the North Central Mass Development Corporation for their newly founded recovery fund, Making Opportunity Count (formerly Montachusett Opportunity Council), and Our Father’s House, among several other organizations. These organizations support a variety of essential services from Meals on Wheels to food pantry services to the needs of small businesses.

In 2019, Workers gave more than $375,000 to 170 organizations throughout Worcester, Franklin and Middlesex counties where its 16 branches are located. In 2020, Workers has already donated more than $140,000 to area organizations and continues to accept applications for support of charitable organizations on it’s website www.wcu.com/community.

Workers Credit Union, headquartered in Fitchburg, MA, is a member-owned financial institution with full banking services to meet a lifetime of financial needs including the $3 million GiveBack program. With 16 branches in Athol, Chelmsford, Fitchburg, Gardner, Groton, Lancaster, Leominster, Lunenburg, Orange, Townsend, Westford and Worcester, Workers is proud to offer traditional banking channels as well as the latest technologies to more than 104,000 members.