How a television idea became a retail destination.

Source 72 · Received October 14, 2026

Anand “Andy” Khubani

AJ’s brother · TeleBrands sales leadership, 1990–1997

I am writing to document my firsthand involvement in developing and expanding TeleBrands’ dedicated As Seen on TV retail program.

I am Anand Khubani, also known as Andy Khubani, your brother. I served as VP of Sales and then Executive Vice President and President of Sales at TeleBrands Corp., from 1990 through 1997. TeleBrands Corporation was founded by you, Ajit “AJ” Khubani, in 1983.

During my tenure, I represented TeleBrands in developing retail relationships and creating and implementing our merchandising strategy. Your contribution to the development of this strategy included the idea of taking DRTV items to retail and the creation of lots of the top selling TV items and creation of the red and white “As Seen on TV” logo.

We quickly learned that heavy DRTV advertising created huge consumer demand at retail. My proposal was to establish a dedicated As Seen on TV shopping area with coordinated buying and an assortment of the best selling products on TV whether they were from TeleBrands or other suppliers.

In approximately May of 1990, I prepared a proposal for Jamesway and presented it to Tom Kiley and other senior merchants.

I proposed that the destination be in a prominent and high traffic location because TV items were an impulse purchase. That I would be the category captain to ensure that Jamesway had the best selling TV items, and so I helped select the products and merchandise the display.

Jamesway agreed with all of the above and became the first retailer where we implemented this dedicated “As Seen on TV” format and it was instantly huge success.

As a result, over the next 5 years I expanded the “As Seen on TV” program at retail to every major Discount Department Store and Drug Store Chain, including Walmart, Target, Kmart, Caldor, Venture, Ames, Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy, Rite Aid etc. Of these National Chains, all but Caldor and Walgreens created a dedicated section with a designated buyer for “As Seen on TV”.

At the IMRA conference in May of 1993, I discussed the program’s great success of the program with Bill Fields the Chief Merchant of Walmart. And he invited me to a meet with him and all of his top 4 Senior Merchants in Bentonville in June 1993.

At that meeting, I presented my proposal to Bill Fields and all of the Senior Merchants at Walmart, for a dedicated section, prominent store placement and a designated buyer. Bill Fields then said I have the perfect merchant for you and he brought in Clifford Young who was the buyer for all of department 82 (Impulse Merchandising) this included all of the check-outs, 4-way displays, sidekicks and clip strips.

I then worked with Clifford to implement to created the assortment and the features for Q4 of that year. This program with a dedicated section was distinct from our earlier sales of individual products to Walmart or Sam’s Club. This program which was generating over $500 million a year in its best years is still in existence today.

In my view, the idea of selling of your “As Seen on TV” products to retail and the creation of the red and white “TV” logo was visionary on your part. And the creation and execution of a dedicated “As seen on TV” section in the major retail chains on behalf of TeleBrands was a great accomplishment on my part. This transformed the way people would now shop for “TV” items. By the end of the 1990’s, approximately 90% of these products were purchased in retail stores.

This account reflects my personal participation and recollection of my time at TeleBrands.

I authorize publication and quotation of this statement, with attribution to me, on your website and in your biographical materials.

Andy’s received email is the date record; an uncompleted date placeholder in its sign-off is omitted. His statement is a personal recollection and expressly permits attributed publication. Numerical estimates describe his account of the retail program and product category; they are not independently audited totals or a claim that the full category’s sales were TeleBrands revenue. The Walmart narrative comes from Andy; no separate written confirmation from Clifford Young has been received.

Source 73 · September 13, 2026

Angelo Bianco

Vice President of Hardlines, Jamesway, 1978–1990 · President, Hardware Distributor Inc., a Jamesway subsidiary

I am pleased to confirm my firsthand recollection of TeleBrands’ role in establishing Jamesway’s dedicated As Seen on TV section.

I served as Vice President of Hardlines at Jamesway from 1978 through 1990. I was also president of Hardware Distributor Inc., a wholly owned Jamesway subsidiary through which the program was implemented.

In August 1990, Anand “Andy” Khubani, serving as VP of Sales, TeleBrands Corp., presented the proposal on behalf of the company you founded in 1983. TeleBrands brought us the concept and played a central role in assembling the product assortment and implementing the program.

Jamesway established a dedicated, clearly identified As Seen on TV section in approximately 100 stores. The initial assortment included four TeleBrands products: AmberVision sunglasses, the Cat and Mouse Watch, the Whisper 2000 hearing device and Dental White.

The products reached stores Mid October 1990 and were Displayed on a 4ft end cap in front of the Hardware Department.

This was Jamesway’s first dedicated As Seen on TV section. Based on my retail industry experience and familiarity with other chains at the time, it was also the first dedicated As Seen on TV section I had encountered at any retailer in the United States. I was not aware of an earlier comparable department elsewhere.

In less than two months, the program generated more than $400,000 in customer purchases at Jamesway’s retail selling prices across approximately 100 stores. This figure represents sales to consumers, not Jamesway’s purchases from TeleBrands.

The approximate sales period was from Mid October to early December 1990.

In my experience, these were exceptional results that exceeded our expectations. The program demonstrated how effectively TeleBrands could translate consumer interest generated by television advertising into purchases at retail.

These statements reflect my personal recollection. The original sales records are no longer available to me, but the strength of the results made a lasting impression.

I authorize publication and quotation of this statement, with attribution to me, on your website and in your biographical materials. I am providing this account in my personal capacity.

The paragraph concerning a recollected sell-through percentage is omitted because the supplied statement retains an unresolved question about its inventory basis. Bianco’s first-in-the-United-States observation is limited to the comparable sections he had personally encountered and his stated awareness at the time.

Reading the accounts together

Both accounts place Jamesway’s program in 1990. Andy dates his proposal approximately May; Bianco recalls an August presentation and a mid-October store launch. Those proposal dates are retained in their respective accounts rather than silently reconciled. Jamesway is identified as the first retailer to implement TeleBrands’ dedicated format. These recollections do not independently establish that no comparable retail arrangement had ever existed anywhere.

The website credits AJ’s retail vision, product development and logo alongside Andy’s development and execution of the dedicated retail format. Historical roles and individual recollections are preserved. No private email headers, contact information or mailbox links are published.