Today, Virgin is a holding company with much diversified activities, which includes more than 300 companies that are established in over 30 countries, mostly located offshore, and about 50,000 employees. All subsidiaries of the group, although independent of each other, are nonetheless united around a brand and a CEO, Richard Branson, whose fortune is estimated at 2.97 billion euros.
Richard Branson, born in Surrey, England, on July 18, 1950 had always appeared to be an ‘off the beat' person. He, in fact, began his career by being steeped in the culture of the 70s (which earned him the nickname ‘hippy entrepreneur') to become today a symbol of modern capitalism. Being only an average student at his time, his only goal was to earn money. That's why he decided in 1969 to leave school for music publishing with some friends. They gave him the name of Virgin Music. Only a few years later, in 1971, that the first Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London was opened. Two years later, in 1973, Richard Branson triumphed with the debut album of Mike Oldfield, ‘Tubular Bells', which sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
It was not until 1980 that its first subsidiary was founded in France, Virgin France. It had been a phonographic publishing company. From there, a multitude of subsidiaries started emerging in the 80s. In 1983, Richard Branson decided to create Virgin Games, a company specialized in video game publishing. Virgin then became a large group in 1985 with diversified activities including a tremendous crowned success. Virgin won the Business Enterprise Award for the best company of the year. A year later, aboard his boat ‘Sprayed', Branson crossed the Atlantic. In 1988, he opened his first Virgin Megastore in France in the Champs-Elysees.
In 1992, Virgin launched a new brand of soft drinks, Virgin Cola in Britain while at the same time Virgin was bought by EMI Music. In 1993, the Group won the lawsuit which was filed against it by British Airways, which feared for its monopoly. In 1995, the launch of telephone sales with a savings plans came into action: the Peps. In 1996, an airline, Virgin Express was introduced in Belgium, which serves 14 destinations in 9 European countries. In 1997, Virgin returned to its core business, music, and created the label V2 buying the radio station in Paris ‘Yes FM'.
While making development a priority of megastores, Virgin was launched in 1999 in the world of Internet and mobile phones with Virgin Mobile. The same year, Virgin Cinemas was transferred to French UGC, Virgin Atlantic Airlines sold a 49% stake to Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic lost its case on its complaint against British Airways for unfair practices. R. Branson had to pay 1.8 million francs to British Airways without taking into account 100 million francs in legal fees.
In November 2000, Virgin Express ceased all activities and focused on scheduled and ad hoc charters. On December 15, Virgin Express, the number two Belgian airline, had to use the system Galilea Basic Booking Product (BBP), which had developed a new reservation system for reduced operating costs. In 2001, Virgin Mobile entered the US market by signing an agreement with the US telecommunications group SPRINT (joint venture 50% -50%).
In 2002, the Group launched the site www.virginmega.fr for paid downloads. In 2003, Virgin Express signed agreements with budget airlines Air VLM Airlines Malmo Aviation. In 2004, Virgin established the Virgin Galactic space tourism company.
In our study, we will mainly concern ourselves with two subsidiaries that relate to entertainment, namely, Virgin Megastore and Virgin Mobile.
Tags: Virgin Megastore, Virgin Mobile, SPRINT, British Airways¸ Galilea Basic Booking Product, the Business Enterprise Award and Richard Branson
[...] Today, Virgin has 44 department stores and multimedia Virgin Megastores, located in the heart of Paris and major regional cities. B. Economy Purchasing power is a topic of concern which has become more and more prevalent among the French. Indeed, it is a crucial element in household consumption. It is based on income, prices, savings and credit. Purchasing power or value of money represents the amount of goods and services a certain sum of money can buy. The purchasing power of money changes with time and depends on the rate of inflation. [...]
[...] Indeed, if the finances of the Virgin Megastores were to decline, the profits generated by other companies belonging to the Virgin Group would rebalance the accounts of Virgin Megastore. Virgin did not need to worry make a financial standpoint. The advantage is that its companies do not face pressure from shareholders nor managers. Media Advertising campaigns are a highlight of the Virgin brand. Indeed, Virgin knows exactly how to target its customers and relies heavily on the popularity of its promotion. [...]
[...] Indeed, it is rather the 25-45 age group who are the real customers of Virgin Megastore. Young people guide the choice of drinks for their parents because they can not personally afford to be the main customers of Virgin Megastore in terms of turnover. D. Suppliers Regarding the direct suppliers, Virgin Megastore has almost none. Indeed, the company goes through a central purchasing that allows it to have a relationship with many suppliers and choose the best price within the range that is offered. [...]
[...] Its objectives Non-economic objective of the group Given the large number of companies, the Virgin Group has no real and specific targets.The goal of Virgin is grafted on growing markets such as new markets or niche markets. So, Virgin is in many CFS and OPA assignments in order to develop the most promising potential markets. Richard Branson managed to sell his business at the best price and the lowest point in the image of Virgin Megastore France, of which he sold 49% of the shares to Lagardere in 2001 for more than 300 million euros. [...]
[...] Classification of the principal subsidiaries of the Virgin Group Travels Entertainment Mobile phonesk Daily Life Vehicles Beverages Finance Virgin Megastores include the distribution business specializing in cultural aspects of the Virgin Group. Virgin Megastore has activities in music, books, video, multimedia, stationery and entertainment ticketing. The concept of the brand was so striking that ‘megastore' became a generic term for department stores like Virgin. Originally, the goal was to create a format for referencing a range of music products as widely as possible.Then it was joined by other cultural products. [...]
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