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Zavvi - Virgin on the Ridiculous

 
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RockitRon



Joined: 07 Dec 2006
Posts: 7646

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:35 pm    Post subject: Zavvi - Virgin on the Ridiculous Reply with quote

Richard Branson has finally sold the Virgin retail chain of music shops
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6998606.stm
to its senior staff for a sum not disclosed.

I seem to have read that last line somewhere before (Woolworth and MVC), and I suspect the sum was nominal.

Perhaps they dreamed up the new name after celebrating the deal.
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Ian Robinson
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Joined: 11 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What is the point of buying a Virgin business if you don't buy the name? That's the whole point of Virgin! Good grief. I give it till February...
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gfloyd



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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought it might be an anagram for a moment. But the Virgin brand it not as good as it used to be: poor cable service & train service have taken care of that.
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firewirefred
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ian Robinson wrote:
What is the point of buying a Virgin business if you don't buy the name? That's the whole point of Virgin! Good grief. I give it till February...


It has been rumoured that Branson was going to close the retail business down due to plummeting sales in the retail music business, so this is obvsiously a management buyout. It can be assumed that the brand wasn't up for enfranchisement - only the business.

gfloyd wrote:
I thought it might be an anagram for a moment. But the Virgin brand it not as good as it used to be: poor cable service & train service have taken care of that.


I have Virgin cable and it's fine. I also use Virgin Trains on the West Coast Mainline into Euston (the Pendolino trains) and they're excellent. Virgin Atlantic Airways are pretty good too.....
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

firewirefred wrote:
Ian Robinson wrote:
What is the point of buying a Virgin business if you don't buy the name? That's the whole point of Virgin! Good grief. I give it till February...


It has been rumoured that Branson was going to close the retail business down due to plummeting sales in the retail music business, so this is obvsiously a management buyout. It can be assumed that the brand wasn't up for enfranchisement - only the business.


Yes, there's a hefty clue in the quote about entertainment retailing no longer being viewed as a core part of the business. Ironic, but not unusual in the corporate world today, since that is where he started it all.

Until Fopp came along it had been rumoured that HMV were willing to take it off his hands for a nominal amount. Given the costs to the new owners of rebranding the stores I can't imagine they've paid anything for them as such. They are all in prime shopping centre locations, doubtless with scorching rents to pay, and often with an HMV in close proximity, and if the established Virgin brand is unable to make a profit out of them (as it clearly hasn't, for some time) I can't see anyone else doing so. All I can forsee is another administration case for the accountants next year.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 8:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

firewirefred wrote:
Ian Robinson wrote:
What is the point of buying a Virgin business if you don't buy the name? That's the whole point of Virgin! Good grief. I give it till February...


It has been rumoured that Branson was going to close the retail business down due to plummeting sales in the retail music business, so this is obvsiously a management buyout. It can be assumed that the brand wasn't up for enfranchisement - only the business.

Oh yeah, I have no doubt the Virgin stores were failing but Branson's whole business plan is generally to build up the Virgin name and then sell the business off on more-or-less the brand name itself. I'm sure NTL, for instance, could have set up their own mobile division but they wanted the Virgin name as a brand to take on Sky.

It just seems odd to rebrand the stores with such a stupid name in such a competitive market - I'd have thought it would make more sense to refresh the brand name.

But I suppose it worked when Virgin Cinemas became UGC so maybe, just maybe, it'll work here. I doubt it though.
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pickle



Joined: 10 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:59 pm    Post subject: Virgin On The Ridiculous Reply with quote

This made me think of the Caravan song of that name!

Really, Virgin shot themselves in the foot with those awful Uma Thurman ads and dropping the Sky channels when rebranding NTL as Virgin Media.

And I shall never forget the record label dropping Anthony Phillips and Kirsty MacColl - only to sign up Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey.

Zavvi just sounds like a pizza chain.
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Shaky Fan



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PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2007 9:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Might explain why they suddenly whacked up the price of their singles last week - for example the latest Ash 7" which is 99p in HMV is £4 in Virgin and the Elvis singles have gone from £4 for the CD and £5 for the vinyl have increased to £5 and £6 respectively!
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ip33



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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Management buyout? No! Branson GAVE them £20m to take it off his hands!

Anyway, this is worth a look and a laugh:http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/community/index.cfm?n=3&parentid=8019

Ian
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a link to The Times report http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article2477452.ece

130 stores losing £83 million in a year!!!

The comments in the forum were predictably scornful, the only positive one trying to draw attention to how poor things were before HMV and Virgin appeared on the high streets (outside London, that is) in the 1970s.

Well, in Nottingham anyway, there were at least five good independent shops, plus the old Pearson's department store together with Boots and WH Smith, and all had extensive record departments, even stocking imports. They were also competitive on price.

Now we have three stores owned by HMV, Virgin (which already resembles the Marie Celeste) and good old Selectadisc (which still looks much as it did, down to the threadbare flooring, twenty five years ago).
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Although the reports said the switch was to take place in January the illuminated signs on the front of the (Nottm) store have been renewed and show, in bright green, "Zavvi.co.uk".

Not much has changed inside and yesterday it was so quiet you could have played a football match in there and I don't think anyone would have noticed.
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Briant



Joined: 02 Jun 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

'Zavvi' as in 'savvi?' Or I'll see you 'this avvy' (afternoon) to use the local vernacular?
Reminds me of the Hollywood producer who once said 'I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin'. Referring to her squeaky clean screen image! Laughing
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