Virgin Group

The Virgin Group is the group of companies using the Virgin brand of British celebrity business tycoon Sir Richard Branson. The wide variety of companies includes airlines, mobile phone service providers, wine, and music retailers, amongst many others.

Some of the companies are publicly listed on various stock exchanges around the world, or are part-owned by others.

Companies

Media and technology

• Radio Free Virgin, a digital radio broadcaster
• oüi fm , a radio station in France
• Virgin Mobile, a virtual cell phone network
• Virgin Megastores, a "big box" music and media retailer
• virgin.net , an internet service provider
• Virgin Play, a video game company based in Spain
• Virgin Publishing, a book publisher
• Virgin Pulse, a personal electronics brand
• V2 Records, a music label
• Virgin Books

Travel and tourism

• Limited Edition, which operates the Kasbah Tamadot, Necker Island, Roof Gardens, and Ulusaba resorts
• Virgin Atlantic Airways, an international carrier
• Virgin America, a U.S. domestic low-cost airline scheduled for launch in 2005
• Virgin Nigeria, a Nigerian domestic and international scheduled for launch in 2005
• Virgin Blue (minority shareholder), an Australian domestic low-cost airline
• Virgin Express, a European low-cost airline
• Virgin Galactic (a venture with Scaled Composites to market commercial space flights)
• Virgin Holidays, Virgin Vacations and Virgin Travelshop, travel agencies
• Virgin Limousines
• Virgin Sky Promotions, a hot-air balloon operator
• Virgin Trains, a railway operator in the United Kingdom

Other

• Virgin Active , a health club chain in South Africa
• Virgin Finance
• Virgin Drinks, manufacturer of soft drinks including Virgin Cola
• Virgin Wines
• Virgin Unite
• Virgin Cosmetics
• Virgin Ware, a line of clothing based in Italy

Past Virgin Group ventures include:

• Virgin Cinema , sold to UGC Cinema
• Virgin Radio, now owned by SMG plc.
• Virgin Records, now owned by EMI
• Virgin Interactive, now owned by Titus Interactive
• Virgin Vodka
• Virgin Electronics

External links

• Virgin Group Portal
• Deutschman, Alan. "The Gonzo Way of Branding", Fast Company, Issue 87 October 2004.
• virginbrand.com Unofficial blog of the Virgin Group.
• BransonBlog.com Unofficial blog of Sir Richard Branson.