News 2001
Intercontinental Retail Deal for Virgin Mobile
04/10/2001
Virgin Mobile has today announced its intention to expand its presence through Australia by 100 stores in major towns and cities in Australia.
Virgin Mobile phones will soon be sold in 100 new Virgin-branded music and entertainment retailing stores in Australia, as part of a wider deal between Virgin Entertainment Group (VEG) and the Australia-based Brazin (an Australian publicly traded retail group).
This deal sees Brazin acquire the remaining Our Price stores in Britain from VEG, leaving Virgin to concentrate on its core brands of Virgin Megastore and V.SHOP, both in the UK and abroad. Brazin will convert the UK stores to trade under the 'Sanity' brand, which is the leading specialist music retailing brand in Australia. Virgin Mobile products will continue to be sold in the new Sanity UK stores.
Said Steven Day, corporate affairs director at Virgin Mobile: "Virgin's deal with Brazin represents an excellent opportunity for Virgin Mobile Australia to dramatically widen its distribution. It also places Virgin Mobile UK within an exciting new nationwide high street music retailing chain."
Brazin's Managing Director Mr Ian Duffell said: "The deal represents a unique opportunity for the implementation of the company's strategy to expand internationally. Brazin will also manage the two strongest retail music brands in the Australian market - Sanity and Virgin."
These plans follow a strong period of growth for the Virgin Megastores in the UK and Ireland, in which Virgin Mobile has played a key role and where operating profits are up 25%. After its first full year V.SHOP is showing encouraging results.
The combined operations of the Virgin Entertainment Group place Virgin as the biggest entertainment and mobile retailer in the UK, with 193 stores across Britain and Ireland.
