Today's Music News

Virgin Megastores sold

Stores will now be called Zavvi

17 September 07 - Sir Richard Branson has decided to flog off his Virgin Megastores in a move that will change the very make up of shops up and down the country.

Virgin Group sold the chain for an disclosed sum to a management buyout team led by managing director Simon Douglas.

Throughout next month, the 125 stores will be re-branded as Zavvi takes control. Branson founded Virgin originally as a mail order record company in 1970 before opening a store in London’s Oxford Street.

The sale is the latest development in a music retail market that has seen falling sales and heavy competition from online stores.

Big names such as Fopp, Tower Records and Music Zone have closed down as CD sales dropped off and digital downloads rocketed.

The deal is unlikely to have any impact on jobs at the chain which currently employs 2,500 staff.

Adrian Larkin

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Comments so far

St Albans
The whole thing will be gone within a few months. The directors & senior management of the stupidly names Zavvi are the very same people who have driven virgin megastores into the ground in the first place. This is ego over brains. HMV, Amazon & the like must be laughing their socks off. I will shop at Zavvi though - I bet the closing down sale will be well worth going to.

peterborough
Zavvi? that name sounds silly! i work at Virgin megastore and i honestly dont want to be walking round with a shirt on saying it! a top saying virgin isnt obviously all that great but its better then that! GRR!

Nipper ...Scotland
As an HMV employee is Simon Douglas the right man to lead this company as over the last few years the have been running at a big loss with only RB cash helping them out.Simon is a nice guy but not a patch on Simon Fox (MD HMV) ,and the name change what a BIG mistake Virgin was a Brand name,and Zavvi .....thanks Simon you have saved us all our jobs in HMV.

katie. hemel hempstead
personally coming from someone who works in virgin megastores, and has done for 3 years, i think its a bit silly changing the name to something like that. I've met simon douglas a few times, but zavvi, where has that come from?????