More spaceships, fewer cosmetics: the latest moves by Virgin

Virgin and its flamboyant director Richard Branson are perhaps a little less in the spotlight than they were a few years ago. But one thing is unchanged: it’s a fascinating business to watch, with ups and downs that seem to give a snapshot into the most dynamic markets of the moment. Latest news – the Virgin cosmetics retail business will close next month, and yesterday Branson unveiled the rocket plane he will use to take fare-paying passengers into space!

I’ve long since lost track of the range of markets Branson’s conglomerate has invested in, but I can remember everything from condoms to cola, vodka to vinyl records, trains to planes and plenty more besides.

What happened to the cosmetics business? There are only ten stores left, which were rebranded as Effective Cosmetics last year. Sir Richard had enormous confidence in Virgin Cosmetics when it began, claiming that he would open two stores a month and have more than 100 high street outlets within five years. Virgin also launched an internet and home sales division for its cosmetics, which were sold under the Virgin Vie or Vie at Home brands (which survives, for now). Virgin Cosmetics struggled to find a footing in a competitive market, leading to the sale of the business last year.

Follow the full story with this Times article.

Branson has pulled out of many ventures recently. You might just remember Virgin Megastore, which briefly traded as Zavvi before collapsing shortly after. What’s astonishing about Branson is his ability to escape from failure and keep constantly moving forwards. There’s more on the man at Britain’s most famous entrepreneur.

Opinions are predictably divided regarding his space venture, which will allow passengers to take short-hop trips just above the atmosphere. The vehicle, SS1, became the world’s first private spaceship with a series of high-altitude flights in 2004. An updated version is now ready and tickets are priced at £121,000 for the privilege of experiencing six minutes of weightlessness during what will be a two-hour end-to-end flight.

Who can guess where all this is headed? I think Branson is unfortunate to be launching in the midst of a global recession and at a time when environmental doomsters have caught the imagination of significant segment of society.

See the spacecraft here.