Case Study
Tutorial Questions * What are the common resources and capabilities that link companies within the Virgin Group? * وما هي الموارد والقدرات المشتركة التي تربط بين الشركات داخل مجموعة فرجن ؟ * Which businesses should Virgin divest? * الأعمال التجارية التي ينبغي أن تعرى وتجرد فرجن؟ * What should be the criteria for new diversification within the Group? * ماذا ينبغي أن تكون المعايير لتنويع جديد داخل المجموعة ؟
| | | | |
| 20 | | | Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies in 2007* | | | | | Despite celebrating his 57th birthday, Richard Branson showed no signs of flagging energy or loss of entrepreneurial vigor. During the last two weeks of January 2007, Virgin announced a slew of new initiatives. These included the creation of Virgin Bioverda—a joint venture to develop ethanol plants in the U.S.—a bid for a vacation company (First Choice) and a proposal to take over rail services between London and Edinburgh. At the same time, Branson was negotiating an alliance with Tata Group to establish Virgin Mobile in India and preparing to buy 50 acres of land in Macau to build a $3 billion casino and leisure complex. Meanwhile, Virgin America—Branson's San Francisco-based low-cost airline—was struggling to get approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Some believed that Virgin Galactic—Branson's passenger spaceship service—might be first into the air.Yet despite being lauded for his entrepreneurship, eccentricity and embodiment of “the friendly face of capitalism,” his Virgin group of companies remained a mystery to most outsiders—and to many insiders as well. At the beginning of 2007 there were 215 Virgin companies registered at Britain's Companies House, of which 20 are identified as recently dissolved. However, most operations are conducted through the 36 companies listed on the Virgin web site (see the Appendix). While a number are Virgin companies identified as “holding companies”—they exist
| | | | |
| 20 | | | Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies in 2007* | | | | | Despite celebrating his 57th birthday, Richard Branson showed no signs of flagging energy or loss of entrepreneurial vigor. During the last two weeks of January 2007, Virgin announced a slew of new initiatives. These included the creation of Virgin Bioverda—a joint venture to develop ethanol plants in the U.S.—a bid for a vacation company (First Choice) and a proposal to take over rail services between London and Edinburgh. At the same time, Branson was negotiating an alliance with Tata Group to establish Virgin Mobile in India and preparing to buy 50 acres of land in Macau to build a $3 billion casino and leisure complex. Meanwhile, Virgin America—Branson's San Francisco-based low-cost airline—was struggling to get approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Some believed that Virgin Galactic—Branson's passenger spaceship service—might be first into the air.Yet despite being lauded for his entrepreneurship, eccentricity and embodiment of “the friendly face of capitalism,” his Virgin group of companies remained a mystery to most outsiders—and to many insiders as well. At the beginning of 2007 there were 215 Virgin companies registered at Britain's Companies House, of which 20 are identified as recently dissolved. However, most operations are conducted through the 36 companies listed on the Virgin web site (see the Appendix). While a number are Virgin companies identified as “holding companies”—they exist