BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Sir Richard Branson exits the music retailing business]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/17/sir-richard-branson-exits-the-music-retailing-business/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/17/sir-richard-branson-exits-the-music-retailing-business/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/17/sir-richard-branson-exits-the-music-retailing-business/#commentsFiled under: ,

Sir Richard Branson is selling Virgin Megastores to a management buyout team and exiting the music retailing business four decades after it helped him start on the road to becoming a mogul. Some odd, bold move or calculated business strategy? It's easily the latter.

With music retailing slowly morphing into an industry that uses internet downloads and digital forms of music instead of the physical CD, the move should not come as a surprise to anyone. From an economic perspective, the music industry worldwide is reaping what it sows as sales of $15 CDs are losing out to the 99 cent download. Plus, there are "subscription" music services where customers can 'rent' music for a monthly fee and never have to buy or carry another CD again.

Branson's move here, even in the industry that started his career as a global entrepreneur, has been timed perfectly. Branson, like most business owners, knows entrance and exit strategies with the best of them, and apparently he sees the brick-and-mortar music retailing business slowly becoming extinct in the iPod age.

Should other music retailers listen up? Most of them have, and have dropped prices on CDs to levels comparable to music downloads, or are using CDs as loss leaders to get traffic inside stores for other, higher-margin purchases. But, for Branson to sell off what was his business baby should signal a shift to the music retailers who have not listened so far: compete in the new internet music distribution era or perish.

Sir Richard Branson exits the music retailing business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bransoninthenewsrecordssir richard bransonSirRichardBransonVirginMon, 17 Sep 2007 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Virgins in space: Spaceport America moves forward]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/05/virgins-in-space-spaceport-america-moves-forward/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/05/virgins-in-space-spaceport-america-moves-forward/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/05/virgins-in-space-spaceport-america-moves-forward/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

New Mexico's vision of becoming the home of commercial space travel is moving closer to reality as progress continues on the construction of Spaceport America. The winning design by URS Corp. (NYSE: URS) and Foster + Partners is in the process of being awarded for construction to begin next year, with completion slated for 2010. The 100,000 square foot facility near Las Cruces, NM, is budgeted at $31 million. It will serve as the launch spot for passenger and business travel into space.

The most noteworthy client for the new facility will be Virgin Galactic, part of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. VG will base its suborbital spaceliners here, currently under construction by Scaled Composites in California. The company hopes to begin commercial flights on the Virgin SpaceShip Enterprise shortly after the facility is complete.

The terminal will be environmentally friendly, using passive heating and cooling and solar power collected on site for its electrical needs. A rolling concrete shell will shield those inside from mishaps.

Can you imagine? In just a few years, it will be within our means to get bumped from flights not just around the world, but into space! Live long and prosper.

Virgins in space: Spaceport America moves forward originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>foster PartnersFoster Partnersnew mexico space administrationNewMexicoSpaceAdministrationscaled compositesScaledCompositessir richard bransonSirRichardBransonspace tourismspace travelspaceport americaSpaceportAmericaSpaceTourismSpaceTravelursvirgin galacticvirgin groupVirginGalacticVirginGroupWed, 05 Sep 2007 16:16:00 EST<![CDATA[The Virgin dishes with Engadget]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/the-virgin-dishes-with-engadget/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/the-virgin-dishes-with-engadget/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/the-virgin-dishes-with-engadget/#commentsFiled under: ,

Our sister site, Engadget, sat down to an exclusive interview with Virgin Group Chairman Sir Richard Branson. Branson, the swash-buckling founder of the Virgin empire, flew to San Francisco on the first ever Virgin America flight. Branson, who has a 25% stake in the new company, worked for three years to get U.S. regulators to approve his new low-cost carrier.

Sir Richard is vocal in his criticism of the U.S. airline industry. Indeed, he tells Engadget that if it weren't for America's peculiar Chapter 11, none of the legacy carriers in this country would still be around. To wit:

"...they just keep on going in and out of bankruptcy. In Europe, if you're dead you're dead, make room for new children to grow. It's not good for the traveling public. It's much better if you have the English system, where if you don't succeed you're bankrupt and you make room for somebody else."

The airline will compete with the likes of Jetblue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ: JBLU) and Southwest Airline Co. (NYSE: LUV), and will feature two flights a day to New York and five to Los Angeles from SFO. Frequent flyers must be excited, given the high reputation of the Virgin brand name, and Branson has promised these new planes, Airbus A319 and A320 jets, will have the latest in high-tech entertainment options.

Which is why the boys at Engadget wanted to go along for the ride, no doubt. Check out the whole interview here:

The Virgin dishes with Engadget originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>airline industryAirlineIndustryEngadgetinthenewsJBLULUVSan FranciscoSanFranciscoSir Richard BransonSirRichardBransonVirgin AmericaVirginAmericaThu, 09 Aug 2007 16:30:00 EST