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Richard Branson - Creator of a Virgin Brand

            
Sir Richard Branson believes that the current recession will provide huge opportunities for entrepreneurs. Now is a good time to launch a good business idea that satisfies a market need.

With regard to the political climate of a country, he believes that from a business perspective, as long as the Virgin Group is operating in a democratically elected country, it is not too bothered by who is running the country, as long as they're basically capable. The Group never got involved in party politics. It just did its’ thing which was to focus on the business.

Richard Branson is practically a synonym for the Virgin brand of over 200 companies. His first business success was at age 16, with a magazine publication called, Student. He went on to set up a music record mail-order venture in 1970. Two years later, he opened a chain of stores called, Virgin Records which became Virgin Megastores.

Richard Branson’s record business began after he purchased crates of records from a discounter across the English Channel which he then sold out of his car boot to London retail outlets. He continued selling through a mail order business. Trading as "Virgin" he sold records at a lower price than the High Street outlets. He subsequently started a record shop on Oxford Street in London. Soon after the record label, Virgin Records was launched. Virgin Record first released Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells, which became a best-seller. The label also signed on bands like the Sex Pistols, which other labels were reluctant to sign on. 

Branson established Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, Virgin Mobile in 1999 and Virgin Blue in Australia in the year 2000. His interest in life comes from setting huge, apparently unachievable challenges for himself and trying to achieve them in order to live life to the fullest.

The Virgin Group has now grown and is involved in industries that include leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, TV, radio, music festivals, finance and health.

Richard Branson has been described ad a transformational leader with a strategy that allows the organization to be driven by informality and information where, the bottom is not strangled by the top management.

In 2006, Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation was established as an Lifestyle company which creates new stories and characters for a global audience. The Company was set up with Deepak Chopra an author and writer, Shekhar Kapur a film maker together with entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra.

In February 2007, Richard Branson announced the establishment of technology prize to encourage a viable technology which will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases called the Virgin Earth Challenge.

In August 2007, Richard Branson bought a 20 percent stake in Malaysia's AirAsiaX budget Airline.

With the 2008, Virgin Healthcare launch, a chain of health care clinics offering conventional medical care alongside homeopathic and complementary therapies will be opened. The Virgin brand continues to grow and provide its services and products worldwide with an entrepreneurial drive.

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