Zavvi buys out Virgin Megastores

Zavvi Entertainment Group has today completed a management buyout of the Virgin Megastores UK and Irish chain from Virgin Group, creating the British Isles’ largest independent entertainment retailer.

All the existing one hundred and twenty five UK and Irish stores will continue to operate under the name Zavvi, as will the company's recently-revamped online offering. UK Stores are set for rebranding by November 2007 with the website and Irish stores to follow suit in January 2008.

Commenting on the buyout, Simon Douglas, managing director of the new company, waffled on obscurely for a few paragraphs, before concluding: “there is still very much a place on an increasingly homogenised high street for an independent entertainment specialist that puts customers, product, service and personality at the top of the agenda.”

Speculation is rife as to whether the takeover will have a similar impact on falling record sales as the recent closure of Fopp, as the brand continues to switch focus from music to sales of DVDs, mobile phones and computer games.