Table of Contents
Executive Summary p. 2
PART A: Personal and Business Characteristics of Richard Branson p. 3
PART B: Appraisal of Business Activities of Richard Branson p. 7
References p. 11
Enterprise and Business Development
Executive Summary
Richard Branson is considered one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, and one of the most successful businessman around the world. He made a difference in the entrepreneurial industry for he was able to establish and was successful in establishing the brand image and identity of Virgin Company to the various segments in the market. He was successful in making his consumers and target market realize that a variety of products and services are associated with the brand “Virgin”, which makes the company triumphant in building its brand loyalty among its consumers.
Moreover, he was able to manage the whole company, including international offices and a wide variety of products and services, with the dedication and alongside his successful and dedicated employees and partners. Several opportunities can be recognized, for the company was able to effectively and efficiently recognize the need of consumers, were able to fill this gap, and was amazingly victorious over it. Branson and his employees took advantage of their business strategies and skills, and were able to provide innovative services and products to the different market segments in the industry. Branson was just clever, responsible, brave enough to risk, and venture into these different kinds of businesses, which were accompanied by the excellent service and brand quality being offered by the Virgin Group.
PART A: Personal and Business Characteristics of Richard Branson
Richard Branson was never interested in becoming a businessman or an entrepreneur, but despite his intentions, at 56, he has become one of the most successful and eccentric billionaires of the 20th century, being behind one of the most recognizable brands in history and sitting on an estimated fortune of .2 billion (2006). Sir was born in July 18, 1950 in Shamley Green, Surrey, an English entrepreneur, best known for his Virgin brand, which encompasses a variety of business organizations ( 2006). The parents of Richard were Ted and Eve, who showered his childhood with love and encouragement. His father was a lawyer who had to set aside his passion for archeology at the request of Richard’s grandfather to follow in the family footsteps, while his mother was a stewardess who originally pretended to be a man in order to become a pilot instructor, and together, his parents were able to impart in him a sense of hard work and the need to be financially successful ( 2006).
It has been reported that a loving family played an important role in Branson’s development, and teamwork was a trademark of the family. Branson’s parents treated him and his two sisters, Vanessa and Lindi, as equals. They valued their children’s opinions and only provided advice when the children asked for it. Branson’s mother was very entrepreneurial, as was his Aunt , thus, each developed several ways of making their own money. However, despite his enormous entrepreneurial success, Branson still lacks a high school diploma. In school, Branson was a deplorable student, but an excellent athlete. Although he was dyslexic and had vision problems, his inability to read, write, and spell words, and his poor performance on tests were blamed on stupidity or laziness (2006). Having a hard time to excel in his academics, Richard was sent to a different school, but was initially expelled for his nocturnal visits with the daughter of the headmaster. Nevertheless, because of the fake suicide note of the headmaster’s daughter, Richard got the expulsion overturned, and from this, he was able to set up Student Magazine (2006).
It has been emphasized that Richard Branson began building his entrepreneurial empire in his teenage years. At the age of 17, being frustrated with the rules and regulations of schools and brimming with activism, Branson and a friend, , started a magazine called Student. The magazine tied many schools together and focused on the students themselves rather than the schools ( 2006). He opened the Student Advisory Center a year later, a charity to help young people, and at the first issue of his magazine, the headmaster of his school wrote to him saying, “Congratulations, Branson. I predict you will either go to prison or become a millionaire” (2006). After some time, Branson dropped out of school and continued to pursue his entrepreneurial interests. Then entrepreneurial venture after entrepreneurial venture developed ( 2006). Richard Branson has entered more than 100 different businesses through a process he calls “organic expansion”. Branson’s activities encompass record retailer Virgin Megastores, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and Virgin Hotels Group, as well as publishing, television, radio, ballooning operations, soft drinks, bridal wear, and a modeling agency. In April 1999, he registered Virgin Galactic Airways as a company aiming to provide spaceflights to tourists by 2008. In 1998, the Economist counted 200-odd firms owned by Richard Branson, plus joint ventures accounting for a similar volume of sales. The complex structure included family trusts based in the Channel Islands, as well as holding companies in the British Virgin Islands and sub-holding companies in the United Kingdom ( 2000). Because of his vast accomplishments, Sir Richard – knighted by the Queen of England in 2000 – has mostly majority stakes in over 200 companies that constitute his .9 billion entrepreneurial empire (2006). Such a success is brought about by his management and leadership style, which suits well with his companies. It has been stressed that the unconventionality reflected in Branson’s managerial style is a personality trait that has made him a highly successful innovator throughout his career. Initially dismissed as a “hippie businessman”, Branson showed up the British record retailing industry by launching the country’s first discount record mail-order business, Virgin Records (2000). Moreover, Branson has successfully launched more businesses, including the launch of Virgin Mobile in 1999, the Virgin Blue in Australia in 2000, and later failed in a 2000 bid to handle the National Lottery. In 1997, he took risks in entering a railway business, with promises of new high-tech tilting trains and enhanced levels of services. In addition, Branson has also developed a Virgin Cola brand and a Virgin Vodka brand. Just recently, Branson has decided to make a major commitment to Nigeria, in a sector that is crying out for investment. He is as well known for his involvement in marketing stunts and personal challenges as for the success of his businesses. Yet Branson has proved remarkably successful in developing a string of companies in sectors as diverse as retailing, telecommunications, railways, and aviation. The British entrepreneur has even recently announced plans to launch tourist flights into space for the very wealthy. Recently, he has now turned his attentions to setting up a Nigerian airline that will operate internal domestic flights, regional services and international flights to the Far East, Europe, and hopefully, North America, helping to connect Nigeria with the rest of the world. It has been reported that the new airline is being set up to replace Nigeria’s state-owned airline, Nigeria Airways, which ended a period of long decline when it ceased operations in May 2003. In addition, while the inclusion of Virgin’s name in the title of the new airline reduces the sense of Virgin Nigeria being a national carrier, it must create a high degree of confidence among potential customers. Whether it retains this level of profile and reputation depends upon its performance during its first few months of service ( 2005).
From the personality and story of Branson, it can be perceived that his dedication, passion, hardwork, and interests in his business have contributed much on his success as an individual. In this regard, the success of Richard Branson cannot be questioned, as being skillful and knowledgeable in terms of enterprise and business development, thus, making him become recognized as one of the most famous, successful, and richest man in the world.
PART B: Appraisal of Business Activities of Richard Branson
One of the most established and most famous business of Branson is the Virgin Atlantic Airways, which serves to be one of the most prestigious airlines in the United Kingdom. As earlier mentioned, Richard Branson was able to establish the ‘Virgin’ brand in a number of different products and services, both locally and internationally. The Virgin Group was able to establish Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Records, Virgin Express, Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, and many others, and all of these subgroups are in response to the aim of the company for addressing and targeting specific groups in the market. Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways, and in the last two decades has grown into Britain’s second largest carrier. The Virgin Atlantic was said to be profitable even in its first year, as it has featured its three classes of service, namely, Economy, Premium Economy, and Upper Class, which include free in-flight drinks and meals, often including ice cream, and seat back personal TVs, which was pioneered by Virgin (2006). Virgin Airlines was very much a Richard Branson style company offering reasonable prices on transatlantic flights, and once again, he spotted a gap in the market and filled it impressively. Sir Richard Branson was the reserve pilot for the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer, and is considered one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs who combine his enthusiasm for running the Virgin group of companies with his love for high-risk, high-adventure world record-breaking attempts (2006).
Based on the different classes and the different features and amenities the Virgin Atlantic Airways offers, it can be perceived that the primary target consumers of the airlines include customers who are hip, fun, and adventurous, most likely, similar with the traits of Richard Branson himself. This is because the amenities of the airlines, such as their massage, CD player, and interactive entertainment system, which can be found in First Class flights in other airlines, can be found in Virgin’s business and economy flights. In this sense, it can be perceived that what Richard Branson would like to achieve is to promote his airlines to passengers in all lifestyles, as being affordable, hip, and fun to fly with. Because the airlines aim to provide its customers to be offered world-class services in a lower price, it placed all its high-quality and effective amenities in all classes of flights. In addition, Branson and his company would want everybody to experience a unique flight, courtesy of Virgin Atlantic Airways. In this regard, it can be perceived that through such aims, the company would be able to provide their effective and efficient services and amenities to all fun and hip passengers, thus, making Virgin Company as one of the most successful and prestigious company in the whole world.
In relation to the success of the Virgin Company is the success of its most prestigious and well-known product and service, which is the Virgin Atlantic Airways. In this regard, the Unique Selling Point (USP), such as the perceived benefit of product or service to the customer can be observed and seen through the success of the Virgin Atlantic Airways. All the three classes of flights offer different sets of amenities. The airline also pioneered the seat-back personal television in all classes, and have begun upgrading their aircraft to an Audio/Video on Demand or the AVOD system called the V:Port, which offers a choice of approximately 50 full length feature films, 60 audio CDs, around 200 hours of television shows, and video games that can also be played competitively against other passengers ( 2006). In addition to the mentioned amenities, the Virgin Atlantic Airways is also committed to innovation, as it understands that a multi-channel approach is key to improving its service to existing passengers and attracting new ones. This is why, the airlines wanted to upgrade its existing web presence, to a more resilient site that offered a smoother and more compelling service to passengers. In line with their aim to encourage passengers to book online, the website needed to be able to handle increased user traffic, particularly from the United Kingdom and the United States, and its technology architecture had to be capable of supporting other channels in the future (2006). With this aim, the airlines worked with Conchango, which led the development and the implementation of the new eBusiness architecture and enhanced website. Aided by a harmonious working relationship between Virgin Atlantic’s IT and marketing teams, Conchango and the airline pooled their creative expertise to design a site, which combines clear Virgin Atlantic branding with a satisfying user experience (2006). In addition to such amenities, the considered Unique Selling Points of Virgin Atlantic Airways is the current projects and strategies of the airlines, including hiring more than a hundred in-flight beauticians and beauty therapists in advising passengers on makeup and fashion during upper class flights, allowing one piece of sports equipment along with the baggage of passengers, which is not allowed in other airlines, and cutting emissions, as Richard Branson’s commitment to save the world from further global warming. In addition, it has also committed itself to having partnerships with a Japan-based airline, in order to provide more destinations for passengers. In this regard, it can be perceived that such unique selling points would be one of the advantages of the airlines among its competitors, as some amenities it offers are unique in the airline industry. Through its entertainment system, passengers would able to enjoy their flight, thus, making them choose to fly Virgin Atlantic the next time. The website and IT features being offered by the airlines would also allow their loyal passengers to feel secured in purchasing their tickets in a fair price and efficient service. As such, the different unique selling points being introduced by the airlines to its system are also considered its competitive advantage, thus, helping the company effectively establish its reputation and position in the market.
The market strategy of the Virgin Atlantic Airways have given the company its competitive advantage over other airline companies, by providing ‘hip’ features and amenities to their passengers. Despite the existence of three different classes in the airline, it still was able to provide with all of the passengers the V:Port feature, which is the latest innovation of the airline. Moreover, because of the desire of the company to improve their services in response to the changes in technology at present, the airlines made partnerships with popular IT companies to develop and improve their website. In this way, the airlines can provide services, such as online booking and ticket reservations, and customer services through their website. In addition, the airline was able to identify their competitive strategy by focusing on improving their amenities, such as providing additional features to availing the Upper Class ticket including the limousine, or the V:Port television in all classes. Along with these, Virgin Atlantic Airways has provided its passengers with more effective and efficient planes, such as the Boeing 787’s in order to render high-quality services. Aside from the physical amenities the airlines offer, the company also decided to provide additional services during flights, such as the unique and value-added services of flight attendants, such as beauty therapists. In this regard, it can be perceived that the variety and the unique services of the Virgin Atlantic Airways serve to be its competitive advantages among its competitors in the industry. These features enable the Virgin Atlantic Airways to cater to the needs of all its passengers, and provide them the best service the company has to offer.
In addition, the airline’s competitive strategy is innovating and improving their website to accommodate online booking and ticket reservation. This competitive strategy is essential because it has enabled the company to cope with the fast-changing technology nowadays and to respond to how many business organizations rely on advanced technology. Similarly, the customers of Virgin Atlantic Airways would want the same web-based service, so this competitive strategy has given the airlines a good competitive advantage among other airlines.
In this regard, I believe that the Virgin Company and Richard Branson would be able to exist in the next 5 years or so, given the fact that the company would continue to uphold its philosophies and style of management and leadership. Despite the fact that the company has already ventured to almost all businesses, including a wide range of products and services one could ever imagine, the company can still have new opportunities in food products, garments and apparel business.
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