GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin group among scores of other companies, and one of Britain’s best-known entrepreneurs, is reported by the Daily Telegraph in the UK to be moving Virgin Enterprises to Geneva. The move is being linked to Switzerland’s easier tax environment, compared to the UK.
Virgin Enterprises, a very small operation, is the licensing arm of the group. The newspaper quotes an unnamed Virgin official as saying that the group “has become increasingly focused on the development of the Virgin brand internationally and especially in emerging markets,” adding that “To reflect this, we are considering moving our licensing entity to Switzerland in the near future to co-ordinate our international growth and brand management.”
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It’s a bargain compared to another Richard Branson island: Makepeace, the heart-shaped Australian island in Queensland described by the Sydney Morning Herald as an “ultra-luxurious Balinese-style retreat” is now for rent to the public. The British billionaire bought the island for A$2.86 million in May 2003, saying it was a gift for his Australian employees to use. It was once a muddy bit of land in the middle of the Noosa River, and he and the co-founder of Virgin Atlantic still use it but Branson is willing to rent it out when they are not there. Pricetag: Aus$7,900 for 1-10 people, a night, and up to A$14,990 for 20-22 people.
It’s a bargain compared to the other Branson island you can rent, Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands: $US53,000 ($A49,380)
Richard Branson has finally done it, gone from “Blue” to “Australia” for his Virgin down-under airline name. The British Virgin empire-maker flew into Sydney for the re-naming ceremony, with Virgin Blue and long-haul brands V Australia and Pacific Blue all being called Virgin Australia. The airplanes will be a virginal white rather than bold red in future.
The change, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, has much to do with Branson’s efforts to gain a better foothold in Australia with the company he founded in 2000.
Qantas retains a tight grip on the lucrative business travel market in Australia, a situation that the born-again Virgin airline underlines in a new advertising campaign, launched 4 May in Sydney, Melbourne and Shanghai.
“The television commercial communicates that, for the first time, Australia’s airline industry has a genuine alternative. It has listened to what customers want today – and created the right kind of experience”, says Hans Hulsbosch, the airline’s creative director.
Links to other sites: Sydney Morning Herald, Virgin Australia
Solar Impulse computer model in flight (image: EPFL)
Duebendorf, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – “Yesterday, it was a dream. Today, it is an airplane – tomorrow it will be an ambassador of renewable energies”, Bertrand Piccard told journalists gathered Friday 26 June for the unveiling of his futuristic fuel-free airplane Solar Impulse.
Piccard is the head of a project to build and fly a plane that uses only the sun’s energy to fly non-stop around the world.
