Virgin's Our Price Chain Revamp Ready To Launch

The first five stores revamped under Virgin Entertainment Group's £20 million ($30 million) makeover of its underachieving Our Price U.K. music retail chain are set to launch Sept. 4. A total of 102 Our Price stores in the U.K., mainly in the southeast of England, will be converted to the new v.shops banner by mid-November, at the rate of 12-25 each week, says Our Price commercial director Neil Boote. Currently, Our Price has 229 outlets in the U.K., and Boote says that "for the foreseeable future, about 120 stores will continue trading as Our Price." Boote also says that the conversion of more stores to v.shops is planned.

Under the makeover, approximately 60% of floor space in the v.shops?down from Our Price's 85%?will remain devoted to music, focusing on new releases, singles, and chart product, plus a reduced catalog selection of about 600 "price-promoted" titles. The outlets will also stock 500-plus DVD titles, an expanded range of Virgin Mobile phones, portable music hardware, and a limited selection of VHS titles.

In addition, the new stores will feature kiosks offering online access to a catalog of 100,000 music and DVD items, plus a range of consumer electronics hardware and links to the Virgin Group's online companies. A tie-in with download site peoplesound.com will allow shoppers to sample digital distribution in-store.