Recently, British billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s rocket company Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy in the United States after it failed to secure new investments.
The California-based company announced in March 2023 about cutting 85% of its 750-strong workforce, after the failed assignment of completing its first-ever satellite launch from the soil of the United Kingdom.
Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 as a spin-off of Sir Richard’s space tourism company Virgin Galactic. Virgin Orbit’s specialisation was in launching rockets from modified Boeing 747 jets, in order to send satellites into space.
Let’s Revisit The Failed Launch
In January 2023, Virgin Orbit’s attempt to send a satellite from the UK met with a failure as the rocket’s fuel filter got dislodged, resulting in the overheating of one of its engines.
The mission, launched from Spaceport Cornwall, had been billed as a milestone for UK space exploration. The success of the mission would have ensured UK’s transformation from satellite manufacturer to rocket and spaceport creator.
As the launch failed, Virgin Orbit scrambled to find new funding and stopped its operations in March 2023. The company, which listed its shares on the Nasdaq index in 2021, had debts of USD 153.5 million as of September 2022.
Now, Virgin Investments will provide the rocket company with a USD 31.6 million lifeline to help the latter stay afloat while it scrambles to find a new buyer. Filing for bankruptcy will also allow it to keep operating and address its financial issues while being protected against creditors.
Failure & Sir Richard Branson: An Old Love Story
The iconic British businessman, born in 1950, has donned many hats. Billionaire, commercial astronaut, appearances in iconic TV shows and films, committing to climate and humanitarian causes, author, you name anything, Sir Richard Branson will be there.
Sir Richard Branson is also known as an adventure freak, as he made several world record-breaking attempts. One of them was the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by ship. In 1986, in his Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, the billionaire beat the record by two hours with sailing expert Daniel McCarthy. In 1987, his hot air balloon ‘Virgin Atlantic Flyer’ crossed the Atlantic.
Sir Richard Branson also possesses records of crossing the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada and the fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle.
In the 1970s, he formed the Virgin Group, which as of 2023, controls over 400 companies in various fields. In 2000, Sir Richard Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for “services to entrepreneurship”. In 2007, he was placed in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list. In 2021, Forbes listed Sir Richard Branson’s estimated net worth at USD 5.7 billion. In the same year, he travelled as a passenger on-board Virgin Galactic Unity 22 at the edge of space. The feat saw the then 70-year-old Sir Richard Branson becoming the third oldest person to fly to space.
He is indeed an iconic personality. However, Sir Richard Branson has also been involved in a number of failed business ventures. On the back of Virgin Orbit’s bankruptcy, let’s revisit some of those episodes.
Virgin Cola
Sir Richard Branson’s most infamous business disaster was the line of soda products called ‘Virgin Cola’. The product debuted in 1994 and took on beverage giants like Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Despite the product being poised to overtake Coca-Cola in the British market, the latter gave retailers a tough choice: “Stop stocking Virgin Cola or else be prepared to not see Coca-Cola drinks on your product display racks”.
The tactic worked and Virgin Cola collapsed in 2009, despite having a brilliant age-based consumer targeting campaign, a successful debut on TV (having featured in the Friends episode titled “The One with Joey’s Bag”) and another marketing campaign, in which Virgin Cola’s 500 ml bottles were branded as “The Pammy”, as their curves were designed to resemble actor Pamela Anderson.
Virgin Vodka was a line of liquor released by Sir Richard Branson’s company in 1994. However, unlike Virgin Cola, this alcohol brand never had any market appeal. However, the beverage sector didn’t disappoint him for long as Virgin’s line of wines found remarkable success post-2000, before being taken over by the Direct Wines Company in 2005.
Unsuccessful Stint In Clothing Line
Virgin Clothing made its debut in 1998. Sir Richard Branson envisioned the brand as a high-end fashion label that presented a streetwear vibe. However, customers became unhappy due to a higher price tag. This resulted in Virgin Clothing being shut down for good. However, the billionaire came up with a lingerie line in the form of ‘Virginware’ in 2003, intending to compete with Victoria’s Secret. By 2005, ‘Virginware’ had some 30 stores. However, this too collapsed.
Sir Richard Branson gave another attempt to launch a Virgin-branded line of bridal dresses. ‘Virgin Brides’ premiered in 1996 with the opening of several shops around the United Kingdom. The billionaire even donned a bridal dress to promote his venture. However, this too went bankrupt within the next ten years.
Gigantic Failure In Automobile Front
‘Virgin Cars’ were launched in 2000, and Sir Richard Branson stated that the company would likely sell about 24,000 vehicles in its first year. However, ‘Virgin Cars’ only sold 2,000 vehicles during the 2000-01 financial quarters. In 2001, the venture launched its subsidiary ‘Virgin Bikes’. However, by 2003, the company made only 12,000 sales. In 2005, it collapsed.
Zero Return From Online Music Market
‘Virgin Digital’ first appeared in 2005 and was intended to compete with Apple’s iTunes, through subscription services. The business only lasted till 2007 and couldn’t supersede iTunes’ popularity. ‘Virgin Pulse’, another music player similar to the iPod, also met the same fate.
The ‘Virgin America’ Horror
Virgin Atlantic, which is a successful aviation company, had a US-based subsidiary called ‘Virgin America’. Established in 2007, ‘Virgin America’ intended to be a low-cost carrier primarily servicing the West Coast. It eventually became defunct after being bought out by Alaska Airlines in 2018.