Ros Simmons is a British businesswoman. She was the CEO of Vie at Home, a company for which she worked since it was launched in 1997, starting out as Marketing Director. In late 2008, Simmons successfully led a management buyout of the company, formerly known as Virgin Vie at Home, from Virgin Group. [1] In December 2010, the company was sold to Helmut Spikker. [2]
After her training at the London College of Fashion, Simmons joined The Body Shop. [3] During her seven years with the company, she held the position of Brand Manager with global responsibility for the Colour Cosmetics division. [4]
When she joined The Virgin Cosmetics Company as one of the founding directors [5] she was given the task of growing Virgin Vie at Home into the UK's leading cosmetics party plan business as well as developing the cosmetic and skin care product ranges.
In January 2009, Simmons led a management buy-out of Virgin Vie at Home with her business partner Ratan Daryani. In order to take control of the company the team purchased the shares for £1. Further to this the Virgin Group wrote off £21m worth of loans and paid the new enterprise £7m worth of 'Brand Protection' payment, so that if the company failed, the Virgin Brand would not be endangered. [6]
In late 2009, Simmons closed the final Effective Cosmetics (Previously Virgin Cosmetics) stores, putting the chain into Administration. [7]
In 2010, Simmons was nominated for a Real Woman Award in the Retail & Consumer Section. [8]
In December 2010, VIE was sold to Helmut Spikker for an undisclosed sum. [9]
In May 2011, Simmons resigned from the Board of Directors of VIE.
Simmons lives with her husband Andy in West Sussex. Her hobbies include gardening, interior design and watching cricket.[ citation needed ]
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields.
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970.
Iman Abdulmajid is a Somali fashion model, supermodel, actress and entrepreneur. A muse of the designers Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Yves Saint Laurent, she is also noted for her philanthropic work. She was married to rock musician David Bowie from 1992 until his death in 2016.
Virgin Megastores is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Sir Richard Branson as a record shop on London's Oxford Street.
Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW.
Virgin Cola was a carbonated cola soft drink, launched in 1994. The beverage became popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and began to outsell Coca-Cola in certain locations, who subsequently created lucrative deals with stockists to sway them from carrying Virgin; causing it to decline and fade into obscurity. By the late 2000s, Virgin Cola was only available in limited locations, and eventually became exclusive to Asda stores as a two-litre bottle. After being discontinued in the UK in early 2009, it still existed overseas for a short time before ceasing existence completely.
Virgin Galactic is an American spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson and his British Virgin Group retains an 11.9% stake through Virgin Investments Limited. It is headquartered in California, USA, and operates from New Mexico. The company is developing commercial spacecraft and aims to provide suborbital spaceflights to space tourists. Virgin Galactic's suborbital spacecraft are air launched from beneath a carrier airplane known as White Knight Two. Virgin Galactic‘s maiden spaceflight occurred in 2018 with its VSS Unity spaceship. Branson had originally hoped to see a maiden spaceflight by 2010, but the date was delayed for several years, primarily due to the October 2014 crash of VSS Enterprise.
Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Rimmel is a British multinational cosmetics brand, now owned by parent company Coty, Inc.. The House of Rimmel was founded by French-born British cosmetics entrepreneur Eugène Rimmel as a perfumery in 1834, in Regent Street, London. Within a year of opening, Eugène Rimmel came to create many make up products, including his best known, mascara. It gave rise to the term 'rimmel' being used to mean 'mascara' in many Mediterranean languages.
Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by VMED O2 UK Limited, a 50:50 joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica.
Lush Retail Ltd. is a British cosmetics retailer which is headquartered in Poole, Dorset, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1995 by trichologist Mark Constantine, his wife Mo Constantine and five other founders. Lush has 951 stores globally.
This is a list of Richard Branson's business ventures from the 1960s to today.
Virgin Money is a banking and financial services brand operating in the United Kingdom.
Stuff by Hilary Duff was a lifestyle brand that was launched by American singer and actress Hilary Duff in February 2004.
Virgin Cars Ltd was an internet automobile retailer, established by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, and co founded by Ian Lancaster in May 2000. This was as part of the Virgin brand of companies.
Vie at Home, formerly The Virgin Cosmetics Company and Virgin Vie At Home, was a retailer and distributor of cosmetics. The company was formed as The Virgin Cosmetics Company by Mark and Liz Warom with the backing of the Virgin Group in 1997, and was renamed Virgin Vie at Home in 2006. Vie at Home specialised in the direct selling of make up, skin care, body care, jewellery and homeware.
O₂ UK is a British telecommunications services provider, headquartered in Slough, England which operates under the O2 brand. It is owned by VMED O2 UK Limited, a 50:50 joint venture between Telefónica and Liberty Global. O2 is the UK's largest mobile network operator, with 31.3 million subscribers as of September 2021.
Susie Ma is a British-Chinese skincare entrepreneur, philanthropist and Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree. She is known for her appearances on the seventh series of the BBC television series The Apprentice in 2011, where despite coming in third place, she secured investment from Lord Alan Sugar. Her company, Tropic Skincare, has been recognised as the fastest growing skincare brand in the UK, selling 3.3 million products per year.
Virgin Megastores was a retail chain that operated in the United Kingdom from 1971 to 2007. The company was established by Richard Branson, originally as a small record shop, and became a national chain. In 2007, the company was sold to management, and was rebranded as Zavvi. Zavvi entered administration in 2008 and subsequently closed.
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