Richard Branson sells off Virgin Megastore

London (England) - Virgin’s global retail chain has been sold to Zavvi Entertainment Group, which will eventually remove all Virgin-related signage from the hundreds of stores around the world.

Virgin Megastore is an entertainment and electronics boutique. In the US it has been marred for unusually high markups. The stores in the UK will be rebranded to carry the Zavvi name. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The massive global Virgin empire encompasses everything from music labels to mobile phones, and from domestic US flights to commercial space travel. The company’s retail arm, however, was usually overlooked.

"The Virgin brand will continue to be represented in-store through the Virgin Mobile and Virgin Media in-store concessions," said Virgin president and billionaire daredevil Sir Richard Branson.

Currently, Virgin Megastore is located in the UK, Greece, France, Japan, and the United States. There are only around a dozen in the US.