After years of plying its wares as the poor cousin to O2, Vodafone, T-Mobile, 3 and Orange – it seems that Virgin will finally make a grab for the high street. But can it overcome the huge competition from the carriers' stores – at the same time as it tries to deal with Carphone Warehouse and the Apple stores? KitGuru used a pretty wide lens, but still couldn't capture any customers last night.
Early evening on Thursday 20th December. Traditionally, in the UK, Thursday is the late night shopping day and the last one before Xmas would normally see droves of people in the major shopping centres. But last night was different.
Overall, it was a lot more subdued than you might imagine.
While that quietness still meant queues for John Lewis, Waitrose, Apple, Carphone Warehouse and O2, sadly – for Virgin – there wasn't a single customer in site.
There was no one in there when our cameraman walked past on the way to McDonald's and there was no one in there after the last remains of the quarter pounder with cheese meal was a simple memory.
The only staff in the shop had obviously given up and were seated at the back for both passes of the shop. Sure, they might have served a dozen people in between times, but we doubt it.
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KitGuru says: Not sure what Virgin will have to do in order to win across high street shoppers who more associate the brand with cheap flights and closed down record stores. Maybe a visit from Usain Bolt would do the trick.
Comment below or in the KitGuru forums.