monday 8 october 2001

Tornado Group plc and Virgin Megastores collaboration set to give the lowdown on downloads

As of November 2001, Virgin Megastores are set to embrace the super highway by joining forces with Tornado Group Plc, Europe’s leading digital service provider.

Using Tornado’s technical infrastructure, the Virgin Megastores site, Virginmega.co.uk, will be offering their customers the chance to download a wide range of exclusive digital tracks and games on-line. Having already built a number of existing relationships with leading UK record companies and Games Publishers, Tornado make this the ideal partnership, strengthening their position in this field.

Building the sites profile as the entertainment destination, this new venture fuses creative concept with digital technology. Designed to provide a fantastic consumer experience, it is also simple to use and opens its virtual doors to some of today’s most exciting musical sounds.

"The digital distribution of entertainment products is undoubtedly the way forward. We are delighted that such an important retailer as Virgin Megastores will be working with us to make this a reality. It’s a huge breakthrough in making digital music and games available securely through a high-street retailer and Virgin Megastores are ideally placed to benefit from the explosive growth predicted for the digital industry."

Neil Ferris, Tornado’s Commercial Director

"At Virgin Megastores, we are always looking to provide innovative ideas to a wider audience. We are excited by the deal with Tornado, as it enables us to take great music and games directly to our customers via the web."

Ziggy Rokita, Virgin Megastores’ On-line Commercial Manager

"We very much wanted to incorporate digital download technology into our e-business strategy in 2001. Tornado have demonstrated a sound technical architecture, that will integrate with our existing applications to enable a pre-Christmas delivery. "

Ian Heath, Virgin Megastores’ New Media Development Manager