Mellors Reay poised for Virgin Vie

Virgin Vie, the cosmetics company owned by the Victory Corporat ion, is understood to have hired

Mellors Reay to create an advertising campaign.

It is understood that the marketing department of Virgin Vie is having to justify the cost of appointing an ad agency to its board. The campaign will only go ahead if the board sanctions the expenditure.

A spokeswoman for the company confirms that Virgin Vie has been in talks with Mellors Reay and other agencies.

The Victory Corporation, in which Richard Branson’s Virgin Group owns a 52 per cent stake, announced pre-tax losses of 9.7m for the year ending March 31. The loss was largely attributed to the start-up costs for the six-strong Virgin Vie chain.

The chain has scaled down its expansion plans. It originally intended to open 14 stores this financial year, but is now only planning to open three.

Virgin Clothing, also part of the Victory Corporation, is launching its 4m ad campaign through Saatchi & Saatchi next month. It has recently abandoned plans to open standalone stores.