Virgin Vie At Home announces MBO

Virgin Vie At Home, a UK party plan company that sells cosmetics and skincare products, has been bought out by a management team led by founding directors Ros Simmons and Ratan Daryani for an undisclosed sum. The company was launched in 1996 and has over 10,000 consultants.

The new management team said it would continue to focus on and enhance the direct sales channel, which is the core of the business. “Our strategy is to maximise our direct sales party plan business by widening the potential audience of our award-winning, high quality Vie products,” says Simmons, the new CEO of Vie At Home. “With retail high street sales set to continue to struggle over the next year, we will be moving away from high street sales to a comprehensive ‘direct to consumer’ model involving ecommerce and direct mail.

“Our aim is to provide our self-employed consultants with everything they need to earn a good income, by providing them with new leads and customers to their own businesses. This highly innovative approach, which we believe represents the changing face of direct sales, makes this form of selling an acceptable and welcomed way of earning a living by selling high quality cosmetics and skincare.”

According to Vie at Home, the newly enhanced commission structure created for consultants and managers has been a success. The company’s focus will now move to recruitment and training of new consultants and managers and a review of the existing product range. The company is also looking to expand internationally.