Virgin France files for bankruptcy
Virgin France has filed for bankruptcy, the latest music chain to fail against a backdrop of consumers shifting to buying music online.
The firm - not affiliated with Richard Branson's Virgin Group - has 26 stores in France, including a flagship outlet on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
It employs 1,000 people and is owned by French investment firm Butler Capital.
The Paris Commercial Court will decide if the firm should pursue a recovery plan or be put into liquidation.
Butler bought 80% of Virgin in 2007 from French media company Lagardere, which had purchased the chain from Mr Branson's Virgin in 2001.
It is not the only music chain suffering.
Most have been struggling for a number of years, having been hit hard by the big growth in music and film downloads - legal and illegal - and by the rise in the sale of chart CDs and DVDs by the big supermarkets.
Virgin's main French rival, the Fnac chain, has also been facing difficulties. At the end of last year, it discontinued its Fnacmusic digital music download service, having failed to gain sufficient market share.
In the UK, music, films and games retailer HMV has warned that it faces an uncertain future in the face of continuing falling sales.
Our Price, Tower Records, Virgin Megastores, Zavvi, MVC, Music Zone, Andy's, Border's and Woolworths are all well-known names that have disappeared from streets in recent years.