EasyGroup
Encyclopedia
EasyGroup founded in 1998, is a conglomerate & the holding company controlling the "easy" ventures; it is privately owned by Stelios Haji-Ioannou
.
Many of the companies follow the "easy" format of taking away the frills in something to make it cheaper overall, plus using the yield management
system of supply and demand. In the last few years the company has started to franchise the businesses to expand, and cut down costs. Its head office is in Mayfair
, City of Westminster
, London
, although it is registered in Jersey
.
Some EasyGroup subsidiaries have been more successful than others - the most successful division being EasyJet
.
. It was the first company owned by EasyGroup to use the "easy" prefix. EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a separate company in its own right, merely licensing the "easyJet" name from easyGroup.
company EasyRentacar (later renamed EasyCar), with the only rental car available being the Mercedes-Benz A-Class
. The car rental business, which suffered from financial losses and a reputation for poor service has since closed. The new EasyCar company now operates as an international car rental broker via the Internet. The business is profitable and operates in more than 2,400 locations in over 60 countries, selling a full fleet of vehicles, including Prestige Cars in the UK.
company, EasyMoney was set up with Accucard (now part of Lloyds TSB
), which was expanded on 14 February 2005 with the announcement that unbundled car insurance products provided by Zurich
would be sold later in the year at EasyMoney insurance http://www.easymoneyinsurance.com. In April 2006, EasyGroup linked with Moneysupermarket.com to provide a financial product comparison website. This coincided with the withdrawal of the EasyMoney credit card http://www.easymoneycreditcard.com.
company, EasyCinema at The Point, Milton Keynes
was opened at a former UCI site
, offering screenings from 20p if booked well in advance. The cinema initially struggled as major distributors were not prepared to release new films to the company using the yield-management model.
First run films later became available, but at fixed prices. The cinema also relented on not serving popcorn
and drinks, which previously went unsold to save on staffing costs.
Towards the end of its life, the cinema site also housed an EasyInternetcafé and was a pick-up point for EasyPizza. However, following a dispute over unpaid rent with the landlord, Odeon
, which resulted in eviction, the EasyCinema closed in May 2006 and reopened as an Odeon cinema.
The closure of EasyCinema appears to have curtailed the desired expansion into London's West End.
Rental, first announced in November 2004. This is a partnership with LoveFilm
, the company operating rental services for several other retail brands. However, unlike many online DVD rental
services, there is no monthly subscription but the user purchases credits at £1.99 each (minimum purchase is 4 credits). One credit permits one DVD rental and a maximum of three DVDs can be rented at one time, depending on how many credits are pre-purchased. For customers renting one disc per week the offering is competitive to the subscription services, which typically allow one rental at a time, charging around £7.97 to £9.99 per month.
, the product line did not include a razor. After disappointing sales the partnership with Boots was dissolved in 2006.
section of EasyMusic never materialised.
As of January 2008, EasyMusic no longer sells download music, but sells CDs in conjunction with CD-WOW.COM. When purchasing a CD, customers are diverted to the CD-WOW website and a discount is usually applied which varies depending on purchase, most transactions cost around 15p.
. Expansion of the EasyCruise fleet was announced in 2006. A franchise operation using a converted river freighter EasyCruiseTwo operated from 2006 until August 17, 2007. A third ship, a converted ferry, EasyCruise Life
was purchased and began service in May 2008. EasyCruiseOne
was sold in late 2008
The EasyCruiseOne cabins offered a simple bed and bathroom: most did not originally have windows and use of a maid service during the stay incurred an additional charge. Stelios revealed that the initial idea of requiring customers to be responsible for all room cleaning or incur a penalty charge "didn't go down too well".
EasyCruise, based in Liberia
, was a wholly owned subsidiary of EasyGroup, managed by V Ships of Monaco until sold to Hellenic Seaways
in August 2009 for £9 million.
The launch and early days of EasyCruise were tracked for a three series Sky One
programme Cruise with Stelios.
, operating a pay as you go
service, which closed in early December 2006 following a string of negative publicity and the withdrawal of its principal backer, TDC
.
Rival mobile service, Orange
, attempted to sue EasyGroup as it claimed the use of the orange EasyMobile logo breached its trademark and could confuse customers. EasyGroup challenged this assertion.
The EasyMobile operation was inspired by Telmore
, a Danish mobile virtual network operator, using the TDC Mobil
network.
EasyMobile chose The Link
to be its sole independent retailer in March 2006, adding UK electrical retailer Comet to its vendors in May 2006. In April 2005, it was announced EasyMobile would expand into the Netherlands by summer 2005 in partnership with Telfort
. Nine months after launch the operation ceased on 1 August 2006 and the EasyMobile.nl website would be transformed into a telecoms price-comparison engine in partnership with Kelkoo
. In September 2005 it was announced that the service would also launch in Germany in partnership with T-Mobile
http://www.easymobile.de. On 10 November 2006 Talkline Gmbh & Co. KG, a German subsidiary of TDC Mobile International, bought 100% of EasyMobile Germany and EasyMobile Germany was renamed Callmobile. The MNVO Callmobile is still operated by Talkline.
On November 10, 2006 the EasyGroup terminated the brand license for EasyMobile. All customers were offered transfers to fresh mobile or a PAC to join another network. The network closed on 13 December at midnight and the Easymobile.com website was transformed into a telecoms price-comparison engine. EasyMobile was temporarily called ShimmerBright in the UK before it was shut down permanently in February 2007.
In January, 2008 the EasyGroup launched a partnership with the Mobile VoIP provider Rebtel
. With this service, users can make international calls for the cost of a local call from their regular mobile phone and carrier without additional software downloads, Internet connections or computers. The service leverages VoIP technology to route the international leg of the call over the Internet passing the savings on to the user.
, Victoria
, Paddington, Heathrow
, and Earls Court
, London as well as Luton
, Basel
, Zurich
, Budapest
, Sofia, Porto and Berlin. Locations for future openings in 2009 have been announced as Larnaca
(summer 2009), Dubai
, and in 2010, Edinburgh. Rooms contain a double bed, are en-suite and one wall panel is orange in colour with corporate logos on the wall and doors. Toiletries (except soap/shampoo) are not supplied and the use of the TV and the housekeeping facility is at an additional charge. Reservations must be made online, with the price less expensive the further in advance one books. The EasyHotel website also acts as a booking engine for 20,000 other hotels worldwide through Octopus Travel.
Stelios has even filed suit with the court against easyJet, the airline he founded, over "easy" branding. easyJet offers travel associated "extras" such as hotel bookings under the "easyJethotels" brand, and car hire under "easyJetcarehire". Stelios's contention was that easyGroup licenced the "easyJet" brand to easyJet plc. primarily for airline use, and that using the brand for hotel and car hire interfered with other easyGroup businesses.
Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou , born 14 February 1967) is a British entrepreneur of Greek Cypriot origin, currently a resident of Monaco. He is the scion of a wealthy, shipowning family, but is best known for setting up easyJet, a highly successful and profitable low-cost airline, with start-up funds...
.
Many of the companies follow the "easy" format of taking away the frills in something to make it cheaper overall, plus using the yield management
Yield management
Revenue management is the process of understanding, anticipating and influencing consumer behavior in order to maximize yield or profits from a fixed, perishable resource...
system of supply and demand. In the last few years the company has started to franchise the businesses to expand, and cut down costs. Its head office is in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, although it is registered in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
.
Some EasyGroup subsidiaries have been more successful than others - the most successful division being EasyJet
EasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...
.
EasyJet
EasyJet is a low-cost airline which commenced operations on 10 November 1995. It is one of the two largest budget airlines in Europe, alongside its sometimes bitter rival RyanairRyanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
. It was the first company owned by EasyGroup to use the "easy" prefix. EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a separate company in its own right, merely licensing the "easyJet" name from easyGroup.
EasyInternetcafé
EasyInternetcafé (formerly EasyEverything) is Europe's largest chain of Internet cafés, launched in 1999.EasyCar.com
In April 2000 the company set-up the car rentalCar rental
A car rental or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time for a fee...
company EasyRentacar (later renamed EasyCar), with the only rental car available being the Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Mercedes-Benz A-Class
The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a mini MPV produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. The first generation was introduced in 1997, and the all-new second generation model appeared in late 2004. Launched as a five-door hatchback in 1997, the second generation W169 introduced a...
. The car rental business, which suffered from financial losses and a reputation for poor service has since closed. The new EasyCar company now operates as an international car rental broker via the Internet. The business is profitable and operates in more than 2,400 locations in over 60 countries, selling a full fleet of vehicles, including Prestige Cars in the UK.
EasyMoney
On 21 August 2001 the credit cardCredit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
company, EasyMoney was set up with Accucard (now part of Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
), which was expanded on 14 February 2005 with the announcement that unbundled car insurance products provided by Zurich
Zurich Financial Services
Zurich Financial Services AG is a major financial services group based in Zurich, Switzerland.-History:The Company was founded in 1872 as subsidiary of the Schweiz Marine Insurance Company under the name Versicherung Verein...
would be sold later in the year at EasyMoney insurance http://www.easymoneyinsurance.com. In April 2006, EasyGroup linked with Moneysupermarket.com to provide a financial product comparison website. This coincided with the withdrawal of the EasyMoney credit card http://www.easymoneycreditcard.com.
EasyCinema
On 23 May 2003 the cinemaFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
company, EasyCinema at The Point, Milton Keynes
The Point, Milton Keynes
The Point is an entertainment complex in Central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. When it opened in 1985, it included the UK's first multiplex cinema....
was opened at a former UCI site
United Cinemas International
UCI Cinemas is a brand of cinema, currently operating in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Brazil...
, offering screenings from 20p if booked well in advance. The cinema initially struggled as major distributors were not prepared to release new films to the company using the yield-management model.
First run films later became available, but at fixed prices. The cinema also relented on not serving popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
and drinks, which previously went unsold to save on staffing costs.
Towards the end of its life, the cinema site also housed an EasyInternetcafé and was a pick-up point for EasyPizza. However, following a dispute over unpaid rent with the landlord, Odeon
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
, which resulted in eviction, the EasyCinema closed in May 2006 and reopened as an Odeon cinema.
The closure of EasyCinema appears to have curtailed the desired expansion into London's West End.
EasyCinema DVD Rental
10 March 2005 saw the commencement of EasyCinema DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
Rental, first announced in November 2004. This is a partnership with LoveFilm
LoveFilm
LoveFilm is a UK-based provider of home video and video game rental through DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia...
, the company operating rental services for several other retail brands. However, unlike many online DVD rental
Online DVD rental
DVD-by-mail services allow a person to rent DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, video games and VCDs, among other film media online; for delivery by mail. Generally, all interaction between the renter and the rental company takes place through the company's website....
services, there is no monthly subscription but the user purchases credits at £1.99 each (minimum purchase is 4 credits). One credit permits one DVD rental and a maximum of three DVDs can be rented at one time, depending on how many credits are pre-purchased. For customers renting one disc per week the offering is competitive to the subscription services, which typically allow one rental at a time, charging around £7.97 to £9.99 per month.
EasyBus
EasyBus began operating on 30 July 2004. The company currently offers a low-cost express minibus service between Central London and three London airports: Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. Journeys can be booked via the EasyBus website, or customers can purchase, usually at higher prices, from the EasyBus airport sales desks, or by paying the driver if joining in London. Online bookings offer guaranteed seats on specific services.Easy4Men
On 9 December 2004 the men's toiletries range Easy4Men was launched together with Boots. Originally conceived to challenge GilletteGlobal Gillette
Gillette is a brand of Procter & Gamble currently used for safety razors, among other personal care products. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was one of several brands originally owned by The Gillette Company, a leading global supplier of products under various brands, which was...
, the product line did not include a razor. After disappointing sales the partnership with Boots was dissolved in 2006.
EasyMusic
EasyMusic, in conjunction with Wippit, began operation on 22 December 2004, with copyrighted music downloads offered from 25p, although minimum transaction value is £1 and there are charges for using credit cards and SMS payment methods. A proposed copyleftCopyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
section of EasyMusic never materialised.
As of January 2008, EasyMusic no longer sells download music, but sells CDs in conjunction with CD-WOW.COM. When purchasing a CD, customers are diverted to the CD-WOW website and a discount is usually applied which varies depending on purchase, most transactions cost around 15p.
EasyCruise
A no frills cruise ship targeting the 18-40 age-group, rather than the traditional retired market, was launched on Friday 6 May 2005. The first vessel was known as EasyCruiseOneEasyCruiseOne
The EasyCruise One was owned and operated by EasyCruise. It was originally built for Renaissance Cruises as the Renaissance II in 1990. In 1998 it was renamed as the gambling ship Neptune II for operations in Singapore...
. Expansion of the EasyCruise fleet was announced in 2006. A franchise operation using a converted river freighter EasyCruiseTwo operated from 2006 until August 17, 2007. A third ship, a converted ferry, EasyCruise Life
EasyCruise Life
MS Ocean Life is a cruise ship owned by Hellenic Seaways. She currently operates for Blue Ocean Cruises, which began operations in late 2010.- Overview :...
was purchased and began service in May 2008. EasyCruiseOne
EasyCruiseOne
The EasyCruise One was owned and operated by EasyCruise. It was originally built for Renaissance Cruises as the Renaissance II in 1990. In 1998 it was renamed as the gambling ship Neptune II for operations in Singapore...
was sold in late 2008
The EasyCruiseOne cabins offered a simple bed and bathroom: most did not originally have windows and use of a maid service during the stay incurred an additional charge. Stelios revealed that the initial idea of requiring customers to be responsible for all room cleaning or incur a penalty charge "didn't go down too well".
EasyCruise, based in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, was a wholly owned subsidiary of EasyGroup, managed by V Ships of Monaco until sold to Hellenic Seaways
Hellenic Seaways
Hellenic Seaways is a Greek shipping company operating passenger and freight ferry services in the Aegean and Adriatic Seas. The company is owned by Cyprus based Sea Star Capital Plc.-History:...
in August 2009 for £9 million.
The launch and early days of EasyCruise were tracked for a three series Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
programme Cruise with Stelios.
EasyMobile/ShimmerBright
EasyMobile was a mobile virtual network operatorMobile virtual network operator
A mobile virtual network operator is a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum, nor does it necessarily have all of the infrastructure required to provide mobile telephone service...
, operating a pay as you go
Pay as you go
Pay as you go may refer to:*PAUG, a structured financial product*"Pay as you go" or "Pay & Go", a general term for the concept of a prepaid mobile phone....
service, which closed in early December 2006 following a string of negative publicity and the withdrawal of its principal backer, TDC
TDC A/S
TDC A/S is the former telecom monopoly in Denmark. It is now privatized. Thus, it is the biggest company in all aspects of telecommunications in Denmark with landline, mobile, Internet, VHF maritime borderline-radio etc.By the end of 2004, the TDC Group had more than 13.4 mil. customers in Europe:...
.
Rival mobile service, Orange
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
, attempted to sue EasyGroup as it claimed the use of the orange EasyMobile logo breached its trademark and could confuse customers. EasyGroup challenged this assertion.
The EasyMobile operation was inspired by Telmore
Telmore
Telmore A/S is the largest Mobile virtual network operator in Denmark.By the end of 2010, Telmore had a 10.4% mobile market share, totaling more than 700.000 subscribers....
, a Danish mobile virtual network operator, using the TDC Mobil
TDC A/S
TDC A/S is the former telecom monopoly in Denmark. It is now privatized. Thus, it is the biggest company in all aspects of telecommunications in Denmark with landline, mobile, Internet, VHF maritime borderline-radio etc.By the end of 2004, the TDC Group had more than 13.4 mil. customers in Europe:...
network.
EasyMobile chose The Link
The Link (retailer)
The Link was an internet-based mobile phone and communications retailer in the United Kingdom. It is owned by Dixons Retail , the UK's largest consumer electronics retail group, and traded online through a dedicated retail website, which in addition to mobile phones also offered satellite...
to be its sole independent retailer in March 2006, adding UK electrical retailer Comet to its vendors in May 2006. In April 2005, it was announced EasyMobile would expand into the Netherlands by summer 2005 in partnership with Telfort
Telfort
Telfort B.V. is a Dutch mobile telecommunication company, and a subsidiary of KPN.It operates GSM mobile telecommunications service in the Netherlands...
. Nine months after launch the operation ceased on 1 August 2006 and the EasyMobile.nl website would be transformed into a telecoms price-comparison engine in partnership with Kelkoo
Kelkoo
The website Kelkoo is a European price comparison service founded in France in 1999, allowing customers to find information on products they want to purchase, including price and seller information. It was bought by Yahoo! in 2004...
. In September 2005 it was announced that the service would also launch in Germany in partnership with T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
http://www.easymobile.de. On 10 November 2006 Talkline Gmbh & Co. KG, a German subsidiary of TDC Mobile International, bought 100% of EasyMobile Germany and EasyMobile Germany was renamed Callmobile. The MNVO Callmobile is still operated by Talkline.
On November 10, 2006 the EasyGroup terminated the brand license for EasyMobile. All customers were offered transfers to fresh mobile or a PAC to join another network. The network closed on 13 December at midnight and the Easymobile.com website was transformed into a telecoms price-comparison engine. EasyMobile was temporarily called ShimmerBright in the UK before it was shut down permanently in February 2007.
In January, 2008 the EasyGroup launched a partnership with the Mobile VoIP provider Rebtel
Rebtel
Rebtel is a Mobile VoIP provider, founded in 2006 in Sweden by Hjalmar Winbladh and Jonas Lindroth. The Rebtel offices are located in Stockholm, Sweden and Luxembourg....
. With this service, users can make international calls for the cost of a local call from their regular mobile phone and carrier without additional software downloads, Internet connections or computers. The service leverages VoIP technology to route the international leg of the call over the Internet passing the savings on to the user.
EasyHotel
EasyHotel is a "no frills super budget" hotel operator with hotels located in South KensingtonSouth Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, Victoria
Victoria, London
Victoria is a commercial and residential area of inner city London, lying wholly within the City of Westminster, and named after Queen Victoria....
, Paddington, Heathrow
Heathrow, London
Heathrow was a small hamlet of Middlesex on the outskirts of London, that was demolished in 1944 for the construction of London Heathrow Airport...
, and Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
, London as well as Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Sofia, Porto and Berlin. Locations for future openings in 2009 have been announced as Larnaca
Larnaca
Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...
(summer 2009), Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, and in 2010, Edinburgh. Rooms contain a double bed, are en-suite and one wall panel is orange in colour with corporate logos on the wall and doors. Toiletries (except soap/shampoo) are not supplied and the use of the TV and the housekeeping facility is at an additional charge. Reservations must be made online, with the price less expensive the further in advance one books. The EasyHotel website also acts as a booking engine for 20,000 other hotels worldwide through Octopus Travel.
EasyGym
In the London Metro on the 5th April 2011, it said that EasyGroup would be opening a chain of no frill gyms, titled EasyGym using 3 sites that it acquired from Virgin ActiveVirgin Active
Virgin Active is a chain of health clubs in South Africa, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company launched in 1998 in Preston, Lancashire as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group....
Other businesses
- EasyValue - An internet shopping comparison site began trading in November 2000, first independently, using software from Autonomy, then later in partnership with Kelkoo, switching to Shopping.com following Yahoo's acquisition of Kelkoo.
- Easy.com - A free e-mail service began in November 2000. This site now also acts as the easyGroup main portal
- EasyJobs – An employment search engine, a partnership with JobSite.co.uk
- EasyWatch - A SwatchSwatchSwatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
-style range of watches made by Zeon. On launching EasyWatch Stelios claimed to be filling the void left by the highly collectable Swatch brand. EasyWatches are typically orange and have a large EasyWatch logo prominently displayed, which watch collectors say makes them look like a free corporate giveaway rather than a desirable or collectable product. EasyWatch immediately managed to infringe a number of trademarks by giving its watches names like Portafino. Stelios claimed that no-one could confuse one of his watches with a genuine Portafino and expressed surprise that a company would take legal action for use of a registered trademark. - EasyTelecom – Providing mobile phone comparisons powered by Kelkoo. Fills the gap left by EasyMobile.
- EasyVan – Like EasyCar, EasyVan.com http://www.easyvan.com has teamed up with an outside company (Northgate) and two other suppliers to provide van rental across the UK. EasyVan provide van hire from more than 120 locations throughout the United Kingdom, including van hire in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- EasyOffice – owned and operated by the EasyGroup, opened in Kensington High StreetKensington High StreetKensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, west London. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
in London on 14 November 2007 and is taking bookings.
Legal action
In 2005, EasyGroup threatened legal action against a Welsh business which had been trading as EasyMobile since 2003 despite being established some two years before the launch of Stelios' business EasyMobile.com. In 2006 Karl Kahn a London businessman branding Stelios as a "rich bully" obtained a court order against Stelios to prevent him from interfering with his pizza business. Karl Kahn was informed in 2004 that his EasyPizza.co.uk domain was infringing the rights of EasyGroup. Following an acrimonious build-up to the court date, Stelios then pulled out at the last minute, serving a Notice of Discontinuance and Mr Kahn succeeded in getting EasyGroup to sign a consent order covering his costs, estimated at £135,000, and agreeing not to interfere with his business or bring any further court action without the approval of the court. To date, EasyGroup has yet to pay the costs but this has not prevented dozens of companies being threatened by Stelios because the huge costs associated with defending a claim in the High Court have been extremely effective in forcing people to hand over their domains. EasyGroup is currently threatening Northampton based restaurant EasyCurry with action unless it drops its name and signs. EasyCurry has been told to take down its signs by 9am on the 22 July 2008 or face a High Court battle. EasyGroup claims that the owners of "easy" domains are "passing off" on its name. However, that legal argument is based on a selective reading of the law which would require the companies to also copy EasyGroup's well-known orange livery and lower-case/upper-case Cooper Black typography, and to make out they are in some way associated with EasyGroup. That is not the case with the majority of "easy" domain name owners.Stelios has even filed suit with the court against easyJet, the airline he founded, over "easy" branding. easyJet offers travel associated "extras" such as hotel bookings under the "easyJethotels" brand, and car hire under "easyJetcarehire". Stelios's contention was that easyGroup licenced the "easyJet" brand to easyJet plc. primarily for airline use, and that using the brand for hotel and car hire interfered with other easyGroup businesses.
External links
- EasyGroup website - For group information, latest news and links to other EasyGroup companies.
Press reports
- EasyMobile comes back with free mobile calls, says Stelios, Markus Göbel's Tech News Comments, 13 July 2007
- EasyMobile.nl flops, The Register, 6 July 2006
- Hard cheese for Stelios in EasyPizza case, The Register, 20 June 2006
- The Big Easy enters choppy waters, The Guardian, 5 May 2006
- 'No frills' EasyCinema shuts down, BBC, 30 May 2006
- "EasyCinema eyes West End debut", The Guardian, 25 July 2005
- "Stelios completes 10 years over easy" The Times (UK), 9 July 2005
- "What's Orange and Floats? That's easy..." EasyCruise article, The Observer (UK), 8 May 2005
- "Here comes Stelios ... Just when you thought it was safe to go to the Riviera", The Sunday Times (UK), 8 May 2005
- "EasyMobile's attempt to break into the UK market flops", Daily Telegraph (UK), 8 May 2005
- No frills and little sleep in Basel's EasyHotel, Swissinfo, September 6, 2005