Virgin Money's first product launch in Australia - of a co-branded credit card issued by Westpac - was a mixed success. The financial services brand of Britain's publicity hungry Virgin group attracted a mountain of free publicity and so many low quality applications that relations quickly soured with Westpac. One consequence was that, three years later, Westpac passed on the opportunity to fund the mortgage product launched into the Australian market yesterday by Virgin.Virgin's second product launch in Australia - of a low-fee superannuation account supplied and managed by Macquarie bank back in July 2005 - bombed. Whether super was a financial services product likely to spark any mass interest is debateable. The lacklustre demand for Virgin Super (according to rumour) certainly appears to have created tensions between the local managing director, the managers of Virgin's capital and brand back in Britain, and with Virgin Money's new minority investor in Australia, Macquarie Bank.Virgin's founder, Richard Branson, provided a partial explanation for the departure of Virgin Money's local managing director Rohan Gamble. Virgin announced Gamble's resignation last week, though the Financial Review reported his unplanned departure two weeks ago.In an interview with the Herald Sun, Branson said that Gamble "has been spectacular on credit cards (but) the feedback that I got in England was that the company needed a different sort of animal as we moved to get bigger (in Australia)."So I think (Mr Gamble's) a brilliant entrepreneur . . . (but) we also had new shareholders that came in (Macquarie Bank) and . . . the question was . . . who was the right person to run it and it was felt that he'd done a brilliant job, but that we needed a different kind of person for the next stage."Branson told Dow Jones that "I think we will always keep control (of Virgin Money in Australia) but we certainly wouldn't be unhappy for them (Macquarie Bank) to take a slightly bigger stake."Macquarie bought a 10 per cent stake in Virgin Money Australia in November.Branson also talked up Virgin Money's prospects."We will be offering a broader range of products than most banks within three years, at much, much better prices," he told Dow Jones.Branson said Virgin Money expected to secure a share of four per cent of the Australian mortgage market in four years, though the market share target and the timetable vary a little between media reports.