A.S. Watson Group

A.S. Watson Group
Subsidiary
Industry Health & Beauty Retail
Headquarters Hong Kong
Number of locations
 12,000+ stores Worldwide
Key people
 Sir Li Ka-Shing (Chairman) Dominic Lai (Group Managing Director)
Products Health, Beauty & Lifestyle Brands
Owner CK Hutchison Holdings 75% Temasek Holdings 25%
Number of employees
 120,000
Website www.aswatson.com

The A.S. Watson Group (or A.S. Watson or ASW) is the largest health and beauty retail group in Hong Kong, with over 12,000 stores in 25 markets worldwide serving over 28 million customers per week.

The group operates the world's largest portfolio of retail formats, retail brands and has the largest geographical presence, and the company is majority owned by multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, with just over 75 percent, after the remaining stake was sold to Singapore-government-owned Temasek Holdings, in March 2014.[1]

Its head office is in the Watson House (Chinese: 屈臣氏中心; Jyutping: wat1 san4 si6 zung1 sam1; pinyin: Qūchénshì Zhōngxīn) in Fo Tan, Shatin, New Territories.[2][3]

History

1828-1999

A.S. Watson had its beginnings as the Canton Dispensary and Soda Water Establishment, founded in 1828 as a small dispensary, with the mission to provide free medical services to the poor people of the Southern Chinese province of Guangdong (also known as Canton). It removed to Hong Kong and re-emerged as the Hong Kong Dispensary from 1 January 1843 under proprietors Drs Alexander Anderson and Peter Young, trading at Capt Morgan's Bazaar.[4] Dr Alexander Skirving Watson joined the company in 1858. In 1869 the Hong Kong Dispensary was appointed to dispense to the Governor of Hong Kong and the Duke of Edinburgh. The company began trading under the name A.S. Watson & Company in 1871.

By 1886 the company had constructed its first factory in Hong Kong, on Stanley Street, registered as a limited company and had also completed its first expansion further into China and to the Philippines. By 1895 the company was operating 35 stores and was producing 300 dispensary, toiletry and perfumery lines.

In 1903 Watsons Water was established, selling bottled water in Hong Kong and Mainland China. 1937 saw the Japanese invasion of China and A.S. Watson halted all operations in Mainland China. In 1941 A.S. Watson celebrated its centenary just months before the Japanese attack and the fall of Hong Hong. A.S. Watson eventually resumed business on 1 September 1945.

The Hutchison Group acquired a controlling interest in A.S. Watson & Co. Ltd in 1963.

1972 saw A.S. Watson acquire PARKnSHOP supermarkets from Y.K Lau, then in 1973 acquired Peter Pan Toy Shops and launched Mountain Cream, Ice-cream products.

1981 saw Hutchison Whampoa limited take full control of A.S. Watson becoming a wholly owned subsidiary.

At the end of the 1980s the company grew rapidly by entering Taiwan in 1987, Macau and Singapore in 1988, and re-opening in China in 1989, all under the name Watsons' The Chemist.

Fortress joined the A.S. Watson Group in 1990. 1994 saw the company open a new water factory in Beijing and further expand Watsons The Chemist to Malaysia, by 1996 Watsons The Chemist had entered Thailand and in 1997 A.S. Watson Group had acquired Shanghai Sparkling Drinking Water. 1998 saw Fortress open its first store in Taiwan and Watson's Wine opened in Hong Kong. 1998 also saw Nuance-Watson's retail stores open at Hong Kong International Airport. A.S. Watson's water operations also expanded in 1998, but this time into Europe, through acquisitions. In 1999 A.S. Watson sold Mountain Cream, its ice cream businesses, which operated in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and southern China to the Unilever Group. At the time, Mountain Cream distributed Dreyer's in Hong Kong and China, and was the largest ice cream importer in Hong Kong.

2000-present

In 2000, A.S. Watson entered the United Kingdom with the acquisition of Savers Health & Beauty and in 2001 expanded its wine business with the acquisition of Badaracco SA.

The year 2002 saw A.S. Watson expand into Europe and the UK even further with the acquisition of the Kruidvat Group, adding a number of different brands to its portfolio, including Superdrug in the UK and ICI Paris XL and Kruidvat itself in Mainland Europe.

During 2003 A.S. Watson signed an agreement to sell its European water operations to Nestlé, Superdrug opened its first new identity store in the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham, in the UK. There were new store openings for Watsons as the company launched its third-generation store, Watsons Water celebrated its centennial anniversary and launched its "Year of Hong Kong Creativity". Fortress launched a new identity in Hong Kong and Nuance-Watson opened duty-free stores at Hong Kong International Airport.

Drogas Health and Beauty Retail Chain was acquired by A.S. Watson in 2004, taking the group into the Baltics, Watsons also acquired Apex Pharmacy Sdn Bhd in Malaysia. The Group purchased a 40% stake in Rossmann, Germany adding 786 stores to the group's portfolio. TASTE food galleria launched in November 2004 and Watson's Wine launched a new concept store in Hong Kong.

In 2005 the group opened its 100th store in Mainland China and its 300th store in Taiwan. The group entered Turkey with the acquisition of Cosmo Shop and the first Watsons Health and Beauty Store opened in Korea. 2005 also saw two major acquisitions in Europe with Marionnaud and The Perfume Shop. October 2005 saw the acquisition of Spektr, launching A.S. Watson in the Russian Market.

2006 saw Watsons open in Indonesia and Wastson's celebrated its 200th store opening in June. A.S. Watson entered the Ukraine through the acquisition of DC, and Marionnaud expanded into Asia with its first store opening in the Philippines in September.

Rossmann celebrated its 2000th store milestone in 2009, while Watsons opened its 500th store in Mainland China. COOL bottled water was revamped and re-branded to refresh its image.

During 2010 Watsons card membership was reaching the 15 million mark.

2011 saw DC Ukraine re-branded as Watsons and Watsons China opened its 1000th store.

Temasek Holdings Stake Purchase & Proposed Share Sale

In March 2014, Hutchison Whampoa sold an almost 25 per cent stake in A.S. Watson to Temasek Holdings, for HK$44 billion.

The proposed share sale of A.S. Watson Group has been put in hold, announced towards the end of 2013 with the appointment of three underwriting banks, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and HSBC. This had followed the aborted sale of Park'n'Shop, when no satisfactory offer was received for the business. The flotation of the group would take place 'in two or three years' in Hong Kong and Singapore, said Li Ka-shing at the time, rather than in Hong Kong and London as had been expected.[1][5]

A.S. Watson Group brands

Health and beauty

Perfume and cosmetics

Food, electronics and wine

Beverages

References

  1. 1 2 Li Ka-shing sells nearly 25pc of AS Watson to Singapore investment giant Temasek, SCMP, 22 March 2014
  2. ↑ "Contact Us." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "Watson House, 1-5 Wo Liu Hang Road, Fo Tan, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong"
  3. ↑ "聯絡我們." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "香港新界火炭禾寮坑路1-5 號屈臣氏中心"
  4. ↑ Friend of China and Hong Kong Gazette, 5 January 1843
  5. ↑ http://news.sky.com/story/1183663/superdrug-parent-picks-banks-for-15bn-float

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