Dominic Lai, Group Managing Director of AS Watson Group, recently returned to the Netherlands and UK following a 4-year hiatus due to the pandemic. To show his support and appreciation, he paid a visit to the offices and stores of Kruidvat, Trekpleister, ICI PARIS XL, Superdrug, Savers and The Perfume Shop and met with the colleagues in person.
At the town hall meeting, he further praised colleagues for going the extra mile and thanked them for their outstanding efforts to take care of our customers during the pandemic. Mr Lai said, “The pandemic has been extremely challenging for all of us, in stores as well as in office, but you continue to work well together by showing your exceptional care to each other and to our customers. You took the right decision to help our customers by offering them the right brands, good prices and best deals. In return, our customers reward us with loyalty.”
Mr Lai then took the opportunity to thank everyone of the teams for staying strong, staying united and staying resilient. He also reminded them of the value of putting a smile on our customers’ faces as well as the importance of love at AS Watson.
“Together, as a team, we can make a difference and will continue to achieve greater things,” he said.
And yet another highlight of the trip was that Mr Lai got to meet with some of the younger talents over lunch at the AS Watson Benelux Office. Aside from inspiring them with his own story, the youngsters also got the chance to ask Mr Lai about what it takes to be a good CEO.
To which his answer was, “It’s simple. Always have open-eyes, open-ears, open-mind. The more difficult one I try to practice is open-heart. Open-heart means being able to accept and work with someone you may not like, being able to show respect to your competitors.”
Following the gathering, Mr Lai further encouraged the young colleagues to continue to grow and thrive at AS Watson, reminding them to do their jobs with passion.
“Don’t treat this like a job. Treat this as your career,” he told them. “We are here to provide you with a career path and develop you. You don’t hear people talk about a job path. It’s a career that you should be pursuing. Enjoy what you do! Create your own career!”
