WatsON - Stay tuned with AS Watson

Driving Growth Together: How Watsons and Al-Futtaim Are Expanding Across the Middle East

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 04:04:27 +0000

Malina, our Group CEO, joined Business Breakfast, the flagship morning business show on Dubai Eye 103.8 and Dubai One TV, where she shared why the Middle East became the first region where AS Watson chose to grow through a franchise partnership and how the Group is redefining retail through its O+O (Offline plus Online) strategy.

Reflecting on Watsons' expansion into the region in 2020, Malina noted that the Middle East remains the only market where AS Watson operates through a franchise partnership AI-Futtaim, built on a shared commitment to customer-centricity, operational excellence and long-term growth. The partnership has proven highly successful, growing from a single Watsons store in Dubai Mall to 36 stores across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

Skincare Expertise Meets Local Insights

As Asia No.1’s health and beauty retailer, Watsons saw strong potential in the region's growing health and beauty market, particularly in skincare.

During her visits to the Middle East, Malina spent time listening to customers and understanding their needs. One clear insight emerged: customers were looking for trusted skincare advice and solutions.

“We brought our skincare expertise and invested heavily in training our store colleagues so they can provide trusted skincare advice,” she shared.

That focus on service continues to set Watsons apart. Malina highlighted that the Watsons Dubai Mall team recently won AS Watson's Global Best Store Team Awards, recognising outstanding customer service and customer satisfaction.

Connecting Customers Through O+O Strategy

During the interview, Malina shared AS Watson’s O+O (Offline plus Online) strategy, highlighting how the integration of offline and online experiences enable the Group to serve customers seamlessly anytime, anywhere.

Whether customers order online for store collection, purchase in-store for home delivery, or receive rapid delivery directly to their door, the goal is the same: creating a convenient and connected shopping journey.

“The physical store is a place for experience, service and fulfilment,” Malina said. “The operational model behind it is complex, but customers don't need to see that complexity. They simply experience convenience.”

A Shared Vision for Growth

Looking ahead, Malina shared that Watsons' next milestone is to reach 100 stores across the GCC region. But beyond store expansion, she emphasised the importance of partnership, customer understanding and long-term commitment. By combining AS Watson's global retail expertise with Al-Futtaim's deep local knowledge, the partnership continues to bring affordable beauty, trusted skincare expertise and seamless O+O experiences to customers across the region.

Upgraded Skincare Journey

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 08:21:32 +0000

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Target Pro, Watsons Thailand hosted a special event at The Mall Lifestore Bangkapi. The event featured an AI Skin Analyzer, offering personalised skincare recommendations through expert consultation to create a smarter skincare journey.

Expert‑led skincare talks were also conducted, focusing on healthy skin topics and science‑backed ingredients, including Watsons’ signature S7ABELIX technology.

Customers enjoyed a curated range of experiences, including complimentary skin analysis, personalised recommendations, exclusive offers, and limited‑edition gifts.

Turning Strategy into Future Impact

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 07:08:43 +0000

The AS Watson Group IT team proudly hosted the Asia IT Leadership Summit 2026 in Hong Kong, bringing together Group IT and Asia IT teams across business units to connect, share insights, and align on strategic direction.

Together, the teams aligned strategic priorities and direction across the Asia IT community, strengthened execution by enabling BU IT leadership to cascade key outcomes, and translated strategy into action through focused case sharing on transformation initiatives and AI adoption use cases.

AS Watson will continue to strengthen collaboration and unlock new opportunities to drive innovation and create meaningful impact across its markets.

Planting Smiles for Generations

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:32:04 +0000

In celebration of AS Watson’s 185th anniversary, Watsons Singapore took the celebrations to the streets with 30 Watsons-branded buses travelling across the city, turning heads and spreading smiles wherever they went.

Extending this spirit of creating smiles, Watsons Singapore is also supporting future generations through its sustainability efforts. In partnership with WWF Singapore and NParks, Watsons colleagues, suppliers, media partners, and influencers came together to plant 185 trees. This meaningful initiative reflects a shared commitment to environmental stewardship and promoting a more sustainable future.

AS Watson Turning Climate Pressure into Operational Advantage

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 04:09:24 +0000

Rising energy price volatility and hotter summer conditions are creating new operational challenges across AS Watson markets, with implications for costs, staff comfort, and the overall customer shopping experience.

Cooling already represents a significant share of a store’s daily energy footprint. As summer temperatures rise, there is an opportunity to enhance cooling efficiency while reducing environmental impact and carbon emissions, supporting more sustainable store operations.

To address these challenges, AS Watson Business Units are focusing on five key operational levers:

Enforce Temperature Standards & Preventive Maintenance: Ensure smart thermostat settings are locked in and HVAC filters/coils are cleaned before peak summer hits to prevent costly mid-season breakdowns.
Accelerate High-Efficiency Upgrades: Prioritise LED lighting transitions (which lower ambient heat generation inside the store) and HVAC upgrades in high-energy, high-footfall locations.
Expand Commercial Renewables: Secure renewable electricity arrangements where commercially viable to shield store operations from volatile grid pricing.
Future-Proof Store Design: Integrate heat-mitigation principles—such as energy-efficient entry vestibules and air curtains—into upcoming store designs and refurbishments.
Protect the Frontline: Strengthen staff protection and introduce flexible scheduling or hydration protocols during localized extreme heat events to maintain peak team performance.

Through these actions, AS Watson is advancing more energy‑efficient and climate‑resilient store operations, supporting both environmental sustainability and a positive shopping experience across its markets.

Celebrating Watsons Turkey's 500th Store Opening

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 06:20:16 +0000

Watsons Turkey is pleased to announce the opening of its 500th store at Galataport Istanbul. The new store features a spacious, modern layout designed to meet the evolving needs of customers. It offers a range of dedicated zones, including make‑up, fragrance and men’s products, as well as a K‑Beauty zone showcasing popular Korean beauty brands for local customers.

With this milestone, Watsons Turkey now operates 500 stores across 71 cities and aims to expand its presence to every city by the end of the year.

Driving Sustainable Impact Forward

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 03:05:06 +0000

AS Watson Benelux has made significant progress in advancing sustainability across its operations at Kruidvat and Trekpleister, as highlighted in its recently released Impact Report 2025. AS Watson Benelux remains committed to giving back to the community and fostering a healthier, more sustainable future.

The report highlights several key sustainability achievements:

11.5% reduction in CO₂ emissions (scope 1 and 2) compared with 2024
Growth from 2 to 18 electric trucks and the construction of one of the largest retail charging hubs in Heteren
Introduction of the Nature Impact Score, helping customers make more sustainable choices
More than 750,000 products donated to families experiencing hygiene poverty
Nearly 50,000 Health & Beauty Cards issued through community partners
Launch of the Poverty Alliance, together with the Poverty Fund, the Belgian Federation of Food Banks and supplier partners

The report underscores AS Watson Benelux's long-term commitment to driving meaningful change and building a more sustainable future for generations to come.

AS Watson 185th Anniversary Heritage Store Landed Hong Kong

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:27:57 +0000

AS Watson 185th Anniversary Heritage Store has officially opened on Nathan Road in Yau Ma Tei, transforming one of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods into a nostalgic new check-in destination. Inspired by AS Watson’s legacy as Hong Kong’s first Western pharmacy, the store brings the charm of old Hong Kong into today’s lifestyle scene through heritage-inspired design, interactive photo moments and exclusive anniversary collectibles.

To mark the milestone, we also brought the celebrations to the streets with a lively flash mob activation across the city. A team of 12 performers, including SSA students, professional dancers and micro-influencers, made their way through the city, stopping by Watsons, Fortress and PARKnSHOP stores. Their journey symbolised AS Watson’s growth alongside its trusted retail brands over the years. Carrying oversized shopping bags featuring iconic designs from our Hong Kong retail brands, they delighted shoppers and passers-by on the streets along the way.

Our brands including Watsons Hong Kong, PARKnSHOP, Fortress and Watsons Water have also introduced 185th anniversary limited-edition products. Highlights include lightbox-style magnets inspired by PARKnSHOP signage, a retro film camera from Fortress, and a vintage-style bottle opener from Watsons Water. All items are debut exclusively at the Heritage Concept Store.

AS Watson Strengthens Technology Partnership Programme to Lead the Next Wave of AI‑Powered O+O Innovation

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 06:29:53 +0000

AS Watson Group, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, announced the appointment of 31 global strategic technology partners to accelerate the next phase of its AI‑powered O+O (Offline plus Online) transformation.

The appointments were unveiled at Technology Partner Day 2026, reinforcing AS Watson’s long‑term commitment to building a tightly integrated global technology ecosystem that supports faster innovation, stronger cyber resilience and scalable growth across its international operations.

AI as a Strategic Growth Engine

As part of its Technology Partnership Programme, AS Watson continues to increase investment in technology, data and AI, with a clear focus on enterprise productivity, personalisation, cyber security and digital commerce. Rather than deploying AI as isolated use cases, AS Watson is embedding it horizontally across functions, from customer engagement and digital commerce to operations, analytics and colleague productivity, enabling enterprise‑wide value creation at scale.

Dr. Malina Ngai, Group CEO of AS Watson, said, “AI is not a standalone technology layer. It is a core capability that runs across the organisation. Our priority is to use AI to remove friction, accelerate execution and help our people focus on creating value for customers. Our 31 global technology partners play a critical role in this journey. Together, we are combining data, technology and human judgement to build a more agile, scalable and future‑ready organisation.”

From Partnerships to a Global Innovation Ecosystem

Since its launch in 2017, AS Watson’s Technology Partnership Programme has evolved from solution delivery into a strategic collaboration model, supporting its long‑term digital and O+O strategy across markets.

Today, AS Watson works with technology partners not simply as vendors, but as trusted advisors and co‑innovators, aligned with its growth priorities and operating model. Going forward, the Programme will focus on AI‑led automation, personalised O+O experiences, data and analytics, cyber resilience, scalable technology platforms, and productivity at scale.

Co-Creating the Future of Retail

Willy Wong, Partner of Ernst & Young Advisory Services Limited highlighted the long-standing partnership, “For many years, EY has been honoured to serve as AS Watson’s trusted technology consultant. The journey has evolved from building state-of-the-art mobile experiences and loyalty programmes that connected markets across Asia and streamlined internal operations, to leveraging data, advanced analytics and AI to drive comprehensive business transformation today. It remains a privilege to witness this incredible growth firsthand and to have played a part in this shared success.”

Pedro Yip, Partner and Head of Consumer, Telco and Technology Practice (Asia Pacific) of Oliver Wyman, shared insights on the partnership’s impact, “It has been a privilege to collaborate with AS Watson over the years to push the boundaries of innovation. Oliver Wyman combines agentic AI with advanced analytics and retail expertise to unlock the full power of data together with AS Watson teams. We look forward to further advancing AS Watson’s O+O customer proposition to create connected, frictionless experiences for millions of shoppers worldwide.”

Kelvin Tse, Enterprise Sales Director of Microsoft Hong Kong is delighted about the AI collaboration opportunities to embrace the next generation workforce landscape through innovation products and process. “Microsoft is honoured to partner closely with AS Watson in transforming the retail landscape. We are deeply committed to helping AS Watson co-invent new processes through the power of AI and the development of agentic platforms. By collaborating on these AI opportunities and leveraging innovative tools like GitHub Copilot, we look forward to empowering the next-generation retail experience together.”

Dora Lui, Senior Vice President, Customer Success Services of Oracle is glad to collaborate with AS Watson to assist in business transformation via its fusion cloud. “We are incredibly excited about this relationship with AS Watson, focusing not only on platform redesign but also on process optimisation. We look forward to delivering innovative solutions, incorporating AI and best practices to leverage the data within our cloud platform, ultimately enhancing the well-being of AS Watson's workforce.”

Jorinde Timmerman, Vice President, Large Accounts of Slimstock, described the partnership as standing out for its strong foundation in collaboration and continuous challenge. “We don’t just engage - we actively stimulate each other to push boundaries and improve. By combining AS Watson’s scale and innovation mindset with Slimstock’s supply chain expertise, we jointly ensure that the right products are available at the right time and place. This partnership goes beyond technology, it’s about driving measurable impact together and continuously evolving to meet the future of retail.”

Serhat Soyuerel, Co-Founder & CRO of Insider One, emphasised that the partnership goes far beyond a traditional technology collaboration. “Over the years, we have built a true co-innovation model in which AS Watson’s vision, feedback, and evolving business needs help shape capabilities that benefit not only its brands in Europe but also all Insider One customers. Through a strong global governance framework, we have continuously adapted to support AS Watson’s scale while delivering excellence across every customer touchpoint.”

John Bradshaw, CTO of Akamai, noted the evolution of the partnership, “Since 2014, our collaboration has successfully evolved from a tactical product implementation into a highly strategic, forward-looking alliance. Over the years, we have steadily expanded our security footprint to match the incredible scale of AS Watson's digital acceleration. Our recent agreement marks a shift from shorter-term cycles to a long-term strategic commitment, proving that our partnership has matured into a resilient foundation for the future.”

Tarun Madan, Account Director of Nagarro, reflected on the partnership’s shared commitment, “What distinguishes AS Watson is the exceptional level of trust and openness it extends to its partners, creating an environment where ideas can be shared freely, innovation can flourish, and long-term value can be created together. The Technology Partnership Programme is a powerful example of this collaborative approach, and we are excited to continue advancing the next generation of retail experiences through AI and agentic AI innovation.”

Darren Wilson, President, Retail and Payments of NCR Voyix, highlighted the long-standing partnership between AS Watson and NCR Voyix, "AS Watson and NCR Voyix have built a strong a partnership over many years, working closely together to support store operations and deliver customer experiences. We are excited to enter this next phase of our collaboration, bringing innovative technologies into stores that simplify operations, empower store teams, and create stronger connections between physical and digital retail."

To learn more about AS Watson Technology Partnership Programme, please visit:

A Global Ecosystem of Partners | AS Watson Group - A member of CK Hutchison Holdings

Top Scorers of Customer Love Score💯

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 02:00:13 +0000

At AS Watson, customers are at the heart of everything we do. We demonstrate our commitment by listening closely to their feedback through the monthly Customer Love Score survey, conducted across all markets after each visit. Congratulations to this month’s Top Scorers for achieving a perfect score of 100 — a true reflection of their dedication to customer delight!

In this month's Top Scorer series, we feature:

Watsons Malaysia – Jerai Plaza
Watsons Philippines – SM City Lipa
Superdrug – Peterborough
Marionnaud Slovakia – Dubeň Žilina

Our 100 Customer Love Score comes from making customers smile - today and tomorrow. We greet them warmly, speak kindly, and stay ready to help. By understanding their needs and supporting one another in a respectful environment, we create a pleasant shopping experience that keeps customers coming back.
Nur Kamaliyah Binti Che Omar, Store Manager
Watsons Malaysia – Jerai Plaza

We ensure every customer interaction leaves a positive, lasting impression. We bring our brand to life through personalised experiences, genuine care, and operational excellence. By supporting and empowering one another, we build trust, strengthen loyalty, and drive sustainable growth - creating meaningful moments that keep customers coming back.
Aileen Torregoza, Store Supervisor
Watsons Philippines – SM City Lipa

We listen, take ownership, and uphold high standards, delivering strong service, great experiences, and growing trust. I am proud of what we are achieving together as we support each other to improve every day.
Dean Rugg, Store Manager
Superdrug – Peterborough

Our success is built on strong teamwork, trust, and a passion for great customer experiences. We listen closely, offer personalised service, and create a welcoming atmosphere. Through continuous learning and mutual support, we stay motivated and engaged, delivering exceptional experiences and consistently achieving a perfect 100 Customer Love Score.
Katarína Chovancová, Store Manager
Marionnaud Slovakia – Dubeň Žilina