A.S. Watson announces huge Chinese expansion plan
Hong Kong-based retailer A.S. Watson has announced that it aims to open more than 1,000 stores in mainland China by 2011, taking its total stores to over 10,000 worldwide
Hong Kong-based retailer A.S. Watson has announced that it aims to open more than 1,000 stores in mainland China by 2011, taking its total stores to over 10,000 worldwide
Speaking at the opening ceremony of its 500th Chinese store, A.S. Watson’s managing director of the Hutchinson Whampoa Limited-owned company, Dominic Lai, said that the group “planned to open 67% more stores in 2010 than it had done in the current year”. He added: “This represents opening two new stores per day throughout next year.”
The ambitious expansion plan would literally double the group’s retail presence in the Chinese market in a move which is rumoured to be costing $80m, forming part of a $500m overall expansion budget. Lai has already said that the potential for the group in China is huge and spurred on by Chinese consumers’ desire for product safety which they associate with A.S. Watson products.
Bucking the recession, results for the first six months of this year showed that A.S. Watson, which currently operates in 34 markets in Asia and Europe, achieved like-for-like sales growth of 4%.