Can the brand compete with existing players in the market?
Watsons, a Hong Kong health and beauty care retailer which operates under A.S. Watson Group of CK Hutchison Holdings, recently opened its first store in the ground floor of Bitexco tower, Inside Retail Asia reports. The store covers an area of 239 square meters and offers 6,000 products, 700 of which belong to Watsons' own label.
“Watsons is well known here because a lot of Vietnamese travel to Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong and they shop at our stores there. So we are trying very hard to deliver the same experience here,” said Watsons Vietnam business director Chakkaphob Nuangchamnong.
The brand also launched an e-commerce site in Vietnamese and English. Additionally, Watsons announced that a second outlet is on its way and the company has plans to open 50 more across the country.
According to a report in Nikkei Asian Review, rising income and the growing number of millennials in recent years are the forces driving this expansion. However, Watsons will face tough competition from existing market players such as Guardian, The Faceshop and Medicare.
[Photo via Watsons]
