Hong Kong cosmetics giant comes to HCMC

According to InsideRetail Asia, the store will open in District 1. Watsons has also set up a Facebook page dedicated to consumers in Vietnam.

A.S. Watson Group, belonging to Hutchison Holdings Limited, was established in Hong Kong in 1841.

Watsons is one of the largest and fastest growing cosmetic and pharmaceutical retail chains in the world with around 6,800 stores in 12 markets in Asia and Europe, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, mainland China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia.

A.S Watson Group also owns other major retail brands such as Drogas, Superdrug, and Watsons' Wine. It has more than 2.4 billion member customers and more than 140,000 employees worldwide.

With its cosmetics sales growing annually at around 30 percent, Vietnam is considered a potentially lucrative market by Watsons.

While demand has been huge, supply does not yet meet consumers’ needs. The main distribution and trading channels for foreign cosmetics are online stores, people carrying them from abroad and small shops.

According to the Vietnam Essential Oils Aromas and Cosmetics Association, the beauty care industry was worth $1.2 billion in 2016.

British research firm Euromonitor International, reported a year later that 90 percent of beauty products in Vietnam were imported.