Watson's
Encyclopedia
Watson's or Watson's (Chinese:
屈臣氏, JP
: wat1saan4 si6, PY
: qūchén shì) is part of the Health and Beauty retail and consumer division of the Hong Kong
-based A.S. Watson Group
, which in turn is part of the world wide conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa
Ltd. The Company operates over 2,200 stores in Asia and Europe, and has for the second year running been voted the No. 1 in retail - Pharmacy and Drugstore category of Asia's top 1,000 brands.
, on the south west coast of China
. After selling his practice to a fellow doctor, he moved to Hong Kong
in 1856 where he became part owner of the Hong Kong Dispensary, an offshoot of the Canton Dispensary which operated from 1828–1858. Known as the "Big Medicine Shop" ' onMouseout='HidePop("34569")' href="/topics/Cantonese">Cantonese
: Dai Yeuk Fong), the dispensary's main customers were soldiers and sailors. The dispensary was not known as A.S. Watson until 1870 although Alexander Skirving Watson took over in 1858 following management changes. T.B. Watson sent his family back to Scotland in 1857 and he himself followed two years later.
Following the death of Dr T. B. Watson in 1860, the Hong Kong Dispensary was leased to A.S. Watson and two other doctors, and from 1862 onwards, the name A.S. Watson featured prominently at the Hong Kong Dispensary. In 1871, the Watson family leased the company to Dr John David Humphreys and Dr Arthur Hunt
, and thereafter trading was executed under the name A.S. Watson & Company. Retail outlets were known as "Watsons the Chemist".
The current owners, Hutchison Group, acquired a controlling interest in A.S. Watson & Co., Ltd in 1963. In 1981, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. At this time, the group had 75 retail outlets.
ries & cosmetics
, grocery
, consumer electronics
, wine
, and duty-free.
, Taiwan
, Indonesia
, Singapore
, Malaysia, The Philippines
, Thailand
, Macau
, and South Korea
. It has recently launched this format in Turkey, Estonia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
In 2000, Watsons purchased the UK-based "Savers" discount drugstore chain. Subsequently Watsons acquired The Netherlands
-based Kruidvat Group, through which the company added over 1,900 stores to its business and for the first time entered the Dutch, German and Belgian
marketplaces where Kruidvat traded as Kruidvat, Trekpleister, ICI PARIS XL and Rossmann. This transaction also added "Superdrug
", the second largest health and beauty retailer in the UK (after Alliance Boots
), to its portfolio.
As at January 2005, the company had some 4,500 shops in 19 countries around the world. More recently Watsons has acquired the "Drogas" drugstore chains, The French-based "Marionnaud" perfumery business in March 2005, The Perfume Shop
retail chain in the UK and "Spektr" (СПЕКТР) health & beauty retail chain in Russia and "DC", the largest health & beauty retail chain in Ukraine
.
" supermarket, acquired in 1972. ASW provides a range of beverages from bottled water, fruit juices, soft drinks and tea products to wine via its international wine wholesaler and distributor.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
屈臣氏, JP
Jyutping
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993. Its formal name is The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme...
: wat1saan4 si6, PY
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: qūchén shì) is part of the Health and Beauty retail and consumer division of the Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
-based A.S. Watson Group
A.S. Watson Group
The A.S. Watson Group is the world's largest Health & Beauty retailer, with over 9,400 stores in 33 markets worldwide serving over 25 million customers per week....
, which in turn is part of the world wide conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited or HWL of Hong Kong is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL is an international corporation with a diverse array of holdings which includes the world's biggest port and telecommunication operations in 14...
Ltd. The Company operates over 2,200 stores in Asia and Europe, and has for the second year running been voted the No. 1 in retail - Pharmacy and Drugstore category of Asia's top 1,000 brands.
History
Dr. Thomas Boswell Watson (1815–1860), was the first member of the Watson family to arrive in the Far East, where in 1845 he set up a private practice in MacauMacau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, on the south west coast of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. After selling his practice to a fellow doctor, he moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1856 where he became part owner of the Hong Kong Dispensary, an offshoot of the Canton Dispensary which operated from 1828–1858. Known as the "Big Medicine Shop" ' onMouseout='HidePop("34569")' href="/topics/Cantonese">Cantonese
Cantonese
Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
: Dai Yeuk Fong), the dispensary's main customers were soldiers and sailors. The dispensary was not known as A.S. Watson until 1870 although Alexander Skirving Watson took over in 1858 following management changes. T.B. Watson sent his family back to Scotland in 1857 and he himself followed two years later.
Following the death of Dr T. B. Watson in 1860, the Hong Kong Dispensary was leased to A.S. Watson and two other doctors, and from 1862 onwards, the name A.S. Watson featured prominently at the Hong Kong Dispensary. In 1871, the Watson family leased the company to Dr John David Humphreys and Dr Arthur Hunt
Arthur Hunt
Arthur Surridge Hunt was an English papyrologist.Hunt was born in Romford, Essex, England. Over the course of many years, Hunt, along with Bernard Grenfell, recovered many papyri from excavation sites in Egypt, including the Oxyrhynchus Papyri.-Publications:*B. P. Grenfell, A. S...
, and thereafter trading was executed under the name A.S. Watson & Company. Retail outlets were known as "Watsons the Chemist".
The current owners, Hutchison Group, acquired a controlling interest in A.S. Watson & Co., Ltd in 1963. In 1981, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. At this time, the group had 75 retail outlets.
Retail operations by type
Today, A.S. Watson has retail and manufacturing operations in 37 markets worldwide, and employs over 98,000 staff. Its retail network of over 7,700 stores spans health & beauty chains, perfumePerfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
ries & cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, grocery
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
, consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
, wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, and duty-free.
Watsons drugstores
In Asia, Watsons main retail business is the "Watsons Your Personal Store" drugstore chain. Watsons now operates this store format in several territories in Asia including Hong Kong, mainland ChinaMainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Malaysia, The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It has recently launched this format in Turkey, Estonia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
Other health and beauty
Watsons has expanded rapidly in Europe through a major acquisition programme which has seen the group become the world's biggest health and beauty retailer.In 2000, Watsons purchased the UK-based "Savers" discount drugstore chain. Subsequently Watsons acquired The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-based Kruidvat Group, through which the company added over 1,900 stores to its business and for the first time entered the Dutch, German and Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
marketplaces where Kruidvat traded as Kruidvat, Trekpleister, ICI PARIS XL and Rossmann. This transaction also added "Superdrug
Superdrug
Superdrug Stores PLC is Britain's second-largest beauty and health retailer behind Boots. Superdrug - part of the AS Watson Group which in turn is part of the Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa - is a UK based company with over 890 stores, which since 2006, includes the Republic of Ireland...
", the second largest health and beauty retailer in the UK (after Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots
Alliance Boots GmbH is a leading international, pharmacy-led health and beauty group. It has two core business activities - pharmacy-led health and beauty retailing, and pharmaceutical wholesaling and distribution - and has a presence in more than 25 countries...
), to its portfolio.
As at January 2005, the company had some 4,500 shops in 19 countries around the world. More recently Watsons has acquired the "Drogas" drugstore chains, The French-based "Marionnaud" perfumery business in March 2005, The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop
The Perfume Shop is a United Kingdom perfume retailer founded in 1992. The company was acquired by the world's largest health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson Group in 2005. The company is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, with two distribution centres: one in Dunstable which serves The...
retail chain in the UK and "Spektr" (СПЕКТР) health & beauty retail chain in Russia and "DC", the largest health & beauty retail chain in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
Food
Watsons controls the "PARKnSHOPPARKnSHOP
PARKnSHOP is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Wellcome. PARKnSHOP operates more than 260 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China....
" supermarket, acquired in 1972. ASW provides a range of beverages from bottled water, fruit juices, soft drinks and tea products to wine via its international wine wholesaler and distributor.