A.S. Watson Group
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Health & Beauty Retail |
| Headquarters | Hong Kong |
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Number of locations
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12,000+ stores Worldwide |
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Key people
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Sir Li Ka-Shing (Chairman) Dominic Lai (Group Managing Director) |
| Products | Health, Beauty & Lifestyle Brands |
| Owner | 75 % CK Hutchison Holdings 25% Temasek Holdings |
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Number of employees
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120,000 |
| Website | www |
The A.S. Watson Group (or A.S. Watson or ASW) is the largest health and beauty retail group in Hong Kong, with over 12,000 stores in 25 markets worldwide serving over 28 million customers per week.
The group operates the world's largest portfolio of retail formats, retail brands and has the largest geographical presence, and the company is majority owned by multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, with just over 75 percent, after the remaining stake was sold to Singapore-government-owned Temasek Holdings, in March 2014.
Its head office is in the Watson House (Chinese: 屈臣氏中心; Jyutping: wat1 san4 si6 zung1 sam1; pinyin: Qūchénshì Zhōngxīn) in Fo Tan, Shatin, New Territories.
A.S. Watson had its beginnings as the Canton Dispensary and Soda Water Establishment, founded in 1828 as a small dispensary, with the mission to provide free medical services to the poor people of the Southern Chinese province of Guangdong (also known as Canton). It moved to Hong Kong and re-emerged as the Hong Kong Dispensary from 1 January 1843 under proprietors Drs Alexander Anderson and Peter Young, trading at Capt Morgan's Bazaar. Dr Alexander Skirving Watson joined the company in 1858. In 1869 the Hong Kong Dispensary was appointed to dispense to the Governor of Hong Kong and the Duke of Edinburgh. The company began trading under the name A.S. Watson & Company in 1871.
By 1886, the company had constructed its first factory in Hong Kong, on Stanley Street, registered as a limited company and had also completed its first expansion further into China and to the Philippines. By 1895 the company was operating 35 stores and was producing 300 dispensary, toiletry and perfumery lines.
In 1903, Watsons Water was established, selling bottled water in Hong Kong and Mainland China. 1937 saw the Japanese invasion of China and A.S. Watson halted all operations in Mainland China. In 1941, A.S. Watson celebrated its centenary just months before the Japanese attack and the fall of Hong Hong. A.S. Watson eventually resumed business on 1 September 1945.
The Hutchison Group acquired a controlling interest in A.S. Watson & Co. Ltd in 1963.
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Wikipedia