Source: BusinessWorld | Posted on November 23, 2014 09:55:00 PM
TACLOBAN CITY — Retailer Watsons Personal Care Stores (Phils.), Inc. has set a target to open 50 stores next year, an official said.
Watsons has just opened its 400th store in the Philippines inside the newly opened SM Savemore outlet in this city.
Reena V. Rodrigo, Watsons beauty trading director, said the retailer is “very upbeat” about growth prospects, banking on the expansion of SM Supermalls.
Three of every four Watsons stores in the Philippines are inside SM properties. The company opened 45 new stores so far this year.
“Within the year, we will be opening five more stores in the Philippines. Many of our new branches are in the Visayas and Mindanao area. Areas outside Metro Manila and Luzon have been posting high double-digit growth,” Ms. Rodrigo said.
Watsons Philippines is a joint venture of SM Retail Group (60%) and Hong Kong-based A.S. Watson & Co. Ltd. Watsons operates more than 4,000 stores and more than 1,000 pharmacies in 12 Asian and European markets, including China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau), Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Turkey and Ukraine. — Sarwell Q. Meniano
