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Watsons, United Arab Emirates

Doha Festival City.” years ago when there was only the vision for the O+O platform strategy,
Standing at almost 3,000sq ft, the new store in Qatar is designed to the brand established eLab, an in-house digital agency to build digital
appeal to modern beauty lovers who demand an exciting and highly experiences and content. Seeing themselves as not only a retailer but also a
interactive shopping environment. The store features different and media company, they were one of the first retailers to do livestreaming, and
designated zones that focus on specific product categories, including they integrate this into their website and mobile apps to allow customers
Natural & Clean Beauty which features the Sustainable Choices products, to place orders directly.
and an open makeup area so that customers can try out different Ngai believes ‘content is king’ and ‘engagement is queen’ and that it is not
looks and play around with a wide range of the latest and trendiest just about how much content they can reach out to customers with, it is the
colour cosmetics. engagement they can gather from it that is important.
“With every crisis comes opportunity and the unfortunate effect the The topic of sustainability is pivotal for retailers today and it is not a
pandemic had on the world and our business has enabled us to accelerate new concept for A.S. Watson. It is entwined within their history and
our digital transformation and brought forward the progress by at least a the brand’s purpose of putting a smile on customers’ faces today
few years,” Ngai comments. and tomorrow.
She continues by explaining that the traditional O2O model no longer “We refreshed our sustainability roadmap last year with our 2030
serves the needs of customers, and it is not about driving customers from Sustainability Vision. The Vision sets out a bold commitment to acting on
offline to shopping online, or vice versa, it is about serving the customers climate change, embracing a circular economy, providing more sustainable
when and how they want to be served and how they receive their products. product choice, supporting our communities and creating a greater
The O+O model that A.S. Watson has transformed into has proven to workplace,” Ngai comments. “We strongly believe in creating a real
be a resilient model. Amongst the 142 million loyalty members they have, impact through involving our customers around the globe with content and
those who shop with them O+O spend up to three times more versus activities to engage them to join hands and do good for the planet.”
those who only shop in physical stores. As the interview draws to a close, we ask Ngai about the future of the
“We do not see the pandemic as a crisis, but an opportunity to build and company and what its greatest challenge is?
intensify our relationships with our customers. What helps us to navigate “It is in the digital transformation of A.S. Watson. It is not just about how
through the challenge and turn it into opportunities is the teamwork, much investment we put into technology or how many more digital devices
agility and resilience that we’ve demonstrated through the pandemic,” we put into the stores. It is about genuine revolution in changing the way we
explains Ngai. think, the way we work and communicate, leveraging on technology as an
The role of social media within A.S. Watson’s O+O ecosystem is a enabler to allow us to adapt and change ever more quickly to meet customer
significant one, as it is all about creating customer connectivity. Seven expectations and needs. Retail is not dead, it is evolving very quickly.”
Watsons, Hong Kong, China