Beauty. Faced with higher Asian competition, A.S. Watson is eyeing the Middle East

The Asian drugstore retailer A.S. Watson aims to open 100 stores in the Middle East by 2025 via a franchising agreement with the Al Futtaim conglomerate. In China, the beauty market has reached a value of US$6.34 billion in 2020 via a 12% growth (Source Zhiyan Consulting). A.S. Watson has been facing a growing competition from new retailers such as Wow Colour, The Colorist, H.E.A.T. and Harmay, whose professional buyers and category managers, mainly born after 1990, are experts in terms of social media management and product selection for Chinese shoppers. Regarding online rivals, China’s beauty market is also seeing an array of online pure-players such as Perfect Diary, Florasis and Judydoll.