Hong Kong – AS Watson Group has appointed Clarice Au as the new chief executive officer of retail Hong Kong, entrusting her with the leadership of its four retail businesses in the city.

Effective 1 March 2025, Au will be responsible for overseeing the management of AS Watson’s four diverse retail businesses in Hong Kong, namely Watsons, PARKnSHOP, Fortress, and Watson’s Wine. 

Speaking about her new role, Au said, “I am deeply honoured to take on the role of CEO of Retail Hong Kong at AS Watson. Since joining the company in 1998, I’ve had the privilege of working across diverse business areas, from airport retail to leading the Fortress team and, more recently, overseeing the MoneyBack loyalty program. These experiences have shaped my passion for delivering exceptional customer experiences and fostering innovation.” 

“Looking ahead, my priority will be to build on our strong business foundation while harnessing the talents of our combined teams, as well as close collaboration with our business partners to elevate the customer experience across our network of over 500 O+O stores. As Hong Kong’s retail landscape evolves rapidly, it is essential for us to remain agile and continuously embrace transformation to seize new opportunities and stay ahead,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Malina Ngai, group CEO of AS Watson, commented, “With over 20 years of extensive management experience at AS Watson, Clarice has consistently demonstrated remarkable leadership. She has been instrumental in driving digital transformation and advancing the growth of both the Fortress retail chain and the MoneyBack multi-brand loyalty program. I am excited to have her expertise guiding our retail businesses in Hong Kong into the future.”

Hong Kong – International health and beauty retailer AS Watson Group has announced the promotion of Malina Ngai to group chief executive officer, helping the business in its growth journey globally. 

Ngai currently serves as the group chief operating officer for AS Watson and the chief executive officer for AS Watson Asia and Europe. 

As the new group CEO, Ngai will be responsible for setting goals, guiding the team in creating plans to prioritise customers, and ensuring the ongoing expansion of AS Watson’s global portfolio.

She brings with her an expansive track record, having joined AS Watson’s parent company, CK Hutchison, formerly known as Hutchison Whampoa, in 2000. Ngai was first stationed at Hutchison Port Holdings and soon moved to the Hutchison Whampoa Corporate Affairs Department. 

After a year at the parent company, Ngai transferred to AS Watson in 2001, where she took on various leadership roles. She became the group COO in 2013 and CEO of AS Watson Asia and Europe in 2019. 

Prior to joining CK Hutchison, Ngai also worked for a sports marketing consultancy and the Hong Kong SAR Government’s statutory body for sports development. She holds a doctoral degree and a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in finance, and a bachelor’s degree in sports administration. 

It is also worth noting that she used to be a competitive athlete and even won a bronze medal for Hong Kong at the 1994 Asian Games. 

Ngai’s appointment to her new role will be effective May 1, 2024. Meanwhile, Dominic Lai, group co-managing director at CK Hutchison and group managing director at AS Watson, will assume the position of chairman for AS Watson

Speaking on her promotion, Lai said, “After a very fulfilling 17 years of leading the AS Watson Group, I think it is the appropriate time to pass on the baton. Malina has been crucial in successfully driving AS Watson’s digital transformation, implementing the O+O (offline plus online) business model, and fostering positive cultural change in the past decade.” 

He added, “Malina has worked at CK Hutchison and AS Watson for 24 years. Her career path started in corporate communications and later expanded to international management positions in international buying, technology development, sales operations, marketing, big data, and sustainability. She demonstrated strong adaptability, strategic agility, and the ability to drive tremendous momentum across the entire organisation. Her significant achievements have continued to propel our organisation forward. Malina is perfectly prepared for this role.” 

“As the Group CEO of AS Watson, Malina will be fully in charge of defining our vision and leading the team to formulate strategies to meet our strategic objectives of putting customers first and continuing the growth journey of our global portfolio. All senior leaders who currently report to me will report to Malina. I will assume the position of Chairman of AS Watson,” Lai concluded. 

Hong Kong – International health and beauty retailer AS Watson has announced that it is the first to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles. These principles are part of a global campaign spearheaded by UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment), which aims to promote gender equity and female empowerment.

With this action, AS Watson reaffirms its dedication to fostering an inclusive workplace, marketplace, and community that offers opportunities for women in support of this cause. 

Through its collaboration with Operation Smile in the Women in Medicine initiative, AS Watson displays its dedication to women’s empowerment. Through educational opportunities and specialised training, this project enables women working in the medical and healthcare sectors, paving the way for them to become world leaders in the fields of surgery, medicine, and healthcare. 

In keeping with International Women’s Day’s “Inspire Inclusion” theme, AS Watson and its 12 retail brands, which operate in 28 markets, will launch a series of customer- and employee-focused initiatives aimed at empowering women. 

To further support women in embracing their true selves, Watsons will launch the “Our Time is Now” campaign on International Women’s Day. Watsons will actively participate in a number of community-based events this month. 

Watsons is extending their support for self-financed women’s empowerment services to young mothers, married women, and older women by sponsoring the YWCA’s “ChariTea” program in Hong Kong. 

Watsons Thailand will, in the meanwhile, be in charge of the “Green Ribbon” campaign, which will encourage women to reach their full potential and donate all earnings to the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women, which supports women and children who are suffering from mental and physical health problems. 

Superdrug intends to promote female-founded health and beauty products in its European stores and organise a number of initiatives, including podcasts and a picture contest, to empower its female staff members. In order to promote confidence and beauty in women’s life, Drogas will host the Ladies’ School event and provide skincare and makeup guidance. Aiming to motivate its female employees to realise their full potential, The Perfume Shop has assembled a collection of motivational movies. 

Speaking about the campaign, Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson Asia and Europe, said, “At AS Watson, we are dedicated to empowering women to be more beautiful and confident. With over 80% of our 160 million members and over 70% of our 130,000 colleagues being women, our top priority is to inspire and support every woman to become the best version of themselves.” 

She added, “We are also proud to create an inclusive work culture where women are valued and offered equal opportunities for career growth. AS Watson aspires to leverage our scale for good and inspire every woman to radiate beauty from the inside out. We believe in The New Beautiful – a new kind of beauty that exists within everyone.” 

Furthermore, Ngai emphasised, “We believe that empowering women is not only our responsibility, but also our passion for creating a world with equality and inclusion, where every one’s uniqueness is recognised and valued. We cannot achieve it alone, so we will continue to advocate women empowerment and encourage more customers, colleagues and business partners to join us in contributing to a better world.”

APAC – Global health and beauty retailer AS Watson announces its brand refresh featuring a modernised visual identity that injects more energy into the brand, as well as a new brand circle that focuses on the brand’s values. 

The refreshed brand direction aims to bring its 180 years of heritage to the forefront of the business with added vitality to propel the company towards achieving sustainable growth in decades to come.

Within the newly refreshed logo, a red-colour background has been introduced alongside the existing dragon and unicorn, symbolising a combination of east and west, as well as a nine-level pagoda, which represents ethics, values and respect.

The brand name has also taken a simplified approach by renaming ‘A.S. Watson’ as ‘AS Watson’, symbolising the past, present and future achievements of the brand.

Furthermore, the AS Watson Brand Circle is introduced to symbolise unity and wholeness in the organisation, bringing together its clear purpose, vision, mission and DNA.

AS Watson’s rebrand aims to embrace new opportunities, with the goal to be a first-choice shopping destination for quality health, beauty and lifestyle products and services on its O+O platforms.  

Expressing her excitement on the refresh, Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson (Asia & Europe), said, “This marks a significant milestone in our company’s history. We are AS Watson! Together with our 130,000 colleagues, business partners and stakeholders in the communities where we operate, we are dedicated to love our customers and deliver our simple yet powerful purpose – to put a smile on our customers’ faces today and tomorrow.”