As International Women’s Day approaches, AS Watson, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, proudly announces that it’s the first health and beauty retailer to be a signatory of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a global movement under UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment) dedicated to advancing gender equity and women’s empowerment. In support of this movement, AS Watson strengthens its commitment to fostering a workplace, marketplace, and community that promotes inclusivity and opportunities for women.

Malina Ngai, CEO of AS Watson (Asia & Europe) says, “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. 

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.”

Nurturing Women in Medicine and Healthcare

AS Watson’s commitment to women’s empowerment is demonstrated through its partnership with Operation Smile in the Women in Medicine program, which empowers women in the medical and healthcare fields by providing them with educational opportunities and specialty training for them to become global leaders in medicine, healthcare, and surgery. 

This program has successfully trained 30 female plastic surgeons through all-women surgical and educational programs and thousands of smiles will be reconstructed every year. AS Watson is committed to sponsoring a total of 10,000 surgeries by 2030.

Driving Positive Change Worldwide

In echo with the “Inspire Inclusion” theme of International Women’s Day, AS Watson and its 12 retail brands across 28 markets will launch a series of women empowerment activities for both their people and customers. 

Watsons will kick off with “Our Time is Now” campaign on International Women’s Day, furthering the commitment to empowering women to be their true selves. Throughout the month, Watsons will actively engage the community through various activities. 

In Asia, Watsons will sponsor YWCA’s “ChariTea” program in Hong Kong, supporting self-financed women empowerment services for women in marital adversity, young mothers, and strengthening elderly services while Watsons Thailand is organizing the “Green Ribbon” campaign, encouraging women to unleash their full potential and donating all proceeds to the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Woman, helping women and children with mental and physical issues. Furthermore, in the Philippines, Watsons is collaborating with Punlaan to offer an Apprenticeship program, which provides young women from vulnerable communities the opportunity to jumpstart their careers as Assistant Pharmacists at Watsons. This initiative aims to support 400 young women this year, empowering them through professional growth and development.

In Europe, Superdrug will feature the health and beauty brands founded by women across its stores and organize a series of programs to empower its female colleagues including photo competitions and podcasts. Drogas will host the Ladies’ School event, sharing skincare and makeup tips with female customers to inspire them to lead confident and beautiful lives. Meanwhile, The Perfume Shop has curated inspirational videos for its female colleagues, empowering them to become the best versions of themselves. 

Leading the Charge in Women’s Empowerment

As the leading health and beauty retailer, AS Watson is dedicated to contributing to creating impact, and promoting gender equality, empowering women, and building a more inclusive world for all. Ngai emphasizes, “We believe that empowering women is not only our responsibility but also our passion for creating a world with equality and inclusion, where everyone’s uniqueness is recognized 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.”

About AS Watson Group

Established in 1841, AS Watson Group is the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer operating over 16,400 stores under 12 retail brands in 28 markets, with about 130,000 employees worldwide. For the fiscal year 2022, AS Watson Group recorded revenue of US$22 billion. Every year, we are serving over 5.5 billion shoppers via our O+O (Offline plus Online) technology-enabled platforms. 

AS Watson Group is also a member of the world-renowned multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, which has four core businesses ‐ ports and related services, retail, infrastructure and telecommunications in over 50 countries.

Please visit www.aswatson.com/our-company/o-and-o-strategy/ for more information.