Watsons targets 90 new stores in 2025

Watsons Philippines announced plans for aggressive expansion in 2025, aiming to open approximately 90 new branches, surpassing the 80 branches built this year, to bring health and beauty brands closer to its expanding customer base in the Philippines.

"We are very grateful because we have been growing double-digit the past five years. We are in a very good position. Our expansion for next year is very aggressive. The target is about 90 stores to open for next year,” said Sharon Decapia, Watson’s Philippines senior assistant vice president for Marketing, PR and Sustainability, in a roundtable discussion on Monday.

Decapia noted that the expansion will focus on the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

"We really want to make sure that the locations that we identify are close to our target customers. Or somehow, we don't oversaturate a specific area. We want to be present in places where there are no branches yet, and we want to be available there,” she added.

These future branches will serve as community pharmacies, supplementing the existing Watsons locations in all SM malls through the A.S. Watson Group and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. joint venture.

“Today, Watsons has grown to over 1,100 stores nationwide, serving more than 100,000 customers daily. The brand offers a wide selection of high-quality, market-leading products, including top global brands and its competitively priced Watsons GOBE (Globally Owned Brands and Exclusives), alongside health services that provide exceptional value in health, wellness, and beauty,” said Jared Guzman, customer director for Watson’s Philippines.

O+O Strategy

According to Guzman, Watsons is actively expanding its community stores and enhancing its e-commerce platform as part of its O+O (Offline + Online) strategy.

“This approach ensures that more Filipinos can conveniently access our wide range of health, wellness, and beauty products,” Guzman said.

The O+O strategy has built a loyal customer base, boasting 15.8 million members with 158 million transactions to date.

Recently, A.S. Watson Group selected the Philippines to host the global brand’s 8,000th branch at SM Mall of Asia, with a flagship store that reflects international standards and Filipino preferences. Designed by teams in Hong Kong and Manila, the store offers a spacious, modern layout for an enhanced shopping experience.

Watsons Philippines currently employs over 10,000 people, with 9,000 in its 1,100 branches serving both in-store and online customers, while others work in the company’s head office and manufacturing hubs.

Established in 1841, A.S. Watson Group is one of the world’s longest-standing and most recognized retail companies, with a presence in Asia. The company now operates over 16,500 stores across 12 retail brands in 29 markets, employing 130,000 people globally, making it the largest international health and beauty retailer. For the fiscal year 2023, A.S. Watson Group reported revenue of $23 billion.

The company’s technology-enabled O+O platforms serve over 5.5 billion shoppers annually, integrating physical and digital retail experiences seamlessly.