Hutchison Whampoa's health and beauty chain Watsons plans to triple the number of its stores on the mainland to 3,000 in the next five years as it revs up expansion in a mammoth but competitive consumer market.
Watsons, which opened its 1,000th mainland outlet in Shanghai yesterday, will also make inroads into an additional 150 cities and have a presence in 300 cities by 2016, said Christian Nothhaft, chief executive of Watsons China.
'We've got a lot of logistics and management experience in China,' Nothhaft said. 'We are a big fan of the Chinese economy and we are fairly confident.'
The retail chain controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing has doubled the number of its stores on the mainland over the past two years, adding 250 outlets each year.
Under the new expansion plan, it will have 400 openings each year to reach its goal.
The fast pace of store openings also reflects the mainland's increasing significance to Watsons. To date, the number of outlets it has there represents one-tenth of its global total - some 10,000 worldwide.
