Why Is Watson So Successful?

Mention

Brand legend -- highlight the style of a century

In 1828, an English man named A.S Waston opened a Western pharmacy in Guangzhou and was named Guangdong pharmacy.

In 1841, the pharmacy moved to Hongkong and plated the company name into "A.S Wastons&company" in Guangdong dialect, which is the origin of Watsons. "Wastons&company"

This company, which started by a drugstore, still retains this feature. In 1981, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Li Jiacheng's Hutchison Whampoa Limited. With its strong economic strength and flexible management philosophy, Watsons's brand has grown rapidly in Asia and has become a household brand.

Watsons personal care shop is the flagship retail brand established by the group.

With its accurate market positioning, the identity of its "personal care specialist" is deeply rooted in the hearts of people, so that when people mention Watsons, they think of "personal care experts", and their brand influence is evident.

Business strategy -- highlighting professional identity

(1) accurate market positioning

As we all know, now the domestic retail industry can be described as "four fires", and the development of local brands.

Effective procurement, low cost logistics and strong terminal are three magic weapons for the retail industry to win.

In the face of fierce competition, Watsons bypassed the trap of price war. Based on the observation and analysis of Asian countries' market for many years, with 100 years of marketing experience, it was found that in recent years, the rapid growth of Asian economy and people's demand for quality of life are getting higher and higher.

Traditional sales are only in the stage of making consumers buy, focusing only on goods.

In the increasingly mature commodity economy, consumers not only buy goods, but also enjoy the pleasure of shopping and pursue the intangible value of commodities, such as brands and services, and finally reach the highest level of consumption, that is, loyalty to the brand through the recognition of corporate culture.

Undoubtedly, Watsons is pursuing the latter.

Its personal care shop takes the theme of "exploration" as the theme, and puts forward the three concepts of "health, good, fun" to help people who love life and pay attention to quality to mold their inner beauty and external beauty.

In China, Watsons is the first store operated by the concept of "personal care". Its unique and accurate market positioning is refreshing.

The target customers of stores are locked in 18--35 years old women. They focus on their individuality and have strong consumption ability. But they are not too fond of shopping in supermarkets at the time. They are pursuing a comfortable shopping environment.

"This is very consistent with our positioning.

"Watsons group director and China General Manager Tan Lixian said.

(two) product strategy

The products of Watsons personal care shop are all inclusive. They come from more than 20 countries. They are twenty-five thousand kinds of cosmetics, medicines, personal care products, fashion accessories, candy, cards and gifts. They are mainly divided into two parts: one is Watsons's own brand, the other is cosmetics and personal care products. Two is other brands of care products, P & G is not a few, Maybelline and AVON also have counters in stores.

Of course, the products are not only for women, but also for foreign men.

The biggest feature of Watsons's products is to convey three business ideas everywhere.

Medicines and health products retain the characteristics of their stores, advocate "health"; beauty salons and care products account for the largest proportion, the most diverse species, express the concept of "beauty state"; and the unique taste dolls and candy boutique convey an optimistic attitude towards life.

In order to match these three concepts, there are some lovable signs on the shelves, cash registers and shopping bags of the company, such as "heart", "lips" and "smiling face", which give people a warm, pleasant and interesting feeling.

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(three) price strategy

Watsons promotes brand value through differentiation and personalization, and pricing is generally relatively high.

Ni Wenling, general manager of Watsons group's public relations, explained that it is "the price is consistent with market demand" rather than "competitive price".

Even so, according to a survey conducted by more than 600 female customers in a personal care shop, more than 85% of people think that Watsons products are the most important factor to attract them to come shopping.

It can be seen that price is not the primary factor to attract customers in the increasingly homogeneous retail industry.

"You can buy other shopping places that you can't buy here.

"A customer of Watsons said so.

(four) marketing strategy

1, professional guidance Watsons now has a strong team of health consultants, including eighty full-time pharmacists and one hundred and fifty "healthy and energetic ambassadors".

They are professionally trained to provide free advice and advice for their customers to maintain healthy life.

2, personalized service, each Watsons personal care shop is clearly divided into different sales areas, goods are arranged in different categories, neatly arranged, convenient for customers to choose; in store displays, information, courier "skin care" and other personal care information manuals, free of all kinds of skin care counseling; drug counters' health confidant 'information display rack provides various health nutrition allocation and disease prevention and treatment methods; actively implement computerization plan, adopt advanced retail management system, improve the efficiency of ordering and shipping.

So what we can see is that Watsons is concerned not only with the sale of goods, but also with the thoughtful and considerate care of customers, which fully demonstrates the characteristic service of "personal care".

3, the social marketing enterprise is a social enterprise, "from the people, to the people", Watsons knows its way.

In 2002, Watsons personal care shop and the Hongkong Cancer Foundation launched the "Pink Revolution" to inform the public about breast cancer prevention and raise funds for breast cancer research.

At the end of 2003, it successfully supported the China children's Youth Foundation's implementation of the Spring Bud Plan. By launching a love shopping campaign, the donation amounted to 235800 yuan, and 500 school dropouts were returned to school.

These activities fully reflect the sense of social responsibility of Watsons and have made great social repercussions.

In that year, the turnover of stores increased by 80%, and more importantly, it established a good social image for enterprises.

Reflections on domestic retailing from Watsons

The successful experience of Watsons is worth learning and drawing lessons from the domestic retailing industry.

(1) competition in the retail industry is no longer just price competition.

Nowadays, a large number of supermarkets and shopping malls in China are beginning to be publicized under the banner of "parity" and "low price".

Admittedly, low price is a factor to attract customers, but the price reduction and promotion are hidden behind the loss of customers, damaged brands and vicious circle of price competition, which are unfavorable to the long-term development of enterprises.

From Watsons, we can see that the retail industry also needs brands, and also appealed to brands. Only when the market accurately determines its location and service targets, does it work hard at all levels of product quality, category, service level and so on, that is the long-term development of enterprises.

(two) the development of specialization and individuation is the general trend.

The homogenization of retail industry has prompted foresight businessmen to pay more attention to the importance of market segmentation.

Watsons first put forward the concept of "personal care specialist" in China.

Not only has it established the leading position of its own experts, but also has catered to the personalized needs of the target customers. The greater innovation is advocating a brand new shopping concept and attitude towards life, helping people make positive improvements in health and beauty, thus enjoying life happily.

In contrast, most retail enterprises in China lack clear and accurate management ideas, product homogeneity and vague positioning of target customers.