Watsons plans more outlets to tap consumption uptrend

Hong Kong-based health and beauty retailer Watsons said it plans to open 500 stores in the Chinese mainland this year and explore community store models, as the company has firm confidence in its growth potential in the country and will continue to make investments by leveraging the consumption upgrade trend.

Watsons announced its plans at a time when the government has issued a series of favorable policies to boost consumption and expand domestic demand. In the recently delivered Government Work Report, it listed boosting consumption as a priority among this year's tasks.

Brick-and-mortar retail is expected to embrace new business opportunities, with the trend of quality upgrades, digital transformation and the building of more commercial infrastructure in county-level cities, the company said.