文 | Tiana
A.S. Watson Group (A.S. Watson Group) has announced the appointment of Malina Ngai, the current Group Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of A.S. Watson Group (Asia & Europe), as the CEO of A.S. Watson Group (Group Chief Executive Officer) with effect from 1 May, becoming the first female CEO of A.S. Watson Group. At that time, the former CEO of the Group, Lai Kai Meng, will serve as the Chairman of A.S. Watson Group.
Ms joined CK Hutchison (formerly known as Hutchison Whampoa), the parent company of A.S. Watson in 2000, and has held several promotions within the Watson Group over the past 20 years. For example, in 2013, Ni Wenling was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of the Group, and in 2019, she became the Chief Executive Officer of A.S. Watson Group (Asia and Europe). In the 10 years since she became Chief Operating Officer, Ms Ni has driven the Group's digital transformation, the O+O business model, and the establishment of a customer-centric corporate culture.
It is worth noting that according to the 2023 annual report released by CK Hutchisons, during the period, Watsons Group's revenue increased by 8% year-on-year to HK$183.344 billion, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) increased by 13% year-on-year to HK$16.226 billion. But A.S. Watson is facing a dilemma in the Chinese market, which was the only market for A.S. Watson Group to record negative growth last year. During the period, Watson's sales in China were HK$16.453 billion, down 6% year-on-year; EBITDA was HK$1,042 million, down 4% year-on-year. This is also the worst performance of Watsons China in the past nine years.
In March this year, A.S. Watson Group also issued an announcement announcing that it would appoint Chen Zhihao and Nie Wei as co-managing directors of A.S. Watson China. It will take more time to verify whether the new portfolio can change the decline of the Chinese market.
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