Watsons, once the king of beauty retail that swept the market, was a common shopping "base" for college students and young white-collar workers on weekends.

Even without a clear purchase plan, they would still go in and browse.

But now, if you go to the mall, you will find that the once crowded Watsons has very few customers, and it is not as prosperous as other retail stores.

In recent years, the discussions about Watsons on the Internet have all been about its false promotions and the car crash of the host, which seems to be on the verge of collapse.

01 Watsons is facing a "midlife crisis" On March 16, 2023, Watsons' parent company, CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, released the financial report data for 2022.

The data shows that in 2022, Watsons' revenue in China was 17.579 billion Hong Kong dollars (approximately 15.469 billion yuan), down 23%, and both the revenue scale and growth rate were the lowest since 2015.

EBITDA (profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was 9.57 yuan, down 59%, and the number of stores also decreased from 4,179 in 2021 to 3,836, a reduction of 8%; the same-store sales also fell by 18.3%, and the data was not optimistic.

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In response, the person in charge attributed it to the restrictions of China's epidemic prevention policy.

However, in addition to the background of epidemic prevention, changes in consumer market preferences, outdated operation models of Watsons, and unsuccessful transformation are all weakening the competitiveness of Watsons in China.

In March this year, Watsons' parent company, CK Hutchison, released the 2023 annual report, and during the reporting period, Watsons' sales in China were 16.453 billion Hong Kong dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 6%.

Not only that, but in 2023, Watsons' sales and EBITDA once again reached the lowest in nearly nine years.

In addition, last year's single-store sales of Watsons also fell by 6.6%.

The domestic performance is declining, and the century-old brand Watsons is now facing a "midlife crisis".

02 Why is Watsons facing a "midlife crisis"?

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