1828

The Canton Dispensary, the forerunner of A.S. Watson, opened in Guangzhou, China.
1832
Established the first soda-water factory in China (one of the very first companies in the world to
manufacture soda-water).
1841
Operations extended to Hong Kong, the company founded the Hong Kong Dispensary
1858
Dr. Alexander Skirving Watson joined the company as Manager.
1862
The name A.S. Watson (after Dr. Alexander Skirving Watson who joined the company as Manager
in 1858) began to feature prominently with the Hong Kong Dispensary.
1869
Hong Kong Dispensary was appointed the chemist of the Hong Kong Governor and the Duke of
Edinburgh.
1871
The Hong Kong Dispensary was traded under the name A.S. Watson & Company.
1875
Erected the first factory in Hong Kong at 1-3 Stanley Street, producing six flavours of beverages.
1883
A.S. Watson expanded overseas to the Philippines and China; established a pharmacy and a soft
drink factory (1884) in Manila.
1886
Certificate of Incorporation of A.S. Watson & Co., Limited was issued on 19th January.
1895
A.S. Watson operated 35 stores and produced about 300 dispensary, toiletry and perfumery lines.
1903
Watsons Water was established to provide pure water in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
1910
To concentrate resources and energy, A.S. Watson closed all branches in China and the
Philippines.
1937
The Japanese invasion of China halted A.S. Watson's China operations.
1941
A.S. Watson celebrated centenary just months before the Japanese attack and the fall of Hong
Kong on 13th December.
1945
A.S. Watson resumed business on 1stSeptember.
1963
Hutchison Group acquired a controlling interest in A.S. Watson & Co., Ltd.
1972
Acquired PARKnSHOP supermarkets from Y.K. Lau.
1973
Acquired Peter Pan Toy Shops. Launched Mountain Cream ice-cream products.
1981
A.S. Watson became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Limited with 75 retail food
and non-food outlets.
1987
Watsons expanded to Taiwan.
1988
Watsons expanded to Macau and Singapore.
1989
Watsons reopened in China.
1990
FORTRESS joined the A.S. Watson Group.
1994
Water factory opened in Beijing.
Watsons expanded to Malaysia.
1996
Watsons expanded to Thailand.
1997
Acquired Shanghai Sparkling Drinking Water.
1998
FORTRESS opened its first store in Taiwan.
Watson's Wine opened in Hong Kong.
Nuance-Watson's retail stores opened at Hong Kong International Airport.
Expanded water operations in Europe through acquisitions.
1999
A.S. Watson sold ice-cream businesses in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong to the Unilever
Group.

2000
Acquired Savers health & beauty retail chain in the UK
2001
Watson's wine business expanded into Europe with acquisition of Badaracco SA
2002
Acquired Kruidvat Group in Europe
2003
Signed agreement to sell European water operations to Nestl Waters
Superdrug opened its first new identity store in the Bullring Birmingham in the UK
Watsons Water celeberated centennial anniversary and launched its "Year of Hong Kong
Creativity"
Watsons opened Asia's first third generation store
FORTRESS launched a new brand identity in Hong Kong
Nuance-Watson opened Duty Free shops in the Hong Kong International Airport
2004
Acquired Drogas health & beauty retail chain in the Baltics
Watsons acquired Apex Pharmacy Sdn Bhd in Malaysia
Purchased a 40 percent stake in Rossmann Germany, adding 786 stores to the Group's retail
portfolio
TASTE launched in November
Watson's Wine introduced a new store concept in Hong Kong
2005
Watsons celebrated 100
th
store in Mainland China and 300
th
store in Taiwan
Entered Turkey through acquisition of Cosmo Shop
First Watsons health & beauty store opened in Korea
Acquired Marionnaud in Europe
Acquired UK specialist perfume retailer Merchant Retail Group
Acquired Spektr in Russia in October
2006
Opened the first Watsons in Indonesia
Watsons celebrated its 200th store in Mainland China in June
Entered Ukraine through acquisition of DC
Marionnaud expanded into Asia by opening its first store in the Philippines in September
PARKnSHOP Hong Kong launched the MoneyBack loyalty programme
2007
New store concepts rolled out in respective brands across Asia and Europe
Watsons Water launched an all-in-one machine for offices
2008
A.S. Watson Group celebrated its 180
th
anniversary
Watsons launched its loyalty programme in Asia
Watson's Wine celebrated its 10th anniversary serving wine-lovers in Hong Kong
Marionnaud launched its first Own Brand skincare range
Participation in 2008 Beijing Olympic Torch Relay
2009
Rossmann reached its 2,000
th
store milestone
Watsons opened its 500
th
store in China
COOL bottled water revamped its brand identity to refresh its image
2010
Watsons card membership was reaching 15 million mark in Asia
2011
Watsons China opens its 1000
th
store, with a charity cycling supporting education in rural China
A.S. Watson Group celebrates its 10,000
th
store worldwide
DC Ukraine was rebranded to Watsons
2012
ICI PARIS XL launched its first-ever store in Germany, strengthening A.S. Watson's footprint in
Europe
Watsons launched a brand refresh campaign across the Asian region to provide a fresh retail
experience
TREAT launched in Chengdu in September as a new supermarket brand in China
SU-PA-DE-PA opened in September to bring one-stop shopping experience to Hong Kong
customers
Kruidvat reached its 1,000th store milestone in the Benelux
A.S. Watson Group was named a "Caring Company" for 10 consecutive years
2013
A.S. Watson Group won the Silver Award in the Web Accessibility Recognition scheme
Drogas celebrated its 20th anniversary
Watsons introduced new store formats, including MUSE in Malaysia and Watsons Baby in Hong
Kong
Superdrug launched its skincare & makeup collection B., ranking as a top seller in the market
PARKnSHOP Hong Kong launched its CSR programmes, covering youth, elderly, food-recycling
Watsons Water marked its 110th anniversary of purity & persistence