Watsons expands presence in Middle East with new Qatar store
Superdrug owner AS Watson is expanding its presence in the Middle East with the opening of its first store in Qatar.
The move follows new store openings in Dubai Mall, Dubai Festival City, Mall of the Emirates and Al Wahda Mall in United Arab Emirates, and the Mall of Dhahra in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Jonathan Watts, general manager of Watsons GCC at Al-Futtaim, said: “Watsons signed a franchise agreement with Al-Futtaim in early 2020 with the vision to bring fashionable and affordable beauty and lifestyle products to customers in the GCC region. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic interruption, these stores were opened in less than 24 months.”
Shoppers at the Qatar store in Doha Festival City will be able to explore a designated “beauty-land” spanning 3,000 square feet. The shop has various zones including Natural & Clean Beauty that features sustainable choices products, and an open makeup area where customers can try out different looks.
Watts added: “Qatar is a truly vibrant and unique market. While customers are getting more and more sophisticated about beauty and personal care, Watsons as the skin expert is delighted to bring our customers exclusive international brands. The excitement is overwhelming as customers have been eagerly waiting for Watsons to expand across the GCC via our O+O (Offline plus Online) retail model, allowing beauty lovers of all generations to shop offline and online.”
