AS Watson and Grab launch regional health & beauty partnership
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Hong Kong-based health and beauty retailer AS Watson has partnered with Grab to launch an online and offline collaboration across Southeast Asia.
The partnership will allow customers to access more than 62,000 health and beauty products at Watsons stores via Grab services, expanding Watsons’ online reach in Southeast Asia. The service is available in six markets: Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Through GrabExpress, Grab will serve as Watsons’ last-mile delivery partner in the markets, offering fast deliveries for purchases made through the Watsons website and mobile app. More than 2000 Watsons stores will be listed on GrabMart, making Watsons the largest health and beauty retailer to be on the platform.
Meanwhile, Watsons will accept GrabPay cashless payment option in its Southeast Asia stores and integrate the digital wallet into its Watsons mobile app.
“Covid-19 accelerated the growth of e-commerce and our customers expect their purchases to be delivered fast,” said Freda Ng, chief digital officer at Watsons International. “With our network of 2200 stores in Southeast Asia … Grab is the ideal partner to complete the purchase journey.”
“Grab’s open platform enables companies to scale by easily plugging into our ecosystem and leveraging our unique online and offline capabilities to grow together with us in this region,” added Shawn Heng, MD, regional business development at Grab.
Questions & Answers
Q.Which specific countries in Southeast Asia will see this new health and beauty partnership implemented?
Which specific countries in Southeast Asia will see this new health and beauty partnership implemented?
The service will be available in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These six markets are where the online and offline collaboration will take place.
Q.How many Watsons stores will be accessible through the GrabMart platform as part of this collaboration?
How many Watsons stores will be accessible through the GrabMart platform as part of this collaboration?
More than 2,000 Watsons stores are set to be listed on GrabMart. This makes Watsons the largest health and beauty retailer to join the platform within the partnership.
Q.What role will Grab play in delivering products purchased from Watsons through this new arrangement?
What role will Grab play in delivering products purchased from Watsons through this new arrangement?
Grab will act as Watsons’ last-mile delivery partner via GrabExpress in the designated markets. This service will offer fast deliveries for purchases made through Watsons' website and mobile app.
Q.Beyond deliveries, what other integration will Grab offer within Watsons' operations?
Beyond deliveries, what other integration will Grab offer within Watsons' operations?
Watsons will accept GrabPay as a cashless payment option in its Southeast Asia stores. Also, Watsons plans to integrate this digital wallet into its own mobile application.
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