Hutchison acquires EU retail group

HONG KONG – Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. announced on Thursday that it has, through its wholly owned subsidiary A.S. Watson (ASW), made an offer to acquire one of Europe’s leading health and beauty retail businesses, the Kruidvat Group, for approximately Eur1,150 million

Kruidvat has a store portfolio of 1,900 outlets and employs 12,000 people in six European nations. The additon of the Kruidvat Group significantly enhances ASW’s presence in Europe, its leading market position, its earnings growth, and in addition provides synergies with ASW’s existing operations.

The Kruidvat outlets, in conjunction with ASW’s existing 930 personal care stores, makes ASW one of the world’s largest health and beauty chains. Combined sales of the two operations would exceed $4 billion in 2002.

The companies being acquired include health and beauty retail chains Superdrug in the UK, Kruidvat and Trekpleister in the Netherlands, Kruidvat in Belgium and Rossman (50 percent interest) in Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic; and perfumery retail chain ICI Paris XL in the Netherlands and Belgium.

In April this year, ASW brought to the Philippines the Watsons brand through a joint venture with Health and Beauty, and Family Drugstore, members of the SM Group of Companies.

This was the first major foreign investment of an international retail chainstore in the country since the Philippine government revamped its foreign investment policy in March 2000 to enable overseas investment in retail industry.

Currently, Watsons Philippines operates 63 health and beauty and pharmacy stores with at least 10 more planned before Christmas this year to serve Filipino consumers nationwide. The company expansion plan is to reach 250 outlets in five year’s time.