A.S. Watson Group appoints 18 tech partners for 2019

Health and beauty retailer, A.S. Watson Group, has announced plans to continue on with its technology partnership programme, which launched last year.

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The aim is to create longer term partnerships instead of short-term client-vendor relationships with the likes of SAP, Oracle, Infosys, Microsoft, NCR and Diebold Nixdorf. “Through this mutual commitment, our tech partners whom we have chosen to work with us have brought us great expertise and innovation to help accelerate our digital transformation,” says Malina Ngai, Group Chief Operating Officer at A.S. Watson Group.

“We will invest in the right technology and the right partnerships to help us enhance our ability to build stronger customer connectivity, online and offline, which in return will make us customers' most loved brands.”

The retailer is stumping up HK$1 billion for a digital transformation strategy that kicked off in 2012 and runs until 2020. The second year of its tech partners programme will see it appoint strategic partners in the areas of e-commerce, store systems, data science, artificial intelligence, data visualisation, technology ecosystem and services. A total of 18 partners are being brought onboard in 2019, and another 15 companies have been identified as future partners.

Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong, says: “Through leveraging Azure and Big Data, A.S. Watson Group has transformed customer experience, as well as enhanced its digital services. We look forward to continuing the empowerment of everyone at the Group to achieve more.”