AS Watson Group (ASW), one of the largest retail employers in Hong Kong, hosted a global award presentation yesterday to present the best the best store awards to the winning stores of its Hong Kong operations and its 24 operating markets in Asia and Europe. A total of 47 winning store managers selected from amongst its 13,300 store network across 25 markets were honoured for achieving outstanding performance in their respective markets.
Dominic Lai, Group Managing Director of AS Watson Group, said, “As one of the largest retail employers based in Hong Kong with over 130,000 colleagues, AS Watson Group has been working tirelessly to develop talents in retail and offer a plenty of career opportunities to young people. Currently, the average age of staff working in our retail stores is between 26-38 years old. To attract more young talents to join us, we have created a fun, innovative and supportive working environment which enables young people to grow and succeed. ”
Happy Customer is the Biggest Reward in Retail
All 47 winners have been dedicated to put customers first and provide superior service to the three billion customers ASW serves every year all around the world. The criteria of winning the award include customer service scores, sales performance as well as people development.
In Hong Kong, the home city of ASW, there are four winners from its four retail brands – Watsons, PARKnSHOP, Fortress and Watsons Wine.
Li Yiu Fai, Store Manager of Cyberport, has worked for PARKnSHOP for 20 years. He is excited to receive the award and says, “I like interacting with my customers and becoming their friends. I remember once finding a phone in the store, which I put in a safe place in case the customer returned. He did, and was frantic about the phone because it held lots of precious photos of his young son. He was delighted to get it back, and his little boy later drew a thank-you card for me. We actually stayed in touch and became friends.”
Fung Ka Lok, Store Manager of Cityplaza Store, has also worked for FORTRESS for 20 years and shares, “I feel a sense of satisfaction every time I can help my customers to choose the right products. One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had involved a customer who was deaf and mute, who wanted to buy a camera. We could only communicate by writing things down, and we patiently trying to understand his needs. It took about an hour and a half to finally choose the right camera for him. He was really happy with his purchase, saying he was touched by my patience.”
Wong Wai Kwong, Store Manager of Watsons Wine Hopewell Centre, believes that teamwork can help solve different problems. He adds, “I have worked here for about 7 years. Soon after I became a store manager, a customer called one afternoon to say he’d mistakenly ordered the wrong wines. This was a big, urgent problem, as the wine was going to be a wedding gift, and the customer had a flight to catch that same night. All of my store colleagues put their heads together to work out how to get the right wine to him in time for his flight. We did it! He was so relieved, and we felt like we’d really helped him.”
Chuang Kam Fai, Store Manager of Watsons Time Square, says, “I wouldn’t have been able to have such great achievement without the support of the great colleagues and the company. I am so grateful that I’ve been able to advance from an ordinary store assistant to a store manager during my time at Watsons. In the past 12 years, I was given lots of support and opportunities to learn and succeed. Now, I am coaching my new, young colleagues and passing on my knowledge and experience to them. The store is like my second home, and our teammates treat each other like family members, with respect, understanding and care. We once had several colleagues off on maternity leave. The rest of us were really stretched, but everyone was willing to take on extra duties and help each other through a difficult time. Just like family!”
The AS Watson Global Store Team Award was established in 2011 to recognize the passion and achievements of the best of the best store team in each of its operating markets. It is held once every three years inviting all winning store managers to come to Hong Kong to receive the award on behalf of their store teams. The Award is also an important reminder of the name AS Watson – Alexander Skirving Watson who was the first store manager of the Hong Kong dispensary, the forerunner of AS Watson 175 years ago.
