Kuala Lumpur 8 March 2022: As a trusted brand for women, Watsons has always taken pride in having a deep understanding of women’s preferences. Especially after two challenging years with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting everyone’s life, we are keen to understand how women’s perception of beauty evolves amongst our over 100 million loyal customers.
In a recent survey Watsons commissioned titled ‘What is Beautiful’, more than 11,000 women aged under 45 in 12 markets across Asia and Europe were interviewed about how they value things around them and how they define beautiful after going through a pandemic. On average, 75% of women agree that inner beauty has become more important than ever, especially in the Philippines (96%), followed by Malaysia (91%), Thailand (86%), Hong Kong (83%) and Taiwan (82%).
When being asked about the definition of ‘beautiful,’ taking care of your health inside out tops the list, with feeling confident and feeling happy in the second and third.
Caryn Loh, Managing Director of Watsons Malaysia says that “we have always encouraged women to prioritize beauty from within because being confident is important in all aspects of life. This will empower women to drive themselves further and to have a greater sense of self-worth.”
‘The New Beautiful’ Campaign Promotes Inner Beauty in Women
What is the most beautiful thing in life?’ The survey continues. Almost half the respondents feel that the most beautiful thing in life is doing good to the people around them, communities and even the planet we live on.
Malina Ngai, Chief Executive Officer, AS Watson (Asia & Europe) Ltd, believes as our customers gradually emerge from the pandemic crisis, it is time to empower each other. “The survey results redefine what beautiful means in people’s minds. Doing good is a way to make people feel good, beautiful, and confident. Boost a woman’s self-confidence, it is no longer about outer beauty; instead, it is about helping women to glow from the inside out.
“As such, Watsons is launching ‘The New Beautiful’ campaign to encourage women to empower themselves to Look Good. Do Good. Feel Great. Featuring a series of activities across Asia, it will have three overarching themes – Go Green, Go Smile, and Go Empower, which aims to actively involve our community of over 100 million loyalty members in Asia.”
Programme will begin to roll out across numerous Asian markets soon.
Caryn adds, “To support women empowerment in Malaysia for International Women Day, Watsons Malaysia has worked with 4 powerful women from different industries to share their story on embracing differences and individuality. Nisha Haque, Singer & Host; Pricilla Vashte, Beauty Guru; Meeki Ng, Host & Actress; and Elena Laurel, Dancer and Skater spoke about how women can be successful and what it means to them.’
Watch the videos here: (100) C.CODE | New Beautiful – YouTube
In Hong Kong, a ‘Go Empower’ online seminar will be hosted to inspire women’s confidence in building personal branding. In Indonesia, a ‘Girls Support Girls’ sharing session will be held across universities, while in the Philippines, Watsons has partnered with Operation Smile to launch a ‘Women in Medicine’ programme to empower women in the field of medical science. All volunteers who participated in the medical mission are women, helping cleft children to restore their smiles. And in other markets including Mainland China, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, health talks and women empowerment sharing sessions will run across social media platforms and instore to surprise female customers.
“At Watsons, we believe in The New Beautiful, a new kind of beauty that is good for everyone. To us, the beautiful glow from the inside. It is how we treat ourselves and each other. It is how we live, who we are, and who we can be. The beautiful is in us all, and for us all,” Ngai concludes.
