German drugstore operator Rossmann has reported sales growth of 5.1% in 2018, achieving €9.46bn in total sales.

Strong international performance

Drugstore operator, Rossmann, has announced 5.1% growth in total sales for 2018, €9.46bn.

The strong result was boosted by impressive sales in its international markets; Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Albania and Kosovo, where it operates a combined total of 1,780 stores.

Internationally, the retailer achieved 9.5% growth on a constant currency basis, achieving sales of €2.8bn.

Germany: 4.1% growth in sales

In its home market of Germany, Rossmann saw sales increase by 4.1% to €6.6bn.

Sales at Rossmann have been consistently high for a number of years. For 2017, the retailer achieved 4.5% growth and sales of €6.4bn in the market.

Outlook: focus on Germany

In the year ahead, the retailer is set to invest €215mn in expanding its estate. The drugstore operator plans to roll out a further 200 branches, 110 in Germany alone.

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Superdrug extends partnership with cosmetics brand Revolution beauty and rolls out free sore throat service in over 200 branches.

Recruiting new shoppers by boosted beauty

According to Retail Times, A.S Watson has announced it is partnering with cosmetics brand Revolution Beauty and plans to roll out the brand into more of its store estate.

The brand originally launched exclusively in Superdrug in 2014, and the retailer has worked closely with Revolution beauty over the past year to grow its brands.

Shoppers will now be able to buy the brand in over 800 Superdrug stores throughout the UK and Ireland.

Last September, the group launched Revolution shop-in-shops. The company has announced that the concept will be rolled out further, increasing the number of shop-in-shops from 25 to 70 by the end of the year.

Revolution can also be found in many stores within its international estate, including Rossman Germany, Watsons Turkey and Krudivat in the Netherlands.

The investment comes as health and beauty continues to drive growth for the wider A.S. Watson business, accounting for 5% growth year on year in 2017.

Improving its healthcare offer

Superdrug has also launched a free sore throat service in over 200 of its UK stores.

Shoppers can now receive a free ten-minute consultation with a Superdrug pharmacist if they have a sore throat.

The pharmacist will take a swab test to identify whether the sore throat is bacterial or viral and whether antibiotics maybe required. If the problem cannot be treated with antibiotics, the pharmacist will suggest over the counter solutions.

The move is designed to reduce pressure on GP’s over the winter period, but is also a great way to win shopper loyalty and drive footfall.

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A.S. Watson continues to digitally transform its business around the world. Its latest initiatives are to launch a Watsons Mini Store in China and Watsons Pay in Taiwan.

Watsons Mini Store to support O2O

In China, Watsons has also launched Watsons Mini Store, a WeChat Mini Program that enables shoppers to share in-store experiences via social media and create a more seamless online and offline experience. The initiative allows customers to recommend and sell Watsons products to their social media followers. To-date, it has over 10,000 customers selling on the platform.

Watsons Pay for convenience and to strengthen loyalty

In Taiwan, Watsons continues to bring digital features in-store. Earlier in the year, Watsons launched its Tech-Fun store in Taipei, featuring large-scale live broadcast screens and virtual technology make-up service. The retailer has also recently launched Watsons Pay, allowing shoppers to easily make payment via their mobiles online and in-store. Watsons Taiwan has around 5m members on its loyalty programme and hopes to increase this to 6m within two years.

To better connect with its customers...

Group Chief Operating Officer of A.S. Watson Group, Malina Ngai, said, “Customers in today’s digital world have high expectations, and if a company can’t satisfy them, they will churn and move on to one that can. From awareness, product consideration and purchase to loyalty and advocacy, it is of strategic importance that we use technology smartly to connect with customers at micro moments to provide relevant and enriched experiences.”