ASIAN HEALTH and beauty retailer Watsons has announced the inclusion of actress Kylie Padilla into the ranks of Watsons-label brands many endorsers: actor Edu Manzano, actress Lorna Tolentino, actress/host Iya Villania, host Tessa Prieto-Valdez, and singer Christian Bautista.
The entry of Ms. Padilla marks Watsons Philippines鈥 efforts to encourage younger customers to try its label products.
鈥淲e were looking for someone in their twenties and she鈥檚 perfect for the role,鈥 Viki Encarnacion, marketing director of Watsons Personal Care Stores, Phils., Inc, told reporters during the launch on March 16 at the Makati Shangri-La.
Watsons branded products spans a broad variety, from medicines to personal care products, and currently occupy 鈥15-20%鈥 of the entire Watsons market in terms of sales.
鈥淲e started pretty late in introducing our branded products… but it鈥檚 been growing,鈥 said Ms. Encarnacion, before adding that popular brands like those under the Unilever umbrella still dominate sales.
鈥淥f course we won鈥檛 be as aggressive in marketing as big-name brands because we don鈥檛 have that much money,鈥 she said, noting that 鈥渨ord-of-mouth鈥 is the strongest marketing tool and it works very well for them.
And since the company currently has six 鈥淪witch and Save鈥 ambassadors 鈥 Watsons claim that by switching to their products, a customer can save up to 80% on prices 鈥 Ms. Encarnacion said that they will not be adding any more soon.
What Watsons will be doing soon is adding to its products as it 鈥渒eep[s] on top of trends.鈥 This will include the introduction of two-step face masks and the expansion of its popular collagen line, from ingestives to personal care variants.
SUMMER AT WATSONS
Aside from announcing Ms. Padilla as the brand鈥檚 newest endorser, Watsons also announced its annual summer campaign called, 鈥淢ake Your Summer.鈥
The campaign, which started eight years ago, differs from its previous installments as Watsons has decided to go the 鈥渉olistic route鈥 and include other personal care items in the promotion.
鈥淭his time we鈥檙e shifting gears… we included hair colors, our cosmetic range, and slimming products,鈥 Kim Reyes, group category manager of Watsons Philippines, told reporters during the launch on March 9.
Brands included in the promotion are Nivea, Vaseline, Banana Boat, Beach Hut, Solstice, Biore, Sunplay, Belo, Neutrogena, Cetaphil, Celeteque, Kojie San, Hawaiian Tropic, Dermplus, Ponds, and Olay.
Aside from deals and a more prominent display for participating products in stores, Watsons is also running a raffle for all SM Advantage Card holders where a P500 single-receipt purchase of qualifying products will get a customer one raffle entry.
The raffle, which runs until April 26, will see five shoppers winning trips for four to either Batanes, Palawan, Boracay, Cebu, or Davao. 鈥 Z.B. Chua
