Watson, the world’s largest health and beauty products retailer, is to build a logistics centre in Wuhan to serve all its stores in central and north-western China. Wholly owned by Hutchison Whampoa, Watson entered the China market in 1992 and opened its first store in Wuhan in May 2004. Today, it has 20 stores in the city, making Wuhan its most important investment destination in the interior.

Over the next two years, the company says it will set up 1,000 stores across the country, equivalent to the combined total it has opened over the past 17 years. Cities in Hubei province will be a priority, according to the company’s Greater China General Manager, Mr Luo Jingren. Over the next three years, Watson will open 19 stores in Hubei province, each with a floor space of 300 sq metres, including nine in Wuhan alone.