One-stop beauty stores serve the Asia market

Women want to be beautiful and love to shop for cosmetics. SA SA offers them many choices of brands and tips from trained specialists.

When Dr.Simon Kwok and his wife Dr.Eleanor Kwok bought a tiny counter at the underground level of a mall in Causeway Bay in 1978, they did not begin to envision the enormous growth that Sa Sa has enjoyed over the years.

Their innate entrepreneurial spirit attracted customers from the start and they soon bought out all the other little cosmetics counters around them. An enormous rent rise forced them out in 1989 so, with some trepidation, they moved to street level, opening their first stand-alone shop.

From a 40-square foot counter in Hong Kong, the company today has grown to over 190 stores in Hong Kong and Macau, Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. 

Sa Sa entered the Taiwan, Singapore and Macau markets in 1997 as they went public, listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and set up its first store in China in 2005. However, they had already tappedinto the huge potential of the Internet, starting their website for retail sales in 2000, serving beautiful women in 80 countries.

Sa Sa is today’s most well-known regional “beauty” enterprise and is now the largest cosmetics specialty store chain in Asia. According to the “Retail Asia- Pacific Top 500” rankings of Retail Asia magazine, KPMG and Euromonitor in 2010, Sa Sa is one of the top 10 retail groups in Hong Kong. 

The company’s future looks rosy-cheeked. Dr.Simon Kwok said, “The buoyant Asian economic environment, the increase in travel and tourism, and the upsurge in consumer confidence, all give us reason to believe that the upcoming period will be favourable for the continuing growth of our business. 

The soundness of our financial platform, the flexibility and forward vision of our management, and the consistency and resilience of our performance, have enabled us to continue broadening our customer base while developing the potential both of our core Hong Kong and Macau markets, and of our mainland China and other markets. We are confident that Sa Sa will continue to deliver sustained growth for the rest of the fiscal year and beyond”.

People from Mainland China still flock to Hong Kong to stock up on facial cream, lipsticks, powders and blush, and specialized shampoo even though the company has opened shops in Mainland China, because the Hong Kong stores offer more choice and the latest in beauty products. And China’s women are beginning to spend money on cosmetics and other hair and body-care products as incomes rise. 

The company’s offerings cover a wide range of quality professional brands at varying prices in order to cater to a diversified customer base. Sa Sa sells over 400 brands, with around 100 exclusive to Sa Sa. The company has 15,000 products including skincare, fragrance, make-up, hair and body care and accessories, including own-brands and exclusive international brands. 

As one of the largest sole agents in Hong Kong, Sa Sa represents over 100 international beauty brands in Asia to name a few, such as:

• Elizabeth Arden, a leading global prestige brand (of the top 10 beauty brands in US)

• Nuxe and Caudalíe, among the top three brands in perfumeries in France 

• Collistar, the number one brand in perfumeries in Italy

• Suisse Programme, one of the three Swiss skin care brands named as Luxury Superbrands, with Barbie Hsu (“Big S”), a famous actress in Asia and author of beauty books, as its brand ambassador 

• Ferre, Blumarine, Iceberg, Byblos, Pal Zileri, Paris Hilton, all leading fragrances 

Sa Sa constantly has new product launches on behalf of the principle brands to introduce the newest and latest fashion accessories and beauty products to its avid fans. 

Knowing that the make-up alone is not enough, Sa Sa offers many value-added services, such as complimentary skin analyses and make-up demonstration services to its customers by highly trained professional salespeople.

Personalised customer service is a hallmark of Sa Sa. The company’s professionally-trained beauty consultants offer recommendations across beauty brands. Sa Sa’s staff go through more than 200 hours of training before they become qualified beauty consultants. 

Continuous training is also provided to existing beauty consultants to update their skills and knowledge. As of 30 September 2010, the group had a total of 3,172 employees. Sa Sa is a consistent winner of service contests in the retail trade. 

As one of Asia’s leading companies with a well- ecognised brand name and profile, Sa Sa is committed to the sustainable development of the communities in which it operates and to the integration of environmental, ethical and social principles into all its business decisions.

Sa Sa believes that a reputation for integrity and social awareness is one of the most important assets a company can possess. To this end, the company has undertaken many social and environmental initiatives over the 32 years of its history, enhancing the well-being and sustainable development both of the company and of the broader community in which its customers live and work. Sa Sa also participates in and sponsors community activities. 

For example, Sa Sa now undertakes large scale sponsorships such as the 2009 East Asian Games. Sa Sa was the Diamond Partner of the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games, in support of the weighty international sports event held in Hong Kong. 

Sa Sa was the silver Sponsor of HKSAR’s participation in Expo 2010 Shanghai China in order to contribute to the promotion of Hong Kong’s International profile. The company also was the title sponsor of the 2010 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races.