A Hong Kong business success story: how Asia beauty chain Sasa grew from a tiny basement shop to a retail empire
Eleanor Kwok was a saleswoman with no experience running a business, and husband Simon a parking meter repairman, when they bought a 40 sq ft store in 1978; now they run a US$1.9 billion empire and have moved into e-commerce
Smartly dressed and sporting a pair of hip, round lens glasses, Simon Kwok Siu-ming looks younger than his 64 years, but that’s to be expected from the chairman and CEO of Hong Kong’s biggest retailer of cosmetics and skincare products.
Many male users of beauty products may be reluctant to talk about their daily routines, but not Kwok – and as the co-founder of Sa Sa International, he has quite a range to choose from.
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“I use masks [on my face] when I’m watching football. I care about my hair, as hair loss worries men the most. I use quality shampoo, conditioner, and face and body wash, which make me look younger,” says Kwok, who is also a daily user of eyebrow pencils, concealer, sun block and moisturising foundation.
Kwok is not alone. “Thirty per cent of our eyebrow pencils are bought by men,” he says. This growing obsession with appearances and rising affluence mean Sasa’s customer base now includes, well, almost everyone.
“In the past, mothers brought their 17- and 18-year-old daughters to our shops, but only allowed them to buy lipsticks and rouge. Eye shadow and heavy make-up were forbidden. Forty- to 50-year-olds didn’t even use make-up. But now, 11- to 12-year-olds come to buy nail polish themselves, and everyone from teenagers to 70-year-olds is wearing beautiful make-up.”
And that is good news for Sa Sa International Holdings, a HK$14.7 billion (US$1.87 billion) cosmetics empire with 270 stores selling more than 17,000 products in Hong Kong, Macau, China, Singapore and Malaysia.
