(Hong Kong, 13 August 2005) AS Watson Group today confirmed the completion of cancellation of the listing of Merchant Retail Group shares on the official list and of trading on the London Stock Exchange following the completion of the Merchant Retail Group acquisition including The Perfume Shop. Hong Kong based AS Watson, the world's largest health and beauty retailer, purchased the UK company which owns the 114 strong Perfume Shop chain last month.

The Perfume Shop will continue to run as a stand-alone business with the existing management team and Ian Wade, Group Managing Director for the AS Watson Group today said that he could see the potential for adding another 100 stores in the next three to five years.

The AS Watson Group is the world's largest fragrance retailer and whilst the Merchant Retail deal is a relatively small acquisition for the Group it further reinforces its position in the world fragrance retail market; particularly in UK. The retailer purchased the French chain Marionnaud, Europe's largest perfumeries and cosmetics retailer, earlier this year.

Ian Wade added, "The Perfume Shop is a great addition to our portfolio, we're very excited about the future prospects for the chain and the continued growth of our fragrance business."

About AS Watson

AS Watson Group (ASW) is the largest health and beauty retailer in the world, and owner of Superdrug and Savers health and beauty chains in the UK. With a history dating back to 1828, ASW has evolved into an international retail and manufacturing corporation with operations in 33 markets worldwide. Today, the Group operates over 6,800 retail stores running the gamut from health & beauty, luxury perfumeries & cosmetics to food, electronics, fine wine and airport retail arms. Also an established player in the beverage industry, ASW provides a full range of beverages from bottled water, fruit juices, soft drinks and tea products to the world's finest wine labels via its international wine wholesaler and distributor. ASW employs over 88,000 staff and is a member of the world renowned Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Limited, which has major interests in ports and related services, telecommunications, property and hotels, retail and manufacturing, and energy and infrastructure with businesses in 51 countries.

About Merchant Retail Group

Merchant Retail Group is a specialty perfumery retailer and department stores group, operating in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Jersey. The Merchant Retail Group has two main businesses, The Perfume Shop and De Gruchy.

The Perfume Shop has 114 branches located in both shopping centres and malls throughout the UK and Ireland and sells a range of branded fragrances. De Gruchy is the leading department store in Jersey, located in St Helier.

Ian Wade, Group Managing Director of AS Watson (left) and Philip Newton, CEO of Merchant Retail (right) are optimistic about the future prospects of the fragrance market in the UK.