Superdrug trades from close to 900 shops in the UK and Ireland and reported turnover of £1.63 billion for 2024. It publishes no franchise offer. Every shop belongs to the company, which is itself owned by A.S. Watson and ultimately by CK Hutchison, and the chain grows by opening and fitting out its own branches rather than by recruiting franchisees.
Is Superdrug a franchise?
No. Superdrug publishes no franchise offer on its own site, and none appears in A.S. Watson’s corporate material. The estate is company-owned and operated, run by Superdrug Stores plc from Croydon, with more than 220 shops containing a pharmacy and consultation room. There is no route advertised anywhere for an individual to buy or operate a Superdrug branch. A company-owned estate and a franchised network are different structures, as what a franchise is sets out.
Who owns Superdrug and how it opens shops
Superdrug was founded in 1964 by the Goldstein brothers and opened its first shop in 1966. It came into the A.S. Watson group in October 2002 as part of the buyout of Kruidvat, and A.S. Watson is part of CK Hutchison Holdings, the Hong Kong conglomerate. In the UK the same group owns Savers and The Perfume Shop, and worldwide it runs more than 17,000 shops across 31 markets.
Expansion is funded from the group rather than sold to operators. Superdrug said in February 2026 that it would open 30 new shops across the UK during the year, creating about 600 jobs, alongside 60 refits. The programme includes large-format destination shops and retail park sites, following 25 openings announced for 2025 and 13 in 2024. Group-wide, A.S. Watson said in January 2026 that it planned around 1,000 new shops worldwide that year.
The company’s most recent published accounts, covering 2024, show turnover up 7% to £1.63 billion and profit before tax up 22.6% to £136.8 million. CK Hutchison has been reported as preparing a dual listing of A.S. Watson in London and Hong Kong. Asked about it, an A.S. Watson spokesperson told Cosmetics Business: “For clarity, we do not comment on market speculation, and no decision has been made at CK Hutchison”. Nothing in that changes the position for anyone wanting to run a branch.
Good to know
A brand sold inside Superdrug is not a Superdrug franchise. Avon products have been stocked across the chain since September 2023 under a supply partnership, and Avon separately runs standalone UK shops operated by its representatives on a franchise model. Those are Avon shops under Avon’s arrangement. Buying into one gives an operator no relationship with Superdrug, and the concession inside a Superdrug branch is not available to franchisees.
How much does it cost to open a health and beauty shop?
There is no Superdrug franchise price because there is no franchise. For an independent health and beauty shop, the published UK cost lines are:
- Company incorporation, £100 online on the Companies House fee schedule in force from 1 February 2026
- Business rates in England, rateable value multiplied by 43.2p for small business or 48.0p standard in 2026/27, with the retail multipliers at 38.2p and 43.0p where the property qualifies
- Small Business Rate Relief, 100% at a rateable value of £12,000 or less, tapering to nil at £15,000
- Staff, at a National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 and employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year
- VAT registration once taxable turnover passes £90,000
- Premises, fit-out and opening stock, for which no national figure is published
A shop dispensing medicines carries a further layer, since a registered pharmacy premises and a responsible pharmacist are required, which is a separate regime from retail.
Alternatives to a Superdrug franchise
UK health and beauty franchising sits mainly in services rather than in shop retail, and the retail names are harder to pin down than the directories suggest. What is actually on offer sits in the beauty and wellbeing franchises recruiting in the UK.
- The Body Shop built its international network on franchising and, under Auréa Group ownership since 2024, has said franchising remains the basis of its overseas growth. Its UK business entered administration in 2024, so the current UK position needs checking directly with the company
- Avon operates standalone UK shops run by its representatives on a franchise model, as its global chief executive described to Retail Week in 2024
- Service-led beauty franchises, covering laser hair removal, lashes, barbering and aesthetics, make up most of what is actually offered to UK franchisees in this sector
No investment figure is quoted above because none of these brands publishes one on its own franchise pages. The figures circulating on franchise directories for The Body Shop alone ranged, when checked in September 2026, from £50,000 to $775,000 for the same brand, which is a spread wide enough to be useless. The number that counts comes from the brand’s own cost schedule, in writing, read against the benchmarks in what it costs to open a franchise in the UK, where the BFA puts the mean total investment at around £85,000.
Brands that do publish their terms can be compared across the UK franchise directory.
