Angel Cosmetics International Ltd
- HKGCC Membership No. :
- HKA0651
Natural Beauty
Not too long ago, it was considered to be a sign of wealth in Hong Kongif you were a little on the plump side. Today, everyone wants to be slim, and health clubs, spas and slimming centres dotted across the SAR provide an endless selection of treatments.
Dr Angel Cheung, who founded Angel Cosmetics International Group, has been one of the pioneers in helping people look their best. Over the years, she has opened nine slimming centres in Hong Kong, three beauty centres, and 10 cosmetics chain stores.
“This is one of our biggest centers,” she said as she showed me around the two-floor Kwun Tong facility. “With rents skyrocketing these days, it is getting harder and harder for us to get such a nice place.”
Her Kwun Tong branch has been decorated with inspiration from France’s 16th century renaissance period, but every treatment room in the slimming and spa centre has a different theme.
“We want to create different environments for our customers,” Cheung explained. Sitting on an opulent antique Chinese massage bed, she continued. “Using this room as an example, our idea was to design this room for the Chinese empress, so we decorated it with some Chinese lamps, Chinese paintings, and Chinese accessories.”
“We have put extra effort into creating a comfortable and relaxing environment for our customers. We require them to take off their shoes and wear our sterilized slippers at our lobby. While they are waiting, we serve them a cup of flower tea that we pick specifically for each day. For instance, we serve our customers a kind of tea that can relieve stress on a Monday. We even hired a composer to write the music which we play to relax customers and facilitate our massage and spa treatments,” she added.
Judging by the designs and decorations of the centre, visitors can feel her dedication to her business, and for treating all customers like an empress. “The core value of our group is that customer service comes first. This is especially critical for business in a service sector like ours. We want the customers to feel our passion, love and respect for their body, skin and health.”
Dr Cheung explained the spa treatments and massages help people to keep fit, burn fat and become healthier from the inside. But she does not promise overnight transformations. Unlike other centres that quickly remove fat, Cheung said she prefers a gradual approach which does not require a period of time for people to recover. “When a person has a healthy body, beauty comes along,” she said.
Cheung said she is not against quick fix treatments or plastic surgery for people who want to quickly achieve their desired look, “but they have to bear in mind that speedy methods to achieve beauty or fitness are not natural and they have consequences.”
Despite having a successful chain of businesses that celebrate luxury, quality and health, Cheung was not always so lucky. She arrived in Hong Kongin the 1960s and lived in a squatter area with her family. Her father scrapped a living working as a tailor, which barely supported the family. To help the family make ends meet, Cheung made paper bags, and lined up for relief supplies from the church. At the age of 11, Cheung borrowed her elder friend’s ID card to get a job working in a factory. Through hard work and a desire to succeed, Cheung saved her hard-earned money and started her first beauty shop at the age of 25 ina mall in Tai Kok Tsui. That 60 square foot shop provided the capital to expand into cosmetics. She opened cosmetics store after cosmetics store as her business grew.
Sony and Apple have been so successful because their goal is not to earn money, but to constantly develop innovation to improve people’s lives. Money comes along if they achieve that.
Similarly, Cheung said her passion for her business has never been about money. “Yes, I’ve earned some money, but if I do not use it, then it is only a number and does not have much value. What brings me happiness is having inner peace which comes from being kind, calm and stress free in any situation. And happiness is something that money cannot buy.”
