Pou Chen Group history

Pou Chen initially produced plastic shoes; by 1973, the company also had begun shipping plastic sandals.

The booming Taiwanese export market, which was rapidly replacing Japan as a global source of cheaply produced goods, enabled the company to achieve strong growth, and by 1974, the company had bought the Fu Hsing Industrial Estate in Changwha and begun preparations for a new factory complex there.

By 1976, the company had launched production of plastic casual shoes, which were complemented a year later by the production of boots.

The completion of the Fu Hsing factory in 1978 enabled Pou Chen to begin manufacturing a new type of shoe that was to change its destiny.

Pou Chen's true breakthrough came in 1980, when the company signed a contract with adidas, already one of the world's top athletic shoe brands.

Pou Chen expanded its production capacity, as well as its client list, in 1984, with the acquisition of rival Pou Yun Industrial Company.

The Group began with brand licensee business in 1992 and later expanded into sportswear retail business.

Pou Chen and Yue Yuen next teamed up to enter another new market, Vietnam, in 1994.

1996 Yue Yuen acquires full control of Pou Yuen.

In 2002, Pou Chen sold its interests in 67 companies engaged in footwear material manufacturing to Yue Yuen as part of the Group’s strategy to vertically integrate its footwear business within Yue Yuen.

The addition of Pou Chen's nearly 70 production subsidiaries helped boost Yue Yuen's status as well, and in 2003 the company was added to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's blue chip Hang Seng Index.