Li and Fung

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Li & Fung Brooks Barhydt, Daniel Heffernan, Miao Yu, Jing Zhang 11/13/12 Operations Management Growth through Acquisition After more than a century Li & Fung, founded in 1906, has evolved from a simple exporter to a leader in export-trading/retail and finally to a multinational sourcing, retail and distribution service business. Li & Fung initially began as a service connecting buyer and seller, essentially serving as a middleman providing translation. Its core business focused on exports from China; trading predominantly in porcelain and silk before diversifying into bamboo, rattan ware, jade, ivory, handicrafts, and fireworks. In 1949 it expanded its export goods to include garments, toys, electronics, and plastic flowers and consequently became one of Hong Kong’s largest exporters. Li & Fung further expanded its supply sources in 1979 by relocating factories in Southern China and other parts of Asia, which effectively established its foundation as a regional network of offices beyond Hong Kong in order to focus on servicing its rapidly expanding customer base. The retailing business was added in 1985, which established stores in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Chinese Mainland, and later into other Southeast Asian countries. Four years later, the Fung brothers, second-generation owners of the company, restructured the business into two core areas: export trading and retail. The export-trading business went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1992, while the retail business remained private. After acquiring Inchcape Buying Services (also known as Dodwell) in 1995, Li & Fung’s export-trading customer base expanded into Europe. Additionally, the sourcing network expanded to include South Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean, which were critical markets given their geographic proximity to the North American

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