Aokang, Geox team up for niche in int'l market
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-18 09:52

Aokang Group, the second largest shoemaker in China, and the Geox, a leading shoemaking company in Italy, have teamed up on international production and design.

Geox CEO Diego Bolzonello presented the "Geox Asia Production Base" tablet to Aokang Group, based in Wenzhou City in East China's Zhejiang Province, on Monday.

As the only cooperative partner of Geox in the world, Aokang Group and the Italian shoemaking giant will cooperate in the design, development, production and sales of leather shoes around the world.

The two shoemaking companies drafted the agreement in February last year.

As an agent of Geox, Aokang Group is expected to manufacture 300,000 to 400,000 pairs of Geox leather shoes this year, and the figure is expected to reach 1.5 million next year. The output is expected to reach 8 million in four to five years.

Geox moved its Asian research and development center from Hong Kong to Dongguan of south China's Guangdong Province on October 1. Its first franchise store became operational in Shanghai, a leading commercial city of China, on September 12.

With a history of more than 300 years, the Geox company ranks first in Europe and eighth in the world in terms of its sales.

Aokang Group, a private business established 15 years ago, produces more than 10 million pairs of leather shoes annually. It has more than 30 subsidiaries, over 2,000 franchise stores and sale outlets across China, and has opened agencies in Italy, Spain, the United States and Japan.

Close