Early Life
Li Rucheng's journey began in Shanghai, but he spent his childhood in Ningbo, a port city in Zhejiang province. Like many of his peers, he left high school during the turbulent years of the late 1960s and was assigned to work on a state farm at the age of 15. His early career involved working in a garment factory in Ningbo, starting as a laborer and rising to head of the cutting department. This experience laid the foundation for his future entrepreneurial ventures.
Rise to Success
In 1979, Li Rucheng founded a small clothing factory with several partners, which later evolved into the Youngor Group. Under his leadership, Youngor became a leading menswear brand in China. Li's efforts helped catapult the company to the list of "Top 500 China Enterprises" in 2010. In 1993, he changed the factory's name from Youth Garment Factory to Youngor, as the company began to diversify into other lines of business.
Key Business Strategies
Li Rucheng's key strategy involved diversifying the company's interests beyond apparel into real estate development and financial investments. He began investing profits from the clothing business into these sectors in the 1990s, which became major contributors to the group's overall revenue and profit. Youngor Group has since established businesses in property development and equity investment, in addition to its core business of branded garment manufacturing and marketing. The company has also invested in international brands to diversify its fashion business, such as Alexander Wang and Helly Hansen.
Philanthropy
Li Rucheng's company, Youngor, has also made donations to build schools and homes for the elderly. Since 1997, Youngor has paid for the building of more than ten primary schools in various regions of China.