Company Name: Chun Au Knitting Factory Limited

Year of Founding: Late 1930s

Mainstream Products: low-end knitwear, woolen underwear

Brief History:

Chun Au Knitting Factory Limited (Chun Au) was founded by Tam Yuek Wan in the late 1930s. It was originally known as Chun Au Knitting Factory with a production plant in Mong Kok. In the early years, Chun Au mainly manufactured low-end knitwear with a small proportion of high-end products. A number of brands were launched to attract customers. Besides local sale, most of the products were exported to the Southeast Asian markets. During the Japanese Occupation, Chun Au purchased a factory on Castle Peak Road. This helped the company expand its business in the post-war period by carrying out different tasks of weaving, dyeing, garment manufacture, packaging, wholesaling and outlet distribution. After the Second World War, the second generation of the family participated in the management of Chun Au. At this stage, a factory was set up in Thailand; Chun Au became one of the Hong Kong factories which pioneered development there.

In 1953, the Chicks brand was launched and the three-buttoned low-end knitwear became a popular menswear. In the 1970s, the third generation of the family took over the management of the company. In the 1980s, the machine-washable anti-shrink and anti-moth woolen underwear was launched under the brand name of Chicks. At the same time, women’s and children’s wear were developed to increase turnover. The manufacture of woolen underwear was outsourced and the dyeing task was ceased after the factory was moved to Tsuen Wan. After 2000, Chicks was remolded as a family brand through new image and wider range of products, such as different kinds of underwear in addition to the existing thermal series and trendy casual wear. Later, the factories in Hong Kong were closed one after another. Chun Au outsourced all manufacturing tasks and concentrated on expanding the retail shop chain. Today, Chun Au’s marketing network has been expanded beyond Hong Kong to include Macau and mainland China.