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TEXT VANESSA YANG

PHOTOGRAPHY TUOMAS UUSHEIMO

Reflecting on the past three decades, Xu says: “Hengan could not have got where it is today without its integrity, innovation, corporate culture and commitment to responsi- bility. And achieving corpo- rate social responsibility would not have been possible without the help and support of our partners.”

THREE DECADES OF HENGAN

A nhai in China’s Fujian province has always been a prosperous area for traders. Today, it is home to China’s largest manufacturer of sanitary pads, nappies and tissue paper, Hengan International Group Company Limited, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Xu Lianjie originally ran a clothing factory in the early 1980s. That all changed when he happened to see a production line manufacturing sanitary pads. Noting the gap in the market for this emerging product – and with the OEM clothing market becoming increasingly overcrowded – Xu decided to switch industries. Xu founded Hengan in 1985 and is currently CEO of Hengan International Group. He reveals that ‘Heng’ means permanence and eternity, while ‘An’ refers to his hometown, Anhai.

Biofore chats with Xu Lianjie, founder and CEO of Hengan, China's top tissue company, on the occasion of company's 30th anniversary.

Building better quality of life for women Most Chinese women had never heard of sanitary pads in the late 1980s – Chinese society was conservative and information was scarce. Xu named Hengan’s first sanitary pad product ‘Anle’, meaning ‘comfort’. Uniting the Chinese characters for ‘happy’ and ‘at ease’, the word communicates the product’s aim to improve quality of life for Chinese women. Anle sanitary pads were first launched on the Shanghai market in 1986, rapidly becoming a nationwide best-seller. Renowned for their high quality, Anle went on to dominate the Chinese sanitary pad market, achieving a market share of 40%. Since then, Hengan has become a household name.

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