In the 1960s, a staunch capable woman whose husband was often away from home to do land survey for the government was determined to share her husband’s responsibility of raising their big family. Based on a common practical idea that everyone needs shoes, this woman financed her second son to set up SHEN JI LEATHER SHOES with money collected from a loan club, and the story started then. She is the very head of Lee Da Leather—Shen A-Mei, and her second son is the Chairman of the Board of LDGS Corporation, Lin Hui-Hsiung.

 

In the beginning, the grandmother, Ms. Chen, acted as a sales representative who also solicited orders; the grandfather was responsible for billing and collecting payments; the father developed and cut materials by himself while doing business; the mother ensured product quality, packaging and shipment. About 50 people, including the Lin family, employees, craftsmen, and apprentices, all worked and lived in a family factory of around 150 square feet, a microcosm of early small and medium enterprises in Taiwan.

 

The company, SHEN JI LEATHER SHOES, started to market its own products after producing its own products. In the 1970s, the company opened five shoe shops in Ximending, Taipei, and some prime locations in Keelong. However, this change of business model led to some difficult challenges. Taking the situation into account, the company decided to focus on the essential element of shoe production—shoe materials instead.