Milestones
1861
Founded as a raw silk wholesaler in the Nishijin District of Kyoto, Japan
After being founded as a raw silk wholesaler, Chori began handling rayon yarn in 1926.
As the rayon market drew very little interest at the time, we began making frequent visits to weavers to spur more interest in rayon yarn. This spurred an expansion of the rayon market as we continued to enhance the quality of rayon yarn. In 1937, we became a major yarn trader in the silk yarn industry, handling around 30% of silk yarns produced in Japan and establishing our foundation as a specialized trading company in textiles.
The name “Chori” originates from the combination of the Japanese characters “蝶” (cho), derived from the image of a moth creating raw silk, and “理” (ri), stemming from the first name of Chori’s first president, Riichiro Ohashi.
As the rayon market drew very little interest at the time, we began making frequent visits to weavers to spur more interest in rayon yarn. This spurred an expansion of the rayon market as we continued to enhance the quality of rayon yarn. In 1937, we became a major yarn trader in the silk yarn industry, handling around 30% of silk yarns produced in Japan and establishing our foundation as a specialized trading company in textiles.
The name “Chori” originates from the combination of the Japanese characters “蝶” (cho), derived from the image of a moth creating raw silk, and “理” (ri), stemming from the first name of Chori’s first president, Riichiro Ohashi.
Chori was founded as a raw silk wholesaler in Kyoto in 1861 on the eve of the new Meiji Era. In the more than 160 years since, we have continued to evolve with the times by addressing the needs of society and actively expanding our business.
| 1861 | Chori founded as a raw silk wholesaler in the Nishijin district of Kyoto, Japan. |
|---|---|
| 1926 | Began handling rayon yarn in line with dramatic growth of rayon industry. |
| 1937 | Handling 30% of the total annual rayon yarn production in the Japanese market, Chori became the largest rayon yarn trader in Japan. |
| 1948 | CHORI CO., LTD. established with capital of ¥5 million. |
| 1952 | The head office moved to Higashi-ku (presently Chuo-ku), Osaka, Japan. |
| 1953 | Founded a company to manufacture and sell Woolly Nylon in cooperation with Toyo Rayon Co., Ltd. (presently Toray Industries, Inc.), paving the way to leadership in the synthetic fiber industry. |
| 1956 | Began handling synthetic resins, chemicals, machinery and other products. |
| 1957 | Established an overseas subsidiary, Chori New York Co., Ltd. (presently CHORI AMERICA, INC.) as a base for Chori's imports and exports operations. |
| 1959 | Stock listed on the Osaka Exchange. |
| 1961 | Stock listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Designated as a friendly trading company by the government of china, Chori thereafter became a pioneer in Japan-China trade. |
| 1963 | Established an overseas subsidiary, Chori GmbH (presently Chori Europe GmbH), in Dusseldorf. |
| 1969 | Established a representative office in Moscow, Russia. |
| 1973 | Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI SINGAPORE PTE LTD. |
| 1974 | Established an overseas subsidiary, THAI CHORI CO., LTD, in Bangkok. |
| 1975 | Facing an economic downturn after the oil crisis and the effects from overinvestment in real estate, companyworked to improve operational efficiency and reduce the size of business, helped by the support of majorsuppliers and banks. |
| 1978 | Established a representative office in Santiago, Chile. |
| 1980 | Established a representative office in Beijing, China. |
| 1987 | The Tokyo Branch renamed the Tokyo Head Office, initiating the two head offices system. |
| 1989 | Increased capital through a ¥9.1 billion by public offering. Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI TRADING (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD., in Kuala Lumpur. Established a representative office in Qingdao, China. |
| 1993 | Established CHORI (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD. as Chori's first subsidiary in China. |
| 1994 | Established a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. |
| 1995 | Established an overseas subsidiary, P.T. CHORI INDONESIA, in Jakarta. |
| 1997 | Launched the "EPOC21" medium-term management plan. Increased capital ¥15.4 billion by third-party allotment. |
| 2000 | Launched the "CC-21" medium-term management plan. Increased capital ¥19.0 billion by third-party allotment. |
| 2001 | Launched the executive officer system. Established an overseas subsidiary, Chori Middle East FZE, in Jeddah, Dubai. |
| 2002 | Synthetic resin Business Division into a separate company. |
| 2003 | Launched the "Reborn Management Plan" medium-term management plan. After reduced capital, increased capital through a ¥6.5 billion by third-party allotment. |
| 2004 | Launched the Yakushin 2006 medium-term management plan. Established an overseas subsidiaries CHORI (TIANJIN) CO., LTD. and CHORI (DALIAN) TRADING CO., LTD. Chori became a consolidated subsidiary of Toray Industries, Inc. |
| 2005 | Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI (CHINA) CO., LTD., in Shanghai. |
| 2007 | Launched the Yakushin 2008 medium-term management plan. |
| 2008 | Launched a new Corporate Identity (CI) program. 60th anniversary of incorporation |
| 2009 | Launched the Yakushin 2010 medium-term management plan. Resumed dividend payments. |
| 2010 | Established a representative office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. |
| 2011 | Established a representative office in Manila, Philippines. 150th anniversary of Chori’s founding. |
| 2012 | Launched the Yakushin 2013 medium-term management plan. Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI KOREA CO., LTD., in Seoul. Capital participation in MEGACHEM LIMITED, a chemistry article trading company in Singapore. |
| 2013 | PTI Japan Limited (presently CHORI GLEX CO., LTD.) became a wholly owned subsidiary. Established a representative office in Cambodia. |
| 2014 | Launched the Yakushin 2016 medium-term management plan. Moved Tokyo head office in Shinagawa. Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI TRADING INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, in Mumbai, India. |
| 2015 | Miyako Kagaku Co., Ltd., a chemistry article specialized trading company, became a wholly owned subsidiary. |
| 2016 | Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED, in Ho Chi Minh City. Shifted structure from a company with company auditors to a company with audit and supervisory committee. |
| 2017 | Established Chori Machinery Co., Ltd. Launched the Chori Innovation Plan 2019 medium-term management plan. Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI COMERCIAL DE MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V. Established a representative office in Lima, Peru. Asada U CO., LTD., a sales company of interior and packaging materials, became a wholly owned subsidiary. |
| 2018 | KOZAKURA SHOKAI CO., LTD., a sales company of a variety of chemical products, became a wholly owned subsidiary. Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED, in Taipei, Taiwan. 70th anniversary of incorporation. |
| 2019 | Established an overseas subsidiary, CHORI (DALIAN) COMMERCIAL IMPORT EXPORT CO., LTD. |
| 2020 | Launched the Chori Innovation Plan 2022 medium-term management plan. |
| 2021 | Sumitex International Company Limited (presently STX Company Limited), manufacture and sales of textiles-related products, became a wholly owned subsidiary. |
| 2022 | Launches Companywide business transformation project |
| 2023 | Launched the Chori Innovation Plan 2025 medium-term management plan. |