1972–2000 The company was founded in 1972, and was formerly known as Shandong Jining Woolen Mill, and is based in Jining, China. It is a subsidiary of Jining Ruyi Investment Co., Ltd. Qiu Yafu became vice president in late 1992 of Shandong Ruyi Woolen Textiles Group Co Ltd, and president in late 1996; in late 1997 he became chairman and president, roles he held until 2002. Qiu Yafu was chairman and president of Shandong Ruyi Science & Technology Group from August 2002 until August 2008, when he became only chairman. He is also currently president of Shandong Ruyi Woolen Textiles Group Co Ltd. It was sold to Shandong Ruyi for $117 million. It purchased the majority stake in SMCP in 2016 for £1.15 billion SMCP CEO
Daniel Lalonde said that the investment would fund SMCP's growth overseas, particularly in Asia. SMCP was then taken public in 2017,
2017–2020 In November 2017, the company offered to buy a 54% controlling stake of menswear supplier Bagir for $16.5 million, due to complete on 31 August 2018. As of 2017, Ruyi Group was the largest textile manufacturer in China. As of 2018, it was also in the top 20 in terms of revenues for luxury fashion groups. adding products such as
Lycra and
Coolmax to its portfolio. The acquired business operates under the name of The Lycra Company. However, in 2022 ownership of The Lycra Company was transferred to an equity group that provided funds for its acquisition, after Shandong Ruyi defaulted on loan repayment terms. In 2020 Ruyi struggled because of debt and the
COVID-19 pandemic. ==Operations==