Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s3.t4.2

v1.c5.s3.t4.2

The Sassoons initially derived most of their profits from the opium trade in which they had a commanding presence. Later, they diversified into many different lines of business, becoming one of the most prominent business families of Hong Kong and Shanghai. E D Sassoon, who was first sent to China by his father in 1844, eventually separated from the parent Sassoon Company. In 1872, he set up his own company known as the E. D. Sassoon Company with its headquarters at 5 Renji Road in Shanghai. In Chinese, it was known as the (New Sassoon) company, to distinguish it from the original Sassoon Company. Eventually, under the two subsequent heads of the company, Jacob Sassoon and Victor Sassoon, it went on to become the dominant Sassoon company in China.