The Rio de Janeiro Olympics are providing business bonanzas for Taiwanese footwear and apparel manufacturers. Feng Tay is a footwear contract manufacturer from Taiwan. It supplies basketball sneakers to Nike. For the quarter ended June, Feng Tay’s revenue grew 11.6 per cent while net profit surged nearly 44 per cent.

For the first half of 2016, Pou Chen’s revenue was up six per cent on the year. The company’s net profit rose 8.2 per cent. Pou Chen, which turns out shoes for such renowned brands as Nike, Adidas and New Balance, has logged year-on-year growth by more than 10 per cent.

Taiwan's biggest apparel maker, Eclat Textile, has seen demand pick up during the Olympics. Sales were otherwise tepid since the second half of last year due to the global economic slowdown. The clothing maker counts Nike and JC Penny among its customers. Eclat's revenue fell more than 10 per cent for the three months ended June. But its improving gross margin -- at 28 per cent last quarter -- may indicate a strong recovery in the second half.

However there are doubts whether the demand bump brought about by the Olympics will be long-lived. The question is whether these footwear or textile makers can supply higher-end and innovative products to stay competitive in the longer term.