PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Abstract
The Natori Company was founded in 1977 by Josie Natori after she left investing on Wall Street. Josie decided to take a traditional Filipino shirt to a buyer at Bloomingdale's on a whim who told her to make the shirt longer. Thus began her journey of high fashion that turned into a global business. Currently the company sells in over 40 countries and has many fashion lines (Josie Natori, Natori, Josie, N Natori and Natorious) from sleepwear to ready-to-wear including perfume, home furnishings and eye wear. From Filipino roots to the American entrepreneurial dream the fashion designer has made a name for herself among immigrant business owners all over the world.
Josie Natori (formerly Josephina Alemeda Cruz) was born in 1947 to a wealthy family in the Philippines. At age 17 she moved from Manila to NY to attend Manhattanville College for economics. Josie then moved up the ranks of different investment firms until she became the first female VP of investing at Merryl Lynch. After being bored with 9 years on Wall Street she felt the entrepreneurial bug and thought of opening a McDonald's or selling antique furniture.
Josie's challenges began with her desire to start a business but not knowing what she wanted to do. After starting her lingerie line she introduced accessories like delicately appliqued boxes with mother-o'-pearl inlay, lingerie hosiery, travel bags, jewelry rolls, sachets, potpourri and lingerie wash in 1982. Then she added a line of more casual, less expensive sleepwear called Natori II. She even collaborated with Target in 2011 to provide more affordable products since most of the items run anywhere from $100-$3500. It has taken 35 years but Josie says she is ready to conquer the world.
Since the company launched in 1977 it has grown at the rate of 25% per year, breaking even after its third year. Within a decade the House of Natori was selling $25 million a year and employing nearly 700, including its New York design center, offices, showrooms and factories in the Philippines. In 2011 the company reported $150 M in sales. Recently they increased sales by 250% using a new eCommerce site that was implemented because the prior site was not set up to establish the brand and allow for real-time purchasing and next-day delivery.
In March 2007 she was awarded the Order of Lakandula, one of the highest civilian awards in the Philippines. In April of that same year she received the "Peopling of America" Award from the Statue of Liberty - Ellis Island. Josie also received Fashion Group International’s prestigious Humanitarian Award. With this mindset, she has established facilities in the Philippines to handle 50% of all Natori production.
“Natori is a total concept, a way of life,” says Natori. “I just happened to start at the back door with lingerie. Now as the company grows, we grow our sensibility too, taking our concept and making it a whole world. As we say here, Natori is ‘where life meets art’.”
CNN video of Josie Natori's story http://www.natori.com/Content/CNNFeature
