By MAUREEN MARIE BELMONTE
With the help of her husband Ken, Josie was able to build the Natori name as a lifestyle brand, with an ‘East meets West’ aesthetic (Photo from Natori.com)
MANILA, Philippines – Turning her dreams to reality is US-based Filipino fashion designer Josie Natori who recently gained recognition as one of the seven biggest, self-made immigrant millionaires in the US.
Natori, in a feature accompanying the list created by finance publication Kiplinger on their official website, reiterated that seeing an immigrant status as a hurdle is a matter of perspective since it can also be an asset as in her case.
"Some people may see their immigrant status as an obstacle," she says. "I have always viewed it as one of my biggest assets. Natori is unique in the design world, because of its East-meets-West aesthetic. All of that is due to my background and heritage."
Others on Kiplinger's list are Jamaican Lowell Hawthorne, founder and CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill; Austrian Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and; Indian Shama Kabani, founder and CEO of the Marketing Zen Group.
Also making it to the roster are Google co-founder and director of special projects, Russian Sergey Brin, and Salvadorans Carlos Castro, president and CEO of Todos Supermarket and Jose Wilfredo Flores, owner and founder of W Concrete.
Under the spotlight
Natori moved to the US in 1964 when she attended Manhattanville College in New York. She said that the first few months were the hardest as it the time she had to adjust and move past culture shock.
"The cold winters, the food and the sense of humor were just different. I was very homesick," she told Kiplinger.
After earning an economics degree, she went to work for Bache & Company on Wall Street and moved to Merrill Lynch in 1971. But climbing the corporate ladder wasn't enough. "While I loved the [corporate] culture, I also had a very strong desire to build something myself," she said.
Born Josefina Almeda Cruz, Natori grew up in a family of entrepreneurs.
“My father (construction tycoon Felipe Cruz) is a self-made man and my grandmother was really like an entrepreneur. It’s in my blood. I knew that I would have my own business,” she related in a previous Manila Bulletin report.
Natori became a US citizen in 1974. But it was only after giving birth to her son in 1976 did she and husband, Ken, decide to look into putting up their own business. According to her, their business options ranged from the mundane to the grandiose: from furniture, baby clothes, to a carwash and even to running a McDonald’s franchise. However, it was by chance in 1977 when she showed the embroidered blouse to a buyer at Bloomingdale’s. That “accident” eventually led to her foray into high-end lingerie design and more.
Today she has nearly over 400 employees under The Natori Company. Her husband serves as chairman while her son Kenneth is vice-president of finance and e-commerce.
Kiplinger noted that in 2011, Natori teamed up with mass retailer Target for a budget-friendly line of lingerie and loungewear. That year, the company generated $150 million in retail sales, which landed her a spot on the list.
The 64-year-old fashion designer pointed out to aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs that "There is no better place in the world for an immigrant to succeed than in the U.S. Follow your dream and make it happen."
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