Sisters turn wedding and floral businesses into a love match

For sisters Gladys Agsalud and Rowena Furukawa, going into business together was a perfect union

STORY SUMMARY »

In the past 16 years of business, Gladys Agsalud has seen her family-run business Casablanca Bridals and Formals change locations three times, quadruple in size and experience tenfold revenue growth.

Hard work and family support have kept Agsalud happily wedded to the store concept that she introduced in 1992, she said.

"I don't think women should have to pick between having a career and having a family," said Agsalud, who was thankful that she could bring her son to work when he was small and she was growing her business.

Now, Agsalud is able to provide the same option for her younger sister, Rowena Furukawa, who works alongside her.

Working together has brought the sisters closer and has given Furukawa the chance to open Rowena's Flowers, a wedding flower business.

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When Gladys Agsalud was a girl growing up in the Philippines dreaming of that one perfect wedding, little did she know that as an adult she and her sister would play a pivotal role in more than 600 of them a year.

Agsalud, the owner of Casablanca Bridals and Formals, and her sister Rowena Furukawa, who works in the shop and operates Flowers by Rowena, are an integral part of Hawaii's lucrative wedding industry. The wedding apparel shop is Hawaii's only marketer of Spain-based Pronovias, one of the largest bridal wear manufacturers in the world.

Since opening the shop 16 years ago in a small 1,000-square-foot space on Kalakaua Avenue, Agsalud said she has seen the business grow tenfold.

"I just feel so lucky," Agsalud said. "I've always been at the right place at the right time."

Agsalud is overly modest about her business abilities and the struggles that she has endured to grow her business, Furukawa said.

"She works 24/7," she said. "She's always been a hard worker and she was always entrepreneurial."

As far back as Furukawa can recall, her sister was in business, she said.

"When she was in college, she was running a T-shirt business out of her dinky apartment. I was so impressed by the demand," she said.

Agsalud said she began working on a business plan to open a bridal shop while working on her Master of Business Administration degree at the University of Hawaii and as a representative for Barbizon Modeling & Acting in Hawaii.

"I got my undergraduate degree in psychology, but it was clear that I had more of an interest in business so I went back to school," she said. "I asked every professor that I could for feedback on my business plan."

In 1992, the same year that she wed, Agsalud officially opened Casablanca Bridals and Formals, which at the time catered to Japanese customers and mostly stocked designer dresses from lines like Christian Dior and Helen Morley.

"I started small with a loan from the equity on my condominium," she said. "I had applied for many business loans, but I was turned down by so many banks."

Agsalud finally got a small business loan from Hawaii National Bank, which has supported her from startup to expansion, she said.

"I've been with the bank for over 10 years now," she said. "They've helped me relocate and expand twice now."

In 2000 as the Japanese market started to drop, Agsalud moved her business to a Mapunapuna location where she could cater to a wider market.

Last August, Agsalud quadrupled her square footage with another move to a Beretania Street location.

"It's always been part of my business plan to have my own place," she said. "Land prices were going up and rents were crazy so I consider myself very fortunate to have found the right opportunity at the right price."

"Casablanca Bridals always has targeted the designer and high-quality market, but with the changing economy, it has sought to serve more brides on a budget, Agsalud said.

"After the Japanese economy took a downturn, I had to offer merchandise that catered to more budget-conscious brides," she said.

The 5,000-square-foot shop, which Agsalud custom-built for her brides, offers dresses ranging from $200 to $6,000.

"Whether a bride buys a $6,000 dress or a $200 dress, she'll get the same high level of service," she said.

The new three-story building has ample space to stock Agsalud's wedding and special occasion dresses as well as marketing materials for her sister's floral business. It also features a showroom with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, an elegant spiral staircase and a seating gallery for friends and family to sit comfortably while they provide support for the bride.

"When my brides stand in front of the big mirror and they see how beautiful they look with the crystal chandelier reflected in the background, they feel very special," Agsalud said. "I want them to feel the way that I would want to feel if I were a bride."

Agsalud, who is interested in recapturing a share of the still-struggling Japan market, said that she is exploring leasing extra shop space to a complementary business. A residential unit and rooftop lanai are still unoccupied in the building, she said.

"I'd like to work with the Japanese again," Agsalud said.

In addition, Agsalud also is experimenting with her own fashion line. She sells a limited number of dresses under her own label Alba, named for her grandmother Albina Lozares, who was a small-business owner in the Philippines.

"I came from a family of six kids so my grandmother helped raise me," Agsalud said. "She was a very good business woman and a wonderful person with a good heart. She basically told me that I could do anything that I wanted."

From her grandmother, Agsalud learned the importance of family and how to work hard and have fun doing it. She and Furukawa, who is married to Geoffrey Furukawa, have been working together for more than a decade now.

"It's given us both the freedom to have careers and to be wives and mothers," Agsalud said. "It's also given me the freedom to allow my employees to have flexible hours. I don't think women should have to pick between having a career and having a family."

When Agsalud's son Matthew, now 13, was small, being a business owner provided her the flexibility to bring him to work.

"One of the nicest things about this business as opposed to other jobs is that brides are very sympathetic to mothers," Agsalud said. "One day, most of them hope to have families of their own."

Agsalud made a little nursery for Matthew in the Kalakaua shop and the lady that she originally hired to watch him works for her still. Today, Furukawa's 8-year-old son Michael is growing up in the Beretania shop.

"It's nice to still have children in the shop," Agsalud said, adding that her sister's presence in the shop is a blessing.

The benefits go both ways. As long as Furukawa is able to help man the shop, Agsalud has the ability to take important buying trips to far-off locations like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Barcelona, Spain, or simply to be with her family.

Furukawa's floral skills also have allowed Agsalud to offer one-stop shopping for brides. Flowers by Rowena, which opened in 1997 as an offshoot of Agsalud's business, markets silk and fresh florals exclusively to Casablanca customers.

"Flowers are my passion," said Furukawa, who majored in design at the University of Hawaii and provided the flowers for Agsalud's wedding to Honolulu-based attorney Lee Agsalud.

"I'm so thankful to my sister for encouraging me to follow my dream and to believe in myself," she said. "She's always been there for me and we continue to grow closer as we work together."

While Furukawa is the younger, quieter sister, Agsalud credits her for providing the behind-the-scenes support necessary to expand the business.

"When I'm not here she manages the shop. She thinks the way that I would want her to think and I can trust that she will do what I feel is right," Agsalud said. "She gives me peace of mind. Our family relationship is very important."

Even with clients, the importance of family cannot be discounted, Agsalud said.

"We strive to establish long-term relationships with our clients. Many of our new brides are brought in by former brides who bring their daughters, nieces and cousins to the shop," she said.

Though Agsalud and Furukawa seldom work with any bride for more than two years, many times the friendships that they have forged have lasted much longer.

"We've become friends with many of our customers," Agsalud said. "We keep an album with pictures of them and their families."