A Man of Fashion

In Wu's line of business, perfection is everything. Under the name House of Wu and with several designer labels, the company designs, imports and distributes the dresses and gowns that for many women mark major life events-weddings, proms, as well as pageants.

The business itself has passed some significant benchmarks. Fifteen years ago, Wu traveled from store to store, selling gowns from the trunk of his car. Now he operates out of 45,000 square feet in a quiet business park just off Six Mile Cypress Parkway.

The company's headquarters includes the warehouse, a handful of neat offices around a stylish lobby, and a sales call center. A second building houses a runway for seasonal fashion shows, a well-appointed business club and guest quarters for visiting designers and retail representatives. A third building is in the planning stages.

All of that space is testament to the company's growing success. The House of Wu annually ships about 250,000 gowns to more than 2,800 retail outlets in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Wu's designs regularly appear in national magazines including Bride, Modern Bride, Prom and The Knot. With another shipping facility in China and connections around the world, he has established an international network.

"We are among the top wholesale businesses in this industry," says Wu, declining to provide specific revenue figures. "Nobody can really pinpoint how big an industry it is, but it is definitely very safe to say it surpasses $1 billion retail [annually], just in this country."

Wu's growth reflects not only his business acumen but the rise of the wedding industry. Dress included, weddings today cost approximately $27,000, up about 80 percent from just 15 years ago, according to Kathleen Murray, deputy editor of The Knot.

Wu came to the formalwear industry in a roundabout way, drawn by serendipity and opportunity. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from National Ocean University in his native country of Taiwan and then served two years in the Taiwan navy. Upon leaving the military in the early 1980s, Wu decided to continue his studies in the United States.

"There was a recession in Taiwan at that time, so like most immigrants, I came to America looking for better opportunities," says Wu. "I looked at a few different schools but chose the University of Florida, mostly because the climate was similar to what I was used to."

In Gainesville, Wu earned his master's degree in structural engineering and also met his wife, who had tutored him in English. After graduating, he found work at a Naples steel company. The young couple was just starting a family when Wu decided once again to switch gears.

"I didn't have an idea what I wanted to do, except that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, to do something on my own," he recalls. "I researched a few different businesses but we decided on a bridal shop. I had learned that bridal shops got their inventory from Taiwan. I had ties there, and I thought I could eliminate the middle man and bring the inventory in myself at a better price."

Wu initially partnered with the owner of an existing shop, but soon ventured out on his own. That's when he loaded his car with gowns, samples and photographs, and hit the road as a salesman. He quickly developed a sharp eye for fashion and began to systematically study the intricacies of a diverse market.

"For eight years I went store to store, always traveling," says Wu, 49. "Because I was out in the market, I could see what people wanted and tell the designer at the factory in China what designs sold best. My sales always doubled every season."

Wu soon needed to hire sales representatives to expand his territory, and he recruited his sister from Taiwan to help him organize customer service, shipping and other internal operations. She retired in 2005-three years after he had built the company's current headquarters building.

Wu still makes all final decisions on apparel design, supervises sales and makes frequent trips to China to oversee manufacturing and shipping. He also organizes seasonal shows that draw designers and retailers from throughout the country.

The House of Wu currently carries 10 designer labels, each designating a particular niche-including bride, mother of the bride, prom or quinceañera, a girl's 15th-birthday celebration popular in Latin society. For example, Jacquelin Bridals is a particularly popular line of wedding gowns, while Tiffany Designs and Studio 17 are well-known prom labels.

Different lines also target such specific demographics as income level and geography. Shoppers on the East Coast or in California tend to take more fashion risks, says Wu, while girls in the Midwest are sometimes more interested in value.

"The variety he carries makes it very easy for someone like me," says Janet Blanco, owner of online retail site www.bridal megastore.com and former owner of a Cape Coral bridal shop. "I always call his Christina Wu line 'the line of acquired taste,' because it is so distinctive. But he has something for everyone. The materials he uses are wonderful and he has dresses that are the same high quality of other lines, but for less money. That's important for a lot of young girls."

Special-occasion shoppers often want more than the variety, quality and affordability that they can find at many discount bridal shops. House of Wu, however, looks here and abroad to keep up with trends-which these days include celebrity weddings and destination weddings, Murray says.

Wu says he carries gowns that mirror those in Hollywood, as well as an extensive selection of wedding attire for travel-less fussy, more packable.

In addition to his knack for understanding changing fashions, Wu's engineering background helped him build a solid foundation for the business. It has allowed him to develop a sprawling network of operations that retains the feel of a small, independently owned company.

"In growing a business, there's no definite way you have to do things," says Wu. "You always have to find different angles and solve different problems in different ways. Engineering trains you to look at options, tools and materials, and I attribute a lot of my success in this business to that analytical skill."

That small, independently owned feel is being marketed more and more to a massive consumer market. In the past, Wu says, 90 percent of his advertising budget went to magazines and 10 percent to the Web. He's shifting that ratio, aiming for a 50-50 split that will in part direct more consumers to his Web site and to those of retailers that carry his lines.

"To save time, brides are browsing through gown galleries online so they have a better sense of which designers fit their style. Then they're searching to see which boutiques or salons carry that designer-and which shops are having trunk shows of the designer," Murray says.

Wu's bricks-and-mortar operation also operates with efficiency in mind. For Blanco, that's what makes House of Wu her most valuable supplier.

"He can deliver most wedding dresses in about two or three days, while most vendors will take a month or two. He keeps so many in stock that I think I've only had to wait for maybe two or three special orders," Blanco says. "Getting the dresses more quickly means I fill orders more quickly, get money more quickly and then I can make more orders."

Wu's plans for the future include making that pipeline even more efficient. Although he will continue to keep dresses in stock at the Fort Myers warehouse, he has been experimenting with direct shipping, sending large orders from China to retail outlets.

"To be effective in the future, I need to reduce my overhead and continue to keep my prices competitive," explains Wu. "Large corporations already do this, but it's very uncommon for smaller companies, because it's not easy. It will be an important function for us in the future, and for the importing business in general."

According to the U.S.-China Business Council, American businesses annually import more than $50 billion in small goods, such as apparel, footwear, toys and games. Wu hopes the system he is building will eventually allow him to connect businesses in Florida to Asian manufacturers.

That's one reason he is establishing the House of Wu Business Club in a spacious lounge area on the second floor of his showroom building. With a wet bar, plasma televisions, a pool table and kitchen already in place, Wu hopes the richly furnished space will serve as a place where local businesspeople gather to relax and make connections.

"A business needs to get out in public and let other businesspeople know what you do," explains Wu. "I've got contacts in China, but I don't know who is waiting to bring them to this market. I'm looking for about 50 members, in all areas of business, for networking. When people know people, that's where business starts."