Pacific Business News, Friday, November 14, 2008 Folks at Watanabe Floral are not afraid to be sentimental. In fact, it's a major selling point: the company's corporate value statement lists as its very first goal that Watanabe Floral strive to be considered synonymous with the expression of "feelings through flowers." The statement doesn't say much about profitability, but Watanabe Floral takes care of that goal, too, with continuing growth year over year. Originally begun as a commercial rose grower in 1945, Watanabe has evolved into a full-service floral wholesaler and retailer.

Marketing director Monty Pereira, President Russell Watanabe, and Controller Leon Dodson in the cooler at Watanabe Floral.

When I first met the Watanabes, their business was a small rose farm operation, with only family members as employees, that distributed its flowers from the garages of the family residence in McCully behind the old King's Bakery on South King Street," said Isoo Oshima, a CPA who has served as Watanabe's outside accountant, tax preparer and financial adviser for 33 years.

Watanabe Floral now employs more than 125 and operates from a wholesale and commercial facility in Kalihi.

In September it closed its growing division, a fundamental shift that marked the transition from a nursery to a marketer and distributor. Watanabe was one of the first Hawaii floral companies to import from South America.

Watanabe's mass market and lei business has increased through accounts with Costco, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and Foodland as well as with agreements with the Polynesian Cultural Center and Japanese wedding planners.

Watanabe also sells floral supplies and arrangements and recently opened a call center to handle customers. And it began a commercial real estate division in 2006 to diversify interests.

Watanabe hasn't lost sight of its core interests.

"Family values are very important and they practice it each and every day," said Theodore Tokunaga Jr., president of Farm Credit Services of Hawaii, ACA. "Employees as well as customers are treated as family. The family concept is an extension of their high moral standards, and they desire to extend their beliefs well into the community and around the world."

Tokunaga also credits Watanabe Floral with using technology to monitor rose production and sales, interpreting data to maintain high levels of production, and monitoring operating expenses to keep a competitive edge.

Watanabe is led by its 58-year-old president, Russell.

"He leads by example," said Melanie Shishido, vice president of American Savings Bank. "He is a man of integrity and ethics, in addition to sharp business acumen."

Watanabe himself is more modest. But he acknowledges how important family responsibility is to him.

"Growing up I worked with my father, two grandfathers, an uncle, two aunties, my mother and my siblings," said Watanabe. "I am the third of six, and I knew my older brother and sister were not interested in taking over the company. So I kinda felt the responsibility was going to be mine."