History

In 1978, the company was founded by Patrick Tai and its original location was in South San Francisco, California. Patrick chose the Bay Area as the ideal location for his new business, and moved there from Taiwan. Patrick’s goal was to establish a company that manufactured and imported the best possible artificial flowers in the industry, and it wasn’t long before things started to take shape towards achieving that goal.

Roses! The first flowers Patrick focused on were roses, and the realism achieved by implementing several upgrades to the design and manufacturing process was amazing. Very quickly, Winward became known in the home accent and floral supply industries as having THE roses to sell in stores and wholesale floral supply houses. It was simply far and away better than anything else out there.

Patrick’s brother Garrison joined the company in 1985 as vice president. Garrison’s excellent eye for color and design was very important in moving the company forward. He played an important role in getting Winward’s product mix focused on telling “stories” in collections of products that coordinate and are designed to be sold together and used together in the home.

As sales grew, so did the company’s need for more warehouse space, and in 1986, Winward moved to a larger location in San Carlos, south of San Francisco. Even more realistic flowers were added to the product mix, and sales continued to expand. Winward also expanded north of the border, establishing a partnership to cover Canadian

customers with office, warehouse, and showroom space in Mississauga, Ontario, just outside of Toronto in 1987. Hans Juffermans, an industry veteran, became president of Winward Canada. He was the perfect person for Patrick and Garrison to partner with in their Canadian expansion, and has made major contributions in terms of product quality control, product designs and product selection as well.

Further growth fueled the need for even more space, and in 1991, Winward moved across San Francisco Bay to Union City and larger space. Initially located on Ahern Road, the company moved into its current 150,000 square foot building at 3089 Whipple Road. This building is home to the corporate offices, the Winward USA Customer Service and Operations teams, a 2-story 15,000 square foot showroom, warehouse and domestic production facilities.

The silk flower industry received a huge boost in 1993 when the Silk show debuted in Las Vegas. This trade show was the largest single venue for exhibitors of permanent botanical products ever seen in North America. With its huge and exquisitely decorated booths, Winward quickly established itself as a major player at the Silk shows and became a key destination for buyers.

Happy Holidays! Winward expanded its business into the seasonal market, adding holiday florals, ornaments, angels, elves, santas, vinyl and many other holiday-related products into its line. This new addition was very well-received and instantly became a significant portion of Winward’s business.

Also in 1998, the largest exhibitors at the Silk show decided to establish a more permanent location

for displaying their products. AFIA (American Floral Import Assocation) was formed, and this organization negotiated with Dallas Market Center to establish their new permanent home, the International Floral & Gift Center in Dallas, Texas (windows into Winward’s Dallas showroom are shown at right).

Atlanta became the next permanent showroom home for Winward. The Winward Atlanta showroom is located in the Holiday and Floral section of AmericasMart1, and was expanded into a much larger space in 2010.

In 2008, the home accents category was expanded radically. While Winward had carried manygreat items in this category previously, 2008’s offering was so extensive and so fashion-forward that the category felt totally new and fresh. In addition, Winward began to offer product made here in the USA- the “Hometown Collections”, coordinated permanent botanical wreaths and arrangements that tell a complete story with outstanding perceived value for the consumer.