Bienvenido “Benny” R. Tantoco Sr., hailed as the Philippines’s father of luxury retail and the patriarch of the Rustan’s Group, died on Tuesday at age 100.
The former ambassador to the Vatican, who celebrated his 100th birthday in April, was survived by his six children—Bienvenido Jr., Nedy, Menchu Lopez, Marilen Tantoco, Merl Pineda and Tokie Enriquez—and 21 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
In 1952, Lolo Benny as he was called, and wife Gliceria “Glecy” Rustia-Tantoco brought back unique products from their trips abroad to show to friends in the living room of their house in San Marcelino in Manila, according to the Rustan’s website.
As more and more people visited their home to view Glecy’s product selections, the couple decided to open their very first store in Old Manila’s San Marcelino Street.
Over six decades later, the little shop evolved into the retail giant now known as the Rustan Group of Companies.
The name Rustan’s was a combination of the couple’s surnames, Rustia and Tantoco.
Rustan’s has grown big over the years, opening its luxury department stores in major cities. It also launched several boutique stores and licensed more than 2,000 international brands to the company.
It established Rustan Commercial Corp. Inc. in 1957 to operate its luxury department store; Rustan Marketing Corp. in 1964, the vehicle to bring a diversified portfolio of brands into the Philippines; Store Specialists Inc. in 1987, which has become the largest operator of the Philippine franchises for the world’s top brands; Royal Duty Free in 1993, the number one duty-free store in Subic; Rustan Coffee Corp. Inc. in 1997, the operator of the famous coffee chain Starbucks; Sta. Elena Golf and Country Estate, an exclusive residential estate and premier golf destination located south of Manila; and Adora in 2017, a boutique luxury department store.
Rustan’s may have grown over the years, but only one company—SSI Group Inc.—went public.
In 2018, the Gokongwei group bought Rustans Supercenters for P18 billion, as the family business focused on selling luxury goods. The Rustan’s Group’s grocery chain operates brands, such as Marketplace by Rustan’s, Rustan’s Supermarket, Shopwise and Wellcome.
Image courtesy of www.rustans.com