MANILA, Philippines – Bienvenido R. Tantoco Sr., patriarch and cofounder of Rustan Group of Companies, died Tuesday morning. He was 100.
Tantoco and his wife Gliceria Rustia opened the first Rustan’s store in San Marcelino, Manila, nearly 69 years ago, which would be the forerunner of luxury retail in the Philippines. Rustan is a portmanteau of the couple’s family names.
In the 1960s, Rustan’s would begin to do business with revered European fashion houses like Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.
The Tantocos opened the Rustan flagship store at the Makati Commercial Center (now known as Ayala Center) in 1970, where it still stands to this day.
The Rustan’s br…
Keep on reading: Tantoco, Rustan’s patriarch and ‘father of PH luxury retailing,’ 100