The father of luxury retail in the Philippines, Benny Tantoco, passes away
Bienvenido R Tantoco Sr, co-founder of the Philippine luxury retailer Rustan Group of Companies, died earlier this month. The firm made the announcement on July 8.
Tantoco, who pioneered luxury retail in the Philippines with his wife Gliceria Rustia-Tantoco in 1952, with their first store opening in San Marcelino Street in Manila, earned the moniker “the father of luxury retail in the Philippines.”
The entrepreneur also served as Philippine ambassador to the Vatican in 1983 before resigning from his post in 1986 after the People Power Revolution.
Tantoco’s family described him as a loving father and that he “lived his best life”. Tantoco was 100 years old.
At its peak, Rustan’s introduced Philipino consumers to high-end international brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior.
Rustan’s currently has five major department stores in the Philippines with a portfolio of international brands ranging from apparel, watches, beauty and personal care, luggage, footwear, and home items.
The company’s subsidiaries also include Stores Specialists Incorporated, Rustan Coffee, Adora, Santa Elena Realty, and Royal Duty-Free Stores.
South Korean discount store Homeplus announces new appointments
South Korean discount store chain Homeplus has appointed former McDonald’s South Korea CEO Cho Ju-yeon as its new chief marketing officer.
Ju-yeon had worked at McDonald’s Korean unit as its CEO since 2016 before joining Homeplus.
Meanwhile, former chief financial officer of AstraZeneca South Korea, Hwang Jeong-wook, has been appointed as Homeplus’ new CFO. The company said it is separating the department in charge of product into two – led by Kim Woong and Oh Jae-yong – to focus on different sectors.
“Through the reorganisation, we want to present a clear reason why customers want to visit Homeplus,” said Lee Jea-hoon, CEO of Homeplus.
Founded in 1997, Homeplus was previously known as Homever or Carrefour Korea before being acquired by Tesco in 2008. The business was sold to a consortium led by MBK partners in 2015 and now operates 140 branches across the country.
Lifestyle company Futurity Brands names China CEO
Futurity Brands, which owns apparel and accessories brand Paul Frank, has named Zhu Jianshi as its new CEO in China.
Jianshi started in his new role with Futurity Brands China last July 8.
“[Jianshi] is an accomplished leader and has consistently demonstrated throughout his career the ability to innovate and introduce high performance strategies in challenging environments yielding impressive growth and significant value creation,” said Stan Wan, chairman and Group CEO at Futurity Brands.
According to Wan, Jianshi was appointed as he has “considerable experience” in the licensing, fashion and retail sector. He also has an “exemplary track record” of achievements as CEO and COO.
Futurity Brands’ portfolio of brands includes Paul Frank and Australia’s Piping Hot.
