By JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ
Rustan’s Chairman and CEO Zenaida R. Tantoco passed away last night, reportedly two days after undergoing a heart surgery, according to a source close to the Tantoco family. She was 77 years old.
According to a statement released by Rustan’s Commercial Corp., Nedy’s wake will be held at 25B Tamarind Avenue, Forbes Park Makati City, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Feb. 10-12, then at Heritage Park, 9 a.m to 9 p.m. from Feb. 13-14. The funeral mass will be held on Feb. 15 at Santuario de San Antonio Parish.
PeopleAsia looks back at the legacy she upheld – and built – in this article from December 2010, when she was named as one of the magazine’s “People of the Year” awardees.
When she took over the helm of Rustan’s in 2008, Zenaida “Nedy” Tantoco, eldest daughter of Rustan’s founders, the late Glecy Rustia Tantoco and Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco Sr., knew what she was going to bring into the luxury department store chain: “A woman’s touch.” It was the touch Rustan’s welcomed as the Philippines and the rest of the world reeled from a financial crisis.
It was a reassuring woman’s touch, a things-will- be-okay touch. It was a soft and gentle touch, as Nedy is known to have a compassionate heart for employees. But it was also a firm touch, for she determinedly kept Rustan’s on track.
And the woman’s touch meant that, just like a woman and a mother would, Nedy would welcome Christmas 2008, global crisis notwithstanding, with a bang. Just like Christmas this year, Nedy’s first Christmas as the new Rustan’s Commercial Corp. president would see all its stores brimming with the spirit.
For that is how Nedy, “ZRT” in the corporate corridors of Rustan’s, sees life. She chooses to look at it, whatever the circumstances, with cheer. The result? “Overall, Rustan’s has seen healthy growth over the past year,” says Nedy.
“You have to think positive. The spoken word is very powerful. Whatever you think and say is what will happen. That’s why I’m always very positive,” affirms Nedy as we meet in the boardroom of Rustan’s Makati. She punctuates her sentences with a smile and a light chuckle that brighten up her eyes.
Waiting in an adjoining room for our interview to finish are two of Nedy’s seven pet Yorkshire terriers — a clue to the gentle and playful side of the woman on whose shoulders lie the challenge of upholding a name and a legacy. The boardroom, where the photoshoot also takes place, underscores the influence of Nedy’s parents in their children’s lives. On one wall hang two life-sized Galicano portraits of Glecy and Benny Tantoco, and displayed on glass shelves are the couple’s meetings with many of their business partners through the years — YSL, Nina Ricci, to name a few.
Nedy is her parents’ daughter — the Assumption Convent-bred Rustan’s scion remembers her mother as the marketing wiz, and her father, now 88, as the supportive husband who made sure the business was humming.
“My mom would not have been the success that she was without my dad, who took care of the back office — the accounting, the warehousing, security. Somebody had to do that. During her time, women were not so liberated, so my mom could not travel on her own to meet her business partners. My dad accompanied her to all her meetings, and so he had to give up his job,” is how Nedy describes the two greatest influences in her life — the True North that her inner compass points to whenever she needs direction.
As a young girl, Nedy was exposed by her mother to the hard work that went behind the growth of a glamorous enterprise. True, she had the rare opportunity of meeting the legendary Christian Dior when she was a young girl, but the thrill was to be followed by a sobering reality — she had to train in his enterprise for six months.
“From my mother, I learned the importance of hard work and perseverance. In the first two years of her marriage, my mother had a difficult time because she didn’t have the blessings of her parents and it was wartime. But she was a natural businesswoman and she was willing to work hard. She would tell me the story of how, one day, she was walking down Manila and she saw a long line. There were just so many people she decided to just line up also to see what was in the beginning of the line. When she got to the front she realized she was in a line for agents who wanted to sell cigarettes. So she became an agent for cigarettes. And she made a lot of money!
“She and my father started out in the living room of their house, selling merchandise that my mother bought abroad. They set up a small gift shop in San Marcelino St. in Manila, which was actually the living room of their residence.” Nedy’s father, at 88, is still active in the family business.
Nedy says proudly that her mom’s story of hard work and success, along with that of National Book Store founder Socorro “Nanay Coring” Ramos is in a textbook being used in public grade schools. Her mother’s life and her example are sacred to Nedy.
Nedy believes that as her mother taught her, Christmas, “is the best time to connect with the Rustan’s customer, when they shop not only for themselves, but also for their loved ones. Working at Rustan’s is all about knowing people and fulfilling their dreams.”
Working Girl
Although given a more than comfortable life by her hardworking parents, it didn’t occur to Nedy to just be a woman of leisure.
“I have worked in Rustan’s all my life, from my high school and college days when I assisted my mother in the store and accompanied her on buying trips abroad. I experienced working from the bottom up, from display and merchandising, to buying and marketing. Understanding the business from top to bottom, I believe, makes a person a good leader,” says Nedy.
Associates say Nedy, who is also the president of Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI), the business that has brought the major luxury brands to the Philippines, from Ferragamo, Gucci, YSL, Tod’s, Kate Spade, Burberry, Prada, to recently, Tory Burch, doesn’t just work 24/7. “She works 36/7!” marvels an associate of many years.
She also knows the business, having been exposed to it at an early age. “(These days) shoppers are becoming more prudent in their spending. But Rustan’s has thrived for over half a century because we know that it’s less about price than about value. You get what you pay for, as the saying goes. The brands and products we offer are top of the line when it comes to quality, craftsmanship, innovation or aesthetic beauty. Our customers recognize that, and even in challenging times, value rather than price is the deciding factor for every shopper.”
Nedy also wants to “give back” and “pay it forward,” Christmas or not.
“With our charity partner, The Children’s Hour, we plan to distribute aid to the children who need it most. In addition, for Christmas, Rustan’s plans to provide groups of needy children and their families with gifts, toys and a Noche Buena feast so that they, too, can feel the spirit of Christmas,” she shares.
Being a pioneer and leader in retail, what else is Nedy proud of? “I think one of the things I’m most proud of is how our family
has been able to continue the legacy of my mother Glecy. While my mother is no longer with us (she died in 1994 at the age of 70), I believe she would have been proud of what her family has accomplished, and that makes me proud as well.”
At the end of the day, Nedy says she has much to thank God for. “I begin and end each day in prayer, thanking the Lord for all the blessings as well as the trials, for I know He will only give me challenges that He knows I can overcome.”
And overcome trials she has. “I have one paramount philosophy: Trust in yourself and in the Lord. I have learned to trust in myself, in my instinct and my feelings. And I believe that, through this and prayer, God will always guide me to the right path.”
In fact, says Nedy, “We are optimistic sales will increase by next year.”
That cheerful spirit again. Nedy Tantoco brings to Rustan’s not only a woman’s touch, or her mother Glecy’s touch — or the proverbial Midas’ touch. Nedy brings to her work her own unique touch — and it’s a legacy on its own.
She is survived by partner Patrick Jacinto; her three children: Anton with wife Nina and daughters Nikki and Isabelle; Michael with wife Kathy and children Kenzie and Kameron; and Catherine with husband David Endriga; and her family of dogs Sabrina, Tricia, Tessa, Katlinka, Skippy, Bocelli and Tequila.
