Retail and fashion talk with the Tantocos

What’s on the menu for lunch with Rustan’s president Nedy Tantoco and the store’s third-generation breed of retailers? Delicious sushi, tofu with prawns on sticks matched with lettuce wrappers, an exquisite oyster dish created by the family cook, deep-fried lapu-lapu with a yummy sauce, a beef dish, a cake dessert and a fruity salad.

Plus sizzling conversations on fashion, retailing fantasies, lessons learned from the first- and second-generation Tantocos, typhoon Ondoy, Christmas after Ondoy, and more.

Our lunch date is set at 11 a.m. at the boardroom of Rustan’s Makati, but at 10:45 a.m., Anton Huang is already there in his trademark dapper suit, looking neat and spiffy as usual. He positions his computer for an audio-visual, which he wants to show us, and younger brother Mike quickly helps his Manong Anton set it up. You can see that this is a family that naturally works together. And laughs together.

“Once, I showed up at a corporate meeting attended by much older retailing partners, and I was wearing a blazer with faded jeans. They asked: ‘Next time, will you show up with a bag?’ Seriously, I would prefer using a lighter bag rather than my heavy, stiff briefcase,” laughs Anton.

“Yes, use a man purse — a murse — or a messenger bag,” we tell him.

“But wouldn’t that be too metrosexual?” he asks.

“Nooo, that’s cool, ” we insist.

Just then, mom Nedy enters the room, elegantly dressed in a Criselda printed black and white dress with turquoise neckwear. She excitedly talks about Rustan’s foreign retail partners who have been sending relief goods for our typhoon victims. Just then Mike is ready, and so is everyone. The scent of the food prepared by East Cafe is too inviting.

Excerpts:

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: Last year’s polar bears are gone, and instead you have green hedges and topiaries in Rustan’s this holiday season. Where’s the inspiration coming from?

NEDY TANTOCO: As the country recovers from the recent storms, we thought it would be timely to remind ourselves that we need to be more environment-conscious, to take care of nature so that we can help prevent future calamities. Nena (Vargas-Tantoco) is a very big exponent of this back-to-nature campaign.

KATRINA TANTOCO-LOBREGAT: For that environment-conscious mindset, the idea is to take what you have in your garden or backyard, mixing these with decor items that you already have.

How does the retailing industry doing after Ondoy?

ANTON HUANG: The year was actually looking good, the Philippine economy wasn’t really affected from a consumer standpoint, and spending was still strong, until Ondoy came. But then, knowing how important Christmas is to Filipinos, for sure we will still manage to smile and celebrate this Christmas.

NEDY: That’s what we want to do — bring the smiles back, especially among children, because Christmas is really for children. We sounded out a call to our foreign suppliers in 12 countries, and it was so touching the way they responded in cash and in kind. Now we are repacking these goods and adding noche buena fare such as ham and queso de bola. Hence, our theme, “One World, One Christmas.” We want children from the depressed areas to experience the joy of opening a Christmas gift containing goodies for the whole family. For shoppers, we are offering clothes and gift items at marked-down prices.

We recently read in the International Herald Tribune that pricey designer jeans are now being sold at half the price, or even less, in the United States, because nobody is buying exorbitantly priced denims anymore.

ANTON: The obituary for premium jeans has been written before, but the death never happened. People were still buying. But when luxury denims jumped from $150 to $400, and the economy began to suffer, people went back down to earth. The luxury retail industry in Europe and the USA is suffering. But in China, it is still growing. Just last week, Hong Kong announced a growth in their retail sales. Really, suppliers are lowering their prices.

Will the local shoppers benefit from this slash in prices?

ANTON: Yes, in fact, as the article mentions, Diesel is now producing $150 jeans for spring, and we will have these in the Philippines as well next year.

You are opening Hermès in Makati on Dec. 15. What other new things can we soon expect from Rustan’s and Stores Specialists Inc.?

ANTON: We are bringing in Tory Burch soon, then Eileen Fisher in March, Juicy Couture in April. We just got Spanx including its hosiery.

NEDY: Ayala is inviting us to open in Davao.

And you are opening a Rustan’s at The Fort.

NEDY: Yes, that will be in the area where Shangri-La will build a new hotel. They want us to build a department store and a supermarket.

What is the target date for completion?

NEDY: They’re looking at 2013. So near. Now all we need is money!

Speaking of money, people seem to be in a frugal mood these days. Being matipid is a trait every parent wishes to teach his or her child. What lessons in frugality have you learned from your parents?

PAOLO TANTOCO: My father (Rico Tantoco) always tells us: “Waste not, want not.” So we are trained to buy only what we need.

PAOLO LOBREGAT: Rather than buy too many items, buy only a few things that are of good quality and will last long.

KATRINA: My mother (Nena Tantoco) has taught me the value of recycling things. Yes, I use vintage stuff from my mom, which I redesign or reinvent.

Anton, how did you develop such a work ethic? You seem to be such a hardworking dynamo.

NEDY: Oh, his father (Anthony Huang) used to give him a wake-up call every morning, to make sure he wouldn’t be late for school. So now, Anton has such good work habits, such discipline.

ANTON: Yes, my dad was my alarm clock. He himself is so disciplined. At certain times of the day, I know exactly where my dad is, and I know where to call him. At 1 p. m., I know he is sipping coffee.

Mike, if your Mom Nedy and your Manong Anton suddenly decided to go on a long vacation tomorrow and appointed you in charge of Rustan’s, what changes would you make?

MIKE HUANG: I will not change anything. I will go with the vision set by our grandparents (Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco and the late Glecy Tantoco), which my mom and her siblings are embracing.

 NEDY: (Laughs) I am listening, that’s why he is not talking!

MIKE: Seriously, I believe everything is in place right now at Rustan’s. After all, it is the top luxe retailer in the country.

Any suggestions, guys?

PAOLO TANTOCO: I agree with Mike. Personally, though, given more space, I like the way Saks Fifth Avenue presents their merchandise, you would really be more tempted to buy.

PAOLO LOBREGAT: I would like to tackle the challenge of expanding the men’s section and giving it an atmosphere of its own.

KATRINA: It’s actually not a matter of changing, but just updating in terms of trends. We want to be the trendsetter always. We don’t want to lose that opportunity.

How about expanding an RTW gallery of our very own Filipino designers? We have so many talented, young designers! And making available at Rustan’s those beautiful products exported by Cebu artists like Kenneth Cobonpue?

NEDY: My mom always reminded us that Rustan’s was really known for honing local talent. We had Larrie Silva, Vickie Lopez, and we have Criselda Lontok, one of our bestsellers. Mom’s directive was to reinvigorate our local artists, and expand the Our Very Own department. That department has progressed a lot.

ANTON: Surely we would like to see more Filipino talent at Rustan’s. Especially with Inno Sotto as our creative director, and with Jojie Lloren now collaborating for our Jill label. Jojie has such exposure and training, he gives input to the manufacturing process.