Nedy Tantoco, Businesswoman and Philanthropist, Has Died

This story has been updated to include an official statement from the family.

Zenaida, “Nedy” Tantoco, the chairman and CEO of Rustan Commercial Corp. and Stores Specialists Inc. (SSI) has passed away. She was 77 years old.

Her granddaughter Nina Huang initially confirmed her death in an Instagram Stories post. Later the family issued a statement.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Zenaida “Nedy” R. Tantoco,” the statement read. “The retailer, philanthropist, patroness of the arts, loving mother, and grandmother passed away last night, February 8, 2024, at 11:42 p.m.

“Like her siblings Rico and wife Nena Tantoco, Menchu and husband Jun Lopez, Marilou and husband Eddie, Marlien Tantoco, and Maritess and husband Renato Enriquez; Nedy uncompromisingly upheld the sacred values taught by their parents in running a family enterprise,” the statement added. “Although known in the industry for her astute professionalism, Nedy will always be better remembered as a nurturing force in fostering family empowerment and unity. These, she believed, were key for their family’s future generations to thrive.”

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Tantoco was the eldest daughter of the founders of Rustan’s, Bienvenido Tantoco and Gliceria Rustia Tantoco. Nedy, as she was known to family and close friends, got involved early on in the business. As a preteener, she worked behind the claims counter of the department store during her summer breaks from school. It was where customers, many of whom were friends of her parents, would pick up their gift-wrapped packages before going home.

“They would call me by name and ask me to look for their purchases,” she told Esquire Philippines. “I was thrilled they knew my name.” Even then, she knew that she and all of her siblings would join the family business when they got older.

“It ran in our blood,” she said. “At dinner, we would hear our parents talking about the business, so we learned all about business by listening to them. When they would travel and go buying, we would take turns going with them. Sometimes we’d all go on vacation together and they would use this as an opportunity for us to see the process. We would go with them to New York and L..A. It was very exciting. I never wanted to do anything else.” 

Soon after her mother Glecy passed away in 1994, Nedy assumed a leadership position of the company’s department store and supermarket operations. She was named president of Rustan’s Commercial Corporation in 2008.

In 2017, the family decided to fully divest from the supermarket business, selling it to Robinsons Retail for P18 billion.

The family patriarch, Benny Tantoco, passed away in 2021. While the company has faced enormous challenges over the years, including the seismic shifts in retailing, Nedy Tantoco continued to steer Rustan’s with a firm and steady hand.

“It’s really a big challenge to be in retail nowadays,” she has said. “As a family and as a group of managers, we are looking towards the future. How to be relevant to whatever customers are looking forward to today. It’s different. It’s no longer the same. We have to change, of course. We’re looking for ways to keep relevant to our customers. That’s what the Rustan’s Group is focused on right now.”

In addition to bring chairperson and CEO of Rustan Commercial Corp. Nedy Tantoco was also chair and CEO Rustan Marketing Corp. and Chairman, CEO of SSI Group, Inc., and chair and CEO of Stores Specialists, Inc. (a subsidiary of SSI Group, Inc.). She was also on on the board of Rustan Coffee Corp. (which owns the Starbucks franchise in the Philippines) and a member of Cultural Center of The Philippines.

Nedy 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.