FROM BOUTIQUES TO Baguettes, BRANDING LUXURY & LABELS-TO-GO
You're in Manila with a pocketbook full of pesos and an eye for the latest fashion trends. Where do you go to satisfy your luxury and designer shopping requirements? Ask anyone and invariably the answer will be “Rustan's.” Founded in 1951, the company's department stores are one of the Philippines' major outlets for famous and high-value brand names, providing the capital's top-end shoppers with premiere goods ranging from cosmetics to home furnishings. A day spent browsing in the unhurried and courteous atmosphere of Rustan's Tower in Manila's prestigious Makati district is shopping at its lost pleasurable.
"Rustan's is best positioned to capture luxury spending in the country as we have the brand image, equity, patronage and availability of the target market's desired brands," explains Bienvenido R. Tantoco Jr., the company's president. Cartier, Tiffany's, Ermenegildo Zegna, Estee Lauder and Christian Dior are just some of the top international labels available to Rustan's affluent customers.
What these valued clients may not know is that it is also thanks to Rustan's Group that they can shop at designer own-label stores. A major player in the global trend of brand franchising through its subsidiary, Stores Specialists Inc., Rustan's has pioneered the explosion of luxury retailing in the Philippines by launching hundreds of boutiques for brands such as Prada, Lacoste and Zara.
Tired of shopping, need a pick-me-up? Starbucks coffee outlets are also present in the Philippines as a result of Rustan's pioneering initiatives and desire to bring the best to the country.
And there's more. Shopwise Hypermarkets, established nine years ago, have won several awards, including "Best Retailer of the Year" from the Philippine Retailers Association, and have enabled Rustan's to successfully expand into the middle-income retail market. .