TWO FILIPINO executives in retail and consumer packaged goods recently visited India, and may have supercharged the increasingly favorable impression that Indians have on the way Filipinos work.
Donnie Tantoco, president of the Rustan's Supercenters chain of value stores in the Philippines, was one of three international keynote speakers at the prestigious Retail Leadership Summit in Mumbai last Thursday, where he gave an exciting view of retailing in the Philippines to an audience that included India’s retail CEOs and MDs. He also sat on a panel with such luminaries as Shoppers Stop's BS Nagesh and Future Group's Kishore Biyani; the scion of the Rustia-Tantoco family spoke about his family’s engagements with the Rustan’s stores. His keynote speech was one of the best applauded; my colleagues and friends in the audience approached me later with nothing but raving feedback on his talk. I believe this is the first time that a Filipino retail leader has been invited by the Retailers Association of India to their summits. I'm glad that Mr. Tantoco showed yet another thrilling aspect of how the Filipino thinks, acts, and works.
On another note, Del Monte Pacific has opened a new production facility for packaged food and drinks in Hosur, Tamil Nadu in southern India. The facility was opened in the presence of Joselito Campos, MD of Del Monte Pacific, last November. As we all know, Del Monte Pacific is owned by NutriAsia Pacific, which belongs to the NutriAsia Group of the Campos family.Del Monte canned fruits and drinks have been imported in India for a few years now. The Hosur facility will make the products much more accessible and affordable to the Indian market. Hopefully, this localization doe not affect the unique signature Del Monte taste that Filipinos all over the world have grown up to.
