SSI Group chairman Zenaida Tantoco and SSI Group, Inc president Anton Huang Where do you shop? What brands do you favor when you buy clothes, shoes, cosmetics, or home stuff?

Style purveyors Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) knows the answer.

The top retailer on June 5 celebrated its 30th anniversary in a luxurious bash at Shangri-La at the Fort. SSI Group president Anton Huang welcomed special guests led by Manoj Varma, head of Consumer Business of Citibank Philippines and Zenaida Tantoco, chairman of the SSI Group.

“Our retail journey began six decades ago with Rustan’s, a general merchandise store, which was founded by my grandmother Glecy and my grandfather, Ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco, in downtown Manila. With their passion, drive and pioneering spirit, they have given us an extraordinary retail legacy which we continue to build and strengthen today,” Huang said in his speech.

“In 1987, Stores Specialists, Inc. was created with a mission to provide global luxury brands to the Philippine market. Since then, the SSI Group has been the purveyor of quality fashion and style for the discriminating tastes of the Filipino consumer.

“Today—three fulfilling decades later, the SSI Group remains the market leader with over 100 global brands, a retail network of over 600 stores nationwide and a growing e-commerce portfolio. Maintaining our thrust to bring the best of the world to the Philippines, the SSI Group continues to refine the art of Philippine lifestyle retailing as the #1 specialty retailer in the country,” he added.

As the leading specialty retailer in the Philippines with the biggest portfolio of international merchants and hundreds of stores nationwide, there is no denying that SSI has permeated the lives of Filipinos through its curated selection of brands from all over the world.

Currently, it is the only retailer with the widest range of specialty and lifestyle concepts, ranging from luxury fashion and fast fashion, to home, beauty and original concepts.

The SSI Group marks this milestone with a campaign dubbed “The Curated Life” that seeks to inspire, enable, indulge and rally its consumers to live a life well-lived — a life that’s well-curated.

As the retail arm of the Rustan’s Group of Companies, the second largest retailer in the Philippines with a consistent growth record through 65 years, the SSI Group specializes in high-end specialty stores and is the exclusive franchise distributor of leading international brands.

On its 30th year, the SSI Group partners with one of the world’s leading banks – Citibank, to bring the Curated Life to every Filipino. Sharing in the passion to give only the best-in-class products and services, the SSI Group, together with Citibank, brings its shoppers more rewarding experiences.

Citibank cardholders get to enjoy credits through the “Spend Anywhere” campaign, where shoppers get P500 shopping credits valid at all SSI Group stores with every P10,000 spend using their Citibank card from July to September 2018. As the holiday season comes around, more rewards await Citibank card shoppers as instant shopping credits of up to P30,000 will be given away at SSI Group stores.

The partnership with Citibank continues with the Big Fashion Sale featuring well-loved SSI Group brands this August 15 to 30 at Greenbelt and September 3 to 10 at Glorietta; as well as exclusive shopping events from July to December 2018.

There is also the “Love to Shop” installment program from June 2018 to May 2019, which lets customers shop with deferred payment schemes of up to 24 months at select SSI Group brands

Establishing its presence in the current and future retail landscapes, the SSI Group continues to deliver its unique selection of retail brands to a new generation of consumers through the digital space. Widening its reach beyond the tangible, it enhances the shopping experience through its website, ssilife.com.ph, which will be officially launched this October. More than a shopping channel, the website features lifestyle articles that incorporate its brands and products while delivering informative and inspiring content, continuing SSI’s penchant for curation and delivering lifestyle inspiration in real time, in real life.

Consumers may navigate through three overall categories — Fashion, Beauty and Home — and discover the latest collections from their favorite brands, behind-the-scenes highlights from exclusive shows, skincare and makeup how-to videos featuring local influencers and quintessential guides on home and lifestyle. The website also allows consumers to purchase SSI’s gift card, the Purple Card.

Along with brand-specific SSI Group sites for 158DB, Beauty Bar, Lacoste, Payless, Superga, Steve Madden, Gap and Aeropostale, SSI Life extends the SSI Group’s influence and enhances the shopping experience by allowing consumers to access information on brands and products with a single click.

On its milestone year, the SSI Group takes it even further as it introduces the My SSI Life App this August — a gateway that allows consumers to curate the life they want to live. The My SSI Life App will be every shopper’s access to lifestyle, passion and curation – from the latest trends, to the hottest promos and perks. One’s answer to living the curated life, the app allows users to earn points every time they shop. With the My SSI Life App, all that matters is at the palm of one’s hands.

The SSI Group continues to partner with Filipinos who share the same passion for fashion, beauty, and lifestyle — those who live a curated life by putting their passions forward. This year, the SSI Group shines the spotlight on distinct individuals through #PassionForward, a campaign highlighting SSI’s many passions: fashion (from luxury to streetwear), health and wellness, skincare and makeup, home and entertaining, food and more.

A special showcase featuring 30 personalities from different fields fueled by different passions will be held in September to celebrate the coming together of these diverse catalysts who inspire today’s generation.

More than just the retail operations arm of the Rustan’s Group, the SSI Group has transcended the retail space over the past 30 years and evolved into a true purveyor of both luxuries and necessities for consumers.

With a vast retail network covering 129,000 square meters of retail space, the SSI Group continues to be part of the Filipino lifestyle and ventures into the next 30 years, inspiring and enhancing the lives of its consumers.

More than the numbers, the SSI Group has made an impact on lifestyle values of Filipinos over the years, inspiring shoppers to define their own style, select the best brands and products to represent it, and collect to their heart’s content.

That’s the curated life — never about settling, always about standing out; creating a life that’s worth experiencing; and spending on things that matter.

This year, the SSI Group celebrates 30 years of knowing what matters to the Filipino consumer.

“Celebrating our 30th year this 2018, we are poised to enhance the lives of every Filipino as we continue to deliver our well-curated range of specialty and lifestyle concepts,” said Huang. “On behalf of the Tantoco family, I thank you all for being with us tonight to celebrate this special milestone. We look forward to your continued support as we continue our mission to offer only the best curated lifestyle experiences. I leave you with words from our Campaign Manifesto:

“Define it. Discover it. Live it. That’s the curated life.”

Visit www.ssilife.com.ph or follow @ssilifeph on Instagram for information.

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