Ella B.

Dela Cerna
BSA 4

In 1987, Ben Chan started a small t-shirt shop at the SM Department Store in
Makati.AtAtAtAt that time, “the retail landscape was completely different from what it is
today. It was more local, more intimate, less competitive, and everybody pretty much
shopped in the same place. Filipinos in general were conservative and formal in their
fashion sense.” His casual and sporty approach to clothing, which was ahead of its time,
was almost immediately a hit. It would eventually become the beginnings of Bench, the
fashion clothing line, under the family-owned Suyen Corporation. BenBen comes from a
family of serial entrepreneurs. He is the son of Chan Lib and See Ying, who established
Liwayway Marketing Company, which soon became the country’s leading starch supplier
due to its famous flagship product Liwayway Gawgaw (laundry starch). With his world-
class fashion style and hardworking ethic, Bench has become a leading lifestyle and
fashion chain in the Philippines. The t-shirt offerings expanded into a whole lifestyle store,
and into other brands – Human for streetwear, Kashieca for ladies, Dimensione for
furniture, PCX — a cosmetics and beauty shop; as well as Bench Skin Expert, Bench Fix
Salon, and Bench Barbers. SuyenSuyen Corporation is also the local distributor of global
fashion brands like Cotton On from Australia, Vero Moda from Denmark, Under Armour,
Aldo, and Cath Kidston; as well as fragrance and cosmetics lines like Jo Malone, Bobbi
Brown, Kiehl’s, and Estee Lauder. ByBy 2007, Bench was on its way to global retailing,
with established stores in Los Angeles, Riyadh, Bahrain, Guangzhou, Xian, and Dubai.
China remains its primary focus with more than 27 company stores and 19 franchises.

1. How did Ben Chan make a difference in clothing/apparel through Bench?

Ben Chan introduced many clothing/apparel design that are highly fashion able and yet
very affordable. Also Bench use different artists that are very known today to endorse
their product as a result, many clothing chain today changed the way of advertising their
products. Every time Bench has new product it became trendy not only to our country but
also to other parts of the country because they operate not only to our country but also to
other foreign countries like US, China, Saudi Arabia. Today also, different designs of
clothes are out in the market because many clothing store are in the market like
Penshoppe, Tribal etc. . Also Bench’s product is not only just for men but also their
products are also for ladies
2. What makes Bench click?
Bench produce different clothing/apparel designs that are highly fashionable and at the
same time very affordable. Bench also uses a high quality material in their products. Also
Bench increased their market coverage in different countries around the globe. They also
use different models especially artists to make their product known to the customers.
Bench used different technological and social media like YouTube, Facebook, and other
different websites to advertise their products. So far, Bench has a good reputation, there
are no legal issues about them. Lastly, their products are not just for men but also for
women, they are not also just selling clothes, but also they sell bag, perfumes, etc.
3. In your own analysis, how has Ben Chan scanned the environment where Bench
operates?
Bench chooses countries that have a few competitors, unlike with the other countries that
have many clothing stores. Also they assess the demand for the clothing in that country
like the United States we all know that people there are very fashionable, thus it is very
good to invest in that country . They also consider the present economic status of that
country; they assess the capacity of the customers to buy their products. They consider
also the taxation policies; the government’s and rules regulation as we all know, these
countries paid low taxes for example Saudi Arabia. They also assess the number of their
customers and the price sensitivity.