Bench Success Story

In 1987, with a small store selling men’s t-shirts, Bench has grown to include a
ladies’ line, underwear, fragrances, house wares, snacks, and a wide array of other
lifestyle products, with the distinction of being present in virtually every retail space in
the Philippines, and with a worldwide network of stores and outlets, reaching as far as
the United States, the Middle East, and China. There are a total of 678 stores
nationwide. Spreading out its wings has been continuous owning to the viable franchise
partners they choose, people who really understand business and are knowledgeable
about the same industry.

Ben Chan is the man behind the Bench brand, founder of what is now the
Philippines’ largest clothing chain, under Suyen Corporation. His style is world class
fashion and his work ethics impeccable, after learning the definition of “hardworking”
from his Chinese forebears. Because of his vision and aggressive but strategic moves,
he has expanded the Philippine clothing chain into international markets. Bench is in Al
Khobar, Saudi Arabia; Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xian, China; Kuwait; Bahrain; and
Los Angeles, California. Chan’s philosophy goes far beyond getting inspired, one has to
turn inspiration into something commercially viable. He identifies three cornerstones of
his success: creativity, adaptability, and timing.
On creativity, Chan explains, Bench became successful because we took
unusual creative risks in the way we marketed and presented the brand. It gave off a
creative vibe from the start. Our packaging, our stores, our advertising, were all
considered maverick at that time. People liked it because they could see that we made
the effort to do things creatively, even artistically. Our first TV commercial was really
cinematic and was beautifully executed, it won so many awards and is now considered
an iconic classic in the advertising world. To boost Bench’s growth, it pioneered in the
use of celebrity endorsers, television and giant billboards to create awareness for a
fashion brand that offers premium quality products at affordable prices.

On adaptability, Chan notes, ‘In the last 15 years we have seen an enormous
change in the retail industry because of a combination of several factors, mainly, the
rise of the manufacturing industry in China, the preponderance of information
technology, and globalization. We had to adapt to all these massive changes quickly
and decisively, with no turning back. Had we decided to cling on to the old ways of
doing things, we probably would not have made it this far. Everything is global now,
everything is instant and instantaneous. We are working at a completely different pace
and speed than we did 15 years ago.’
Finally, on timing: ‘In fashion, timing is everything. You can’t be too soon or too
late. The right idea can end up a complete failure if you put it out at the wrong time. The
art of perfect timing is the biggest lesson I have learnt, and it is still a work in progress.
You have to go with your intuition, be fearless, and be brave.’
In the long run, Chan sees no signs of slowing down. He is always eyeing for one
thing ‘To keep growing, to keep adapting. The company must not merely survive, it must
thrive. We have to stay fresh and keep refreshing. In order to do that we need to be on
the leading edge of the global lifestyle. We need to keep maintaining and updating our
vision of what that global lifestyle is, which is continuously being shaped and reshaped
by technology, world culture, individuality. The core of the company now is how to cater
to that global customer whose tastes and preferences are constantly evolving and
improving with every Instagram post, every trip overseas, and every new purchase.’

references:
https://lucire.com/2018/1018fe0.shtml