3348. Hug Me Bear (Baby Bench)

Beginning in 1987 with a small store selling men’s t-shirts, Bench grew at an unparalleled rate by being the pioneer in the use of celebrity endorsers, television and giant billboards to propel a fashion brand that offers premium quality products at affordable prices.

To date, Bench has grown to include a ladies’ line, underwear, fragrances, housewares, 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.

As it sliced through demographic divisions -- age, gender, socioeconomic status -- a stirring slogan, “Bench is forever”, became the company’s abiding creed.

Bench - the registered trademark of Suyen Corporation - is the contraction of the name of marketing maverick Ben Chan, and is his lifework, his ongoing dream and his motivation.

As Chairman and Executive Creative Director, Chan, with Virgilio and Nenita Lim, nurtured Bench to become the Philippines' most successful crossover in the fashion and lifestyle industry. Bench was the first in the Philippines to grasp a global phenomenal trend: the reinvention of the world's most innovative fashion labels from "not just fashion but an entire lifestyle." Because of this, it is credited for almost single-handedly spawning an entire industry of its own in the country, whereby the company's firsts were also firsts for the industry as a whole.

The natural progression of Suyen Corporation remains faithful to its core sensitivity to global trend: it is now spearheading a two-pronged expansion of bringing in top global fashion and lifestyle brands to the Philippines, while maintaining a relentless momentum in bringing out the Bench brand overseas, with concentrated efforts in mainland China. The much-applauded opening of the Bench_body boutique in Shanghai in 2002, as well as the launch of the 3,000sq.m. Superbench, marked a new age for the Philippines' most esteemed fashion company, as it has matured into atrue global brand that holds its own in the vastest market in the world.