Bench

Bench is a Philippine clothing and lifestyle brand established in 1987 by Ben Chan and owned by Suyen Corporation. The brand began with a small retail outlet inside an SM Department Store, now known as SM Store, selling men's T-shirts. From that focused beginning, Bench developed into a broader lifestyle business covering apparel, personal accessories, fragrances, and selected non-fashion products. A significant early turning point came in 1991, when Bench released a television commercial featuring Filipino actor Richard Gomez. The advertisement helped establish the brand's celebrity-endorsement model and contributed to a more image-driven approach to marketing Philippine fashion brands. The commercial, known as “Sculler,” depicted Gomez rowing a boat and received a cinematography award at the 12th Advertising Congress's Araw Awards. Bench subsequently became associated with prominent endorsers from the Philippines and abroad. The brand expanded beyond its original men's T-shirt positioning by adding women's clothing, underwear, sportswear, footwear, bags, accessories, and fragrances. Its portfolio also came to include housewares, snacks, and other lifestyle offerings, making Bench broader than a conventional apparel label. The brand's merchandising model combines accessible fashion basics with branded personal and lifestyle products, while its communications emphasize popular culture, celebrity visibility, and contemporary Filipino identity. Bench has also pursued international expansion. Reference material identifies operations or market presence in the United States, the Middle East, China, Myanmar, and Singapore, in addition to its Philippine base. The available material does not specify the dates, store counts, legal structures, or current scale of these overseas activities. The brand has supported fashion-related initiatives as well as retail development. The first Bench Design Awards, a competition for young designers, was held in 2017. In January 2018, the first Bench Cafe opened, extending the brand into a physical food-and-beverage environment associated with its lifestyle identity. Bench's marketing later made use of Korean celebrities during the COVID-19 pandemic period, reflecting the local popularity of Korean dramas and K-pop. Publicly available reference material does not provide sufficient information to identify current executives, detailed financial performance, or the precise present-day size of the business.

Bench was established in the Philippines in 1987 by Ben Chan. Its first outlet was a small shop within an SM Department Store, now known as SM Store, and initially concentrated on men's T-shirts. The brand's early format was therefore narrower than its later identity: it began as a focused menswear label and gradually added categories and lifestyle products. In 1991, Bench made celebrity endorsement a central part of its marketing approach by releasing a television commercial featuring Filipino actor Richard Gomez. The advertisement, titled “Sculler,” showed Gomez rowing a boat and won an award for best cinematography at the 12th Advertising Congress's Araw Awards. The campaign helped set a recognizable promotional pattern for Bench, in which the brand used well-known entertainers and public figures to associate its products with contemporary style and popular culture. By the mid-1990s, Bench had begun looking beyond Filipino endorsers. In 1995, it engaged a Chinese-American VJ associated with Channel V, marking an early use of an international figure in its endorsement strategy. Over time, the company expanded its product range to include women's apparel, underwear, fragrances, sportswear, footwear, bags, accessories, housewares, snacks, and other lifestyle products. This diversification transformed Bench from a men's T-shirt retailer into a multi-category brand. Bench also expanded outside the Philippines. The reference material identifies the United States, the Middle East, China, Myanmar, and Singapore among its overseas territories or markets. It does not provide enough detail to establish the chronology, number of outlets, or operating arrangements for each location. The brand later became involved in talent and design development. In 2017, Bench held its first Bench Design Awards, a competition for young designers. In January 2018, it opened its first Bench Cafe, extending the brand's lifestyle concept beyond apparel retail. During the COVID-19 pandemic period, Bench used Korean celebrities in its marketing, drawing on the strong local audience for Korean dramas and K-pop. The available reference material does not document later ownership changes, financial results, a complete executive roster, or a detailed current store network.

• 2018

  First Bench Cafe opens

  [1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  The first Bench Cafe opens in January as an extension of the brand's lifestyle platform.

• 2017

  First Bench Design Awards

  [1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Bench holds its inaugural fashion design competition for young designers.

• 1995

  Bench begins using an international endorser

  [1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  The brand begins engaging international figures for endorsements, including a Chinese-American Channel V VJ.

• 1991

  Richard Gomez appears in Bench's first television commercial

  [1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Bench releases the “Sculler” commercial featuring Richard Gomez, helping define its celebrity-endorsement model.

• 1987

  Bench is established

  [1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Ben Chan establishes Bench in the Philippines, initially selling men's T-shirts from a small outlet in an SM Department Store.

An accessible Philippine fashion and lifestyle brand built around casual apparel, personal products, and celebrity-led cultural relevance.

• Apparel · 1987

  Bench casualwear

  Bench's original and continuing apparel proposition is casual clothing. The brand began with men's T-shirts and later broadened its clothing offer to include men's and women's casualwear. The available material does not identify specific garment collections or product specifications.

• Apparel

  Bench underwear

  Underwear became one of Bench's established product categories as the company expanded beyond its initial men's T-shirt business. No detailed product architecture, materials, or named sub-lines are specified in the reference material.

• Apparel

  Bench sportswear

  Bench offers sportswear as part of its broader clothing portfolio. The category complements the brand's casual positioning, although the available source does not distinguish particular sports disciplines, technical features, or collections.

• Beauty and personal care

  Bench fragrances

  Fragrances extend Bench into personal-care and lifestyle products. They form part of the brand's diversification beyond clothing, but the source does not provide individual fragrance names, launch dates, or formulation details.

• Accessories

  Bench accessories and footwear

  The brand's accessories portfolio includes bags, footwear, and other fashion accessories. These categories allow Bench to offer coordinated lifestyle merchandise alongside apparel, though specific lines and product launch dates are not documented in the supplied material.

• Food and beverage retail · 2018

  Bench Cafe

  Bench Cafe is a cafe format connected to the Bench lifestyle brand. The first location opened in January 2018, representing an expansion from fashion and merchandise into a branded physical food-and-beverage experience.

• 1995International celebrity endorsement program

  Philippines

  Bench began using international figures in its endorsement strategy, including a Chinese-American VJ associated with Channel V.

  Outcome. The initiative broadened the geographic and cultural range of Bench's marketing, although the supplied source does not report commercial results.

  Source
• 1991Sculler

  Philippines

  Bench's first television commercial featured Filipino actor Richard Gomez rowing a boat. The campaign became an early example of the celebrity-centered advertising approach associated with the brand.

  Outcome. The commercial won best cinematography at the 12th Advertising Congress's Araw Awards.

  Source
• Korean celebrity campaigns

  Philippines

  During the COVID-19 pandemic period, Bench used Korean celebrities in its promotional activity to connect with the popularity of Korean dramas and K-pop.

  Source

• 2018

  Opening of the first Bench CafeProduct launch

  Background

  Bench extended its fashion and lifestyle positioning into a cafe environment.

  Action taken

  The first Bench Cafe opened in January 2018.

  Source

• 2017

  Launch of the Bench Design AwardsStrategy

  Background

  Bench expanded its brand activity into fashion talent development through a competition for young designers.

  Action taken

  The company held the first Bench Design Awards.

  Source

• 2018

  First Bench Cafe opens[1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  The first Bench Cafe opened in January, extending the brand's lifestyle retail presence into a cafe format.

• 2017

  Bench launches first Bench Design Awards[1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Campaign · Other

  Bench held the inaugural Bench Design Awards, a fashion design competition intended to provide a platform for young designers.

• Bench adopts Korean celebrity marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic period[1]Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  During the pandemic period, Bench relied on Korean celebrities in its promotional activity to connect with the popularity of Korean drama and K-pop.

1. 1Bench (Philippine clothing brand)en.wikipedia.org