Bench (Philippine clothing brand)

Bench (stylized as bench/ or BENCH/) is a Philippine clothing and lifestyle brand owned by Suyen Corporation. They sell a range of clothing including casualwear, underwear, and sportswear, as well as bags, accessories, footwear, and fragrances.

History

Bench was established in 1987 by Ben Chan. Its first outlet was a small store selling men's T-shirts[1] in an outlet of the SM Department Store (now SM Store).[2] In 1991, Bench released its first television commercial featuring Filipino actor Richard Gomez as its endorser which set a standard on how the brand is promoted by its celebrity endorsers.[2]

The company has since grown to include a ladies' line, underwear, fragrances, housewares, snacks and other lifestyle products. Bench has expanded to overseas territories, including the United States, Middle East, China, Myanmar, and Singapore.[1]

In 2017, the first Bench Design Awards, a fashion design competition for young designers, was held.[3]

The first Bench Cafe, named after the clothing line, opened in January 2018.[4]

Marketing

Bench is known for utilizing celebrity endorsements acquiring the services of Filipino and international figures to promote the clothing brand.[5] In 1991, Bench released the television commercial Sculler which featured Richard Gomez rowing a boat which won best cinematography at the 12th Advertising Congress at the Araw Awards.[6][7] In 1995, Bench began referring to international figures for endorsement with Chinese-American VJ for Channel V.[8] In the COVID-19 pandemic period, Bench relied on Korean celebrities to take advantage of the popularity of Korean drama and K-pop.[5]

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