Ben Chan
Ben Chan is a Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur. He is the founder of Bench, the Philippines’s largest clothing chain, under the trademark Suyen Corporation.
With his world-class fashion style and work ethic, Chan has expanded the Philippine clothing chain into international markets including China, the land of his forefathers. He is the brother of Liwayway Marketing Corporation founder Carlos Chan.
Chan’s first job was working as a guard to the ticket box office of a drive-in movie house in San Francisco. He stayed there for four years and realized the value of life and money. He decided to move back to Manila after considering his mother’s advice in making a fortune back home. Chan learned the ropes of business through his brother Carlos .
He first started designing accessories for Chan C Brothers before he moved to designing furniture. Soon, Chan’s first business venture, Dimensione, was born. Not long after, his sister, Nenita Lim, prodded him to venture into apparel. His sister first opened a children’s boutique named Suyen at the designer’s display area in Harrison Plaza. Becoming quite a success, Lim got the opportunity to tie up with SM Group and soon opened a concession at SM Makati’s department store. This gave him the idea to design a line of men’s t-shirts and jeans, which eventually became Bench in 1987.
Chan’s borrowed motto from Jonathan Swift, “Vision is the art of seeing the invisible,” helped him perfect his craft. He chose to market t-shirts to be because he wanted the basic white undergarment to become a fashionable outerwear.
Aside from Bench, Chan’s furniture store Dimensione was incorporated under Forte Showroom Corporation in 1996. Chan also owned a personal exchange store, PCX, whose first branch opened doors in 1997. Suyen Corporation opened another clothing brand, Human, in 1999. In the same year, Bench added snacks to their widening range of products. Bench Bytes products included marshmallows, candies, and popcorn.
With his world-class fashion style and work ethic, Chan has expanded the Philippine clothing chain into international markets including China, the land of his forefathers. He is the brother of Liwayway Marketing Corporation founder Carlos Chan.
Chan’s first job was working as a guard to the ticket box office of a drive-in movie house in San Francisco. He stayed there for four years and realized the value of life and money. He decided to move back to Manila after considering his mother’s advice in making a fortune back home. Chan learned the ropes of business through his brother Carlos .
He first started designing accessories for Chan C Brothers before he moved to designing furniture. Soon, Chan’s first business venture, Dimensione, was born. Not long after, his sister, Nenita Lim, prodded him to venture into apparel. His sister first opened a children’s boutique named Suyen at the designer’s display area in Harrison Plaza. Becoming quite a success, Lim got the opportunity to tie up with SM Group and soon opened a concession at SM Makati’s department store. This gave him the idea to design a line of men’s t-shirts and jeans, which eventually became Bench in 1987.
Chan’s borrowed motto from Jonathan Swift, “Vision is the art of seeing the invisible,” helped him perfect his craft. He chose to market t-shirts to be because he wanted the basic white undergarment to become a fashionable outerwear.
Aside from Bench, Chan’s furniture store Dimensione was incorporated under Forte Showroom Corporation in 1996. Chan also owned a personal exchange store, PCX, whose first branch opened doors in 1997. Suyen Corporation opened another clothing brand, Human, in 1999. In the same year, Bench added snacks to their widening range of products. Bench Bytes products included marshmallows, candies, and popcorn.