brief biography ben chan

Ben Chan (Jeopardy) Biography

Ben Chan is certainly heating the stage of Jeopardy as he has emerged as a true master of knowledge. The Hong Kong descent personality is a New York resident after emigrating from the descent place. He has been in the limelight since he made $16,001 on the first day of his Jeopardy on 12th April 2023.

The best part of the day was he got to talk about his past experiences with his long-friend Aaron Rodgers, who temporarily handled the show’s hosting. He has already gathered $252,600 from his nine-day win streak back in 2023. Ben will now appear in the grand final of the Tournament of Champions tonight against Troy Meyer and Yogesh Raut .

Ben Chan Biography & Wikipedia

Ben Chan was brought up in New York, and his parents emigrated from Hong Kong and Guangdong in the late 1960s. His parents met in New York City and started a restaurant business together, and since then, have settled in New York.

Talking about Ben Chan’s educational details, he is a graduate student with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He had his higher education- a Ph.D. from the University of California-Los Angeles. He later received his postdoc in the Department of Bioethics of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Ben has been working as a philosophy professor for nearly ten years. He has worked as a philosophy professor at St. Norbert College in De Pere since 2013.

Jeopardy Journey

Ben Chan, who is the latest Jeopardy Champion, got to have gossip for fans on the stage of Jeopardy (the very first day). He said he was once head-to-head with Aaron Rodgers (the Green Bay Packers quarterback) while playing a game of pub trivia. Another connection between Ben Chan and Aaron is that both had a relationship with Wisconsin, revealed on Wednesday.

After the one-day champ told the story about his life, he said, “I’m happy to say that I beat Aaron Rodgers at pub trivia.” Ben stood against Kat Jepson, an artist from Virginia Beach, who was already a one-day champ with a winning of $20,399. The other competitor was Laura Caton, a nonprofit arts administrator from Pittsburgh.

Earlier, Kat Jepson was the leading personality with a one-day championship, winning nearly $20,399. Before having the first commercial break, Ben won $5,600, leaving behind the others with $1,000 and $800, respectively. Later, Ben bet $7,000, which also stunned Ken Jennings (the recent host and the winner of 74 games on Jeopardy).

After seeing Ben wagering nearly $7,000 for the next round, Ken was amazed and said “That’s a lot of money.” Ben’s winning streak came to an end after he won a total $252,600 from the jeopardy stage back in 2023. 

Tournament of Champions

Ben won the 1st game of ToC with just a 1$ difference between him and Yogesh Raut. The very next day, Troy Meyer claimed victory in Game 2 after Chan’s narrow win in Game 1. The series is now tied, with both finalists vying for the title and the $250,000 prize, awarded to the first contender to secure three wins out of seven.

The competition remained intense throughout, especially after the initial round where less than $1,000 separated all three participants. However, Meyer and Yogesh Raut surged ahead in the Double Jeopardy! round, each seizing victory with a successful true Daily Double bet.

As they headed into Final Jeopardy!, Meyer led with $46,800, followed by Raut with $20,400, and Chan with $10,400. Although all three correctly answered the Final Jeopardy! question about the Books of the Bible, the final standings remained unchanged. Raut wagered $20,400, Chan opted not to wager anything, but Meyer’s lead was unassailable, as he also chose not to wager any additional amount.

Health Update & his halt on Jeopardy 

Jeopardy stunned the fans when it was announced that the regular three-day game champion, Ben Chan, would now have game delays. The three-day winning champion, Ben Chan, was attacked by an unknown illness. Consequently, he went on to rehab and bowed out in front of the fans detailing the reasons as illness.

Also, there were no returning champions for the show on 17th April 2023 (Monday). He was the three-game winning champion with a total winning amount of $69,001. It was announced that he would probably resume his 4th game on Monday, 15th May 2023, as reported by Fox Affiliate WLUK.

Ben resumes the game from where he left off on the 15th May episode where he managed to put a full stop on 8-day winner Hannah Wilson’s reign. At this moment, Ben is creating a lot of buzz around social media because he has faced fan favorite Hannah which some fans find unfair to her.

Personal Life

Ben (recently known to reside in Green Bay, Wisconsin) did not give any information regarding his family in the media. There needs to be more detail on his wife, children, siblings, and others.

Social Media

He is only available on the social media platform. However, we could gather his details on Twitter by the handle name – Ben Chan [@ JeopardyBenBen ], describing himself as a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Seeing his Twitter profile, it is noted that he joined social media back in March 2023. Since then, he has had 152 followers and a pinned post of date – 29th March 2023 announcing that he would soon be available on Jeopardy [on the upcoming date – 12th April 2023].

Ben Chan Net Worth

Ben Chan, who has been enjoying his professor designation since 2013, is undoubtedly earning well because of his hard work and dedication. Ben earns mostly from the salary and incentives he receives from this profession. Apart from this, he gathered $25 2,600 from the prestigious stage of Jeopardy with a nine-game winning streak. Currently, he is playing in the finals of the Tournament of Champions so if he wins then he will add a hefty amount of money to his wealth. 

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Who is Jeopardy! champion Ben Chan?

• Jude Ephson , SEO Reporter
• Published : 10:13 ET, Mar 16 2024
• Updated : 14:01 ET, Mar 18 2024

BEN Chan had a consistent winning streak in 2023 until he fell ill.

When he returned, he made a surprise comeback and is now a frontrunner in the Tournament of Champions in 2024.

Who is Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions' Ben Chan?

Born in Green Bay, Wisconsin , Ben Chan currently works as a professor of philosophy.

He reportedly graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and later earned a Ph.D from the University of California - Los Angeles .

Subsequently, he received his postdoc in the Department of Bioethics of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland .

He has been working as a philosophy professor at St. Norbert College since 2013.

More about jeopardy!

Jeopardy!'s Yogesh Raut wins big after 'brutal' Tournament of Champions game

Jeopardy! fan-favorite beats frontrunner by just $1 in 'insane' comeback

How much has he won on the game show.

The Wisconsin-native Wisconsin, amassed nine wins, $252,200 last season.

Ben won  all nine of his games  in a runaway fashion and is the first contestant ever to do so.

He had a lot to prove since he had a difficult journey during his initial run in May 2023.

Ben  fell ill from Covid  and abruptly exited after his third runaway win- his return led to one of the most climatic matches of Season 39, against Hannah Wilson.

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When Ben returned, he was  pitted against 8-day champ Hannah in a "co-returning champions" scenario  that unfortunately led to Hannah's loss and Ben winning with a massive $60,000.

Hannah later admitted on Reddit: "I couldn't ask for a better opponent to get utterly thrashed by!"

In 2024, Ben pulled off a tremendous comeback in ToC finals game four to beat frontrunner Troy Meyer by just $1.

In the  Jeopardy!  round, Ben nabbed his first Daily Double of the entire finals and was beaming during what felt like a good omen.

But by the end of the round, Troy once again led with $8,000, Yogesh had $6,400, and a shaky Ben trailed with $1,800.

In Double Jeopardy!, Ben found the second Daily Double, going all-in on it "Juveria-style" to have $10,000 as the crowd roared.

Troy eyed lower-level clues, which paid off as he found the last Daily Double there, also going all-in to have a commanding $28,000.

Going into a Final Jeopardy! it was a very interesting wagering scenario. Troy led with $33,200, Yogesh had $20,400, and Ben had $12,800.

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Is Ben Chan married?

As of the time of writing, Ben Chan's relationship status is currently unknown.

Furthermore, it is currently unclear whether he has any kids or not.

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This Wisconsinite is a finalist for the Jeopardy! 2024 Tournament of Champions

Who is St. Norbert college assistant philosophy professor Ben Chan?

Green Bay’s “ King of the North ,” assistant professor of philosophy Ben Chan won his round in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions quarterfinals and semifinals.

Marking his 10th and 11th Jeopardy! wins, Chan is a finalist in this year’s Tournament of Champions. The entire 2024 Tournament of Champions was filmed over four days in February. 

Chan joined WPR’s “ The Morning Show ” the day his quarterfinal game aired. He shared wisdom gained during his Jeopardy! career and provided a look behind the scenes of a Jeopardy! taping. 

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The following interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

Kate Archer Kent: Green Bay fans have started an online petition that would commission a mural of your face along with the words “King of the North.” How do you feel about this outpouring of support?

Ben Chan: I think it’s great. Last year I wasn’t sure if anybody (would) care. It was important to me to represent our area well, so it was one of the things that I was preoccupied with — ‘Is anybody going to notice?’

It was really heartwarming to see that people noticed and that they were proud. So that’s great.

KAK: Jeopardy! fans on social media say you were robbed of that 10th win when you wrote “Benedict” from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing instead of “Benedick” in Final Jeopardy. What do you think about the show’s rules on spelling?

BC: I talked to some people on the show afterwards. It was what we would call an “edge case.” 

There’s pretty clear rules about spelling. There’s pretty clear rules about sources. That case just happened to touch a boundary (of) three different ways that the rules intersect. It didn’t align with the canonical spelling, but it also was a misspelling, (which) kind of changes pronunciation. And then there’s a question of sources. Shakespeare is complicated to source. That threw an extra layer of complexity on it. So it just turned out to be a tough case to adjudicate.

KAK: And in the scheme of the show, in Final Jeopardy, your answer has to happen within seconds, and then the host is saying the outcome. So it’s not like in sports where the officials go to the sidelines and review the tape.

BC: Yeah, there is a little editing in the show. So there’s sometimes what we call “stop downs” that happen behind the scenes. But even then, there’s only so much you can find out in 10 or 20 minutes. That would probably be the longest they take. 

You know, I’m a huge sports fan. Sports (actually) helped me realize that we’re not exactly doing scholarship on the show. It is a game. In sports, sometimes rulings have to be made that are maybe not platonically perfect rulings, but they have to be ruled that way because otherwise it would open up a can of worms for the game moving forward.

KAK: This year’s Tournament of Champions was delayed by last year’s Writers Guild of America strike. Guild members write clues for the show. Did that extra wait time give you any type of edge, or perhaps even a disadvantage, over other competitors?

BC: I think it gave everybody more prep time, which I think maybe closed the gap between the top game winners and the not top game winners. So I think it made for a better competition.

KAK: Do you watch yourself on Jeopardy!?

BC: Yeah, that’s actually the biggest surprise. I had dreaded that part of it, because, you know, a lot of people don’t like their voice. I thought I would not like my voice or my face if I saw myself on TV. But the watch parties were actually probably the most fun I had. You really do it for your family and-or your community, because that’s what brought you there. So that really completes the experience. 

KAK: Jeopardy! fans say that you clutch the buzzer close to your chest. Is that posture on purpose? 

BC: It is on purpose. You know, there’s a lot of talk, (about) how to prepare for Jeopardy!, and one of the big things is buzzer anxiety. I liked (holding it close) because I knew where the buzzer was and I didn’t have to think about it. There are other preferred stances (such as) holding it down by your waist. When I tried that, I lost track of where it was. When I kept up close, I knew it was there, and I didn’t have to think about it again.

KAK: Did you make your own flashcards for preparing?

BC: I did. They’re all made by apps through your phone, which is handy. Instead of having a deck where you’re cycling through them, the flashcard apps will keep track of when you’ve seen them and when you need to see them again.

I think in general performance has gotten better on the show, and it’s probably 50 percent due to the fact that we have these flashcard apps that make this kind of learning more effective. 

KAK: What is your approach to staying collected in such a stressful environment? How do you keep it together?

BC: Actually, once the game begins, it’s very freeing. There’s a psychiatrist who’s in the tournament who mentioned that for a lot of people with anxiety, Jeopardy! is great because it’s actually not a lot of thinking. There’s not enough time to think. You do all the thinking beforehand, and then once they start firing clues at you, you’re just saying things. You’re not thinking.

KAK: You’ve talked about how you want to play with joy. What does that mean, for Ben Chan to play with joy? BC: That’s a good question. It’s a bit of letting go of thinking. Once you’re there, you really let something else take over, because you’ve done everything that you can. So once you give up that sense of control, that’s probably what allows you to experience joy, whatever you’re doing.

KAK: Is there any philosophical wisdom that can be applied to the game on Jeopardy! itself?

BC: I’ve been in the middle of writing a (book) chapter for a friend who’s putting together an anthology on some related stuff in philosophy. And actually, the best thing is that the Tournament of Champions has given me an excuse to go past the original deadline. I told him “Wow, if we wait till the Tournament of Champions is over, I can incorporate all of the wisdom from the Tournament!” So that’s been nice.

KAK: What is your advice for preparing to compete on Jeopardy!? 

BC: I think Ken Jennings put it well. He borrowed this from another contestant: “The best preparation is a lifetime of paying attention.” 

It’s very hard to get on the show, so I wouldn’t encourage anybody to study specifically for the show, unless they (get invited). 

But other than that, watching the show was enjoyable for a lot of people, including myself, because there’s so much that the show covers in 20 minutes. If there’s one thing that’s most effective in preparing for the show, it’s just watching the show.

KAK: Have you made some new friends from this experience?

BC: Yeah, for sure. It feels less like ‘I found my people’ than ‘I wandered into a group of really random and cool people. Weird random weirdos.’ But I think maybe that is “my people” — a random assortment of people with really interesting lives who happen to also be good at this fun game show.

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

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Founder, CEO, BENCH, Suyen Corporation

The cultural advocate and brand purveyor redefines the country’s retail landscape

Since its launch in 1987, Bench has become the most enduring Filipino brand to enter the market. Its founder, Ben Chan, has successfully extended the brand’s reach to include stand-alone branches in the Philippines and other countries.

To ensure his brand’s longevity, Chan modernised the marketing and technical aspects of the business. He improved back-end systems, logistics, product quality, and customer experience. He also expanded his product portfolio, which now encompasses a broad range of categories: fashion, skincare, home products and food.

Chan resumed his other projects after the pandemic. In January 2023, the third Ternocon, a convention and competition focused on the terno, the Philippine national dress, gathered together fashion, arts and culture enthusiasts. Organised with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, it aimed to preserve an integral part of the Filipino heritage through education, exhibition and public awareness.

Recognised at the Retail Asia Awards 2023 as the Apparel Retailer of the Year in the Philippines, Bench continues to make its mark in the industry. “I’ve always adhered to the words of the writer Jonathan Swift, ‘Vision is the art of seeing the invisible’,” Chan said. “Make your plans into action, work hard and always see the big picture. And in these times, learn to adapt.”

"E-commerce provides an equal platform of opportunity for the industry, whether for a small home-based enterprise or an international brand. However, this has also made the platform highly competitive.”

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World Entrepreneur Award (Ernst & Young)

Did You Know?

Chan made hand sanitisers a thing for Filipinos way before the pandemic. His signature Bench Alcogel was launched in 1998 as gel-form of rubbing alcohol, which Filipinos were already toting around, but made trendier. This paved the way for the development of Bench Laboratory and an entire expansion into personal care products.

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‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Ben Chan Shares Heartfelt Anecdote About How He Holds Buzzer

This… Is… Jeopardy!

For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our jeopardy newsletter :.

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the May 18 episode of Jeopardy! ]

Here’s another reason to be a fan of current Jeopardy! champion Ben Chan: what the watch you can see on display when he rings in to answer means to him.

During the interviews for his seventh game — which the philosophy professor won with $31,000 (bringing his total to $213,000) to his competitors’ $4601 (John Groves, a legislative technical specialist) and $4401 (Kristen Beck, a physician) — Ben shared a fun fact about a treasured possession he had on him, his watch. “I inherited it from my father. I actually didn’t know that much about it, but about a month after I inherited it, I was watching Antiques Roadshow , which I’ve watched for 20 years, and for the first time ever, an item that I own showed up and was appraised,” he said. Comedian Ronnie Chieng had also gotten the same watch from his father. (You can watch that in part below.) “It was really nice to see,” Ben said.

After someone shared the video from Antiques Roadshow on Reddit, Ben chimed in.  “Yes, that’s it. It also came from Hong Kong (as a gift to my father from my mom’s family),” he wrote. “A note about my dad: he was the hardest working person I’ve ever known (and possibly the hardest working person I’ve heard of). He opened a takeout restaurant in upper Manhattan in the early 70’s — a one-man operation — and literally worked 365 days a year, 12 hours a day, for something like 5 years. *Five years without a day off.*”

And if you’ve noticed the way that Ben holds the buzzer, that means something special to the now seven-day champion. “I liked that the hugging buzzer stance meant a bit of my dad was on display all the time,” Ben wrote on Reddit. He also thanked his mother-in-law for telling him to wear the watch “because ‘every day is a special occasion,’” his reasoning for wearing it on his wedding day and keeping it in a safe deposit box otherwise.

'Jeopardy!': Why Ken Jennings & James Holzhauer Is TV's Best Bromance

Ben also added that his mother told him to wear it because “it’s not so special. Everyone in Hong Kong has one.”

What is special, however: how well Ben is doing on  Jeopardy! right now.

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St. Norbert College professor Ben Chan takes second in 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions

by Brady Meyer & Mallory Allen, FOX 11 News

(WLUK) -- After six hard fought games, a winner was crowned Tuesday in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions finals .

Unfortunately, Green Bay native Ben Chan did not pull off a win, making him the second place finisher. But his run on the game show won't be forgotten any time soon .

Even after a defeat at the hands of new Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Yogesh Raut, Chan and his supporters are keeping their heads held high.

“We really appreciate what he's done, I think, for the spirit of the whole city and area," one supporter said.

"He's turned out to be a wonderful friend to us, so we really have enjoyed watching him and I think he's phenomenal," another person said. "I wish I could take his class.”

“I lost to a stronger player and that's very easy to cope with right," Chan said. "I did my best. I was just one clue short, which is kind of amazing.”

Though the St. Norbert College philosophy professor couldn’t quite pull out the victory, a second place finish out of a field of 27 former Jeopardy! champions is something he’ll always remember. Chan did outlast all but Raut and third-place finisher Troy Meyer, who had one win in the finals .

“Made me appreciate how hard it was really," Chan said. "And just so grateful to have had that experience to play six times with two awesome people, and now back to the real world.”

To those who were there with Chan, it certainly will count as a successful return to the Alex Trebek Stage. This run, along with the his nine game streak last year, are making Green Bay proud.

“It's more than just the Packers now," one person said.

Chan says watching the games with his friends and family has put the entire Jeopardy! experience into perspective.

“So much support from the community," Chan said. "More than any other Jeopardy! contestant, I think ever. Everything I have in my life is from my family, from my school and from the community that I live in. So just like a great thing to be able to celebrate and be able to show my gratitude through a fun game show.”

And while he left it all out on the table, he’d welcome another shot to return in the future.

• RELATED: Ben Chan says Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is like an intellectual knife fight

“I think I showed everything I had to show right now," Chan said. "In another year or another six months, I'll probably have more to show and if they give me the call, I'd be excited for that opportunity.”

Between the pictures, high fives and hugs, it appears Northeast Wisconsin would welcome it too.

"Thank you, thank you FOX 11, thank you Green Bay," Chan said. "It's been so much fun."

For his second place finish, Chan earned $100,000 .

Chan earned local celebrity status when he won more than $250,000 during his nearly double-digit win streak on "Jeopardy!" last spring. He threw out the first pitch at a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball game and is set to do the same thing at the April 27 Milwaukee Brewers game.

The state Assembly even honored his "Jeopardy!" success last month with a joint resolution adopted unanimously.

Chan has been praised for his dedication to giving back to his community, using his "Jeopardy!" winnings to support local organizations focused on mental health, addiction counseling and public park initiatives.

Tune in to Good Day Wisconsin at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday to watch a live interview with Chan.

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St. Norbert College professor Ben Chan cruises to his third victory on 'Jeopardy!' and tops $69,000 in winnings

Two shows in and we already get the feeling reigning "Jeopardy!" champ Ben Chan could be sticking around (#nojinx).

We'll be following along with the St. Norbert College philosophy professor by doing daily recaps of his episodes. That is, if we can keep up with him. So far, he's been running away with it.

Who is this "Jeopardy!" ace? Chan has been at St. Norbert College in De Pere for 10 years, a fan of the quiz show his whole life and was inspired to audition after losing a close friend.

Night 3: It's officially a winning streak; he'll be back next week

His opponents: A cardiologist from San Diego and a grant strategy consultant from Cleveland Heights, Ohio

How he did: Even with only one Daily Double instead of his usual three, Chan once again quickly jumped out front early and kept his fellow contestants chasing him all show. The man knows his gods and goddesses, burning through four of the five clues in the "Deity Add a Letter" category during the Double Jeopardy round to clear the $20,000 mark. He was up by more than $12,000 on the cardiologist, who was in second place, for Final Jeopardy. Both men answered it correctly, but Chan's lead was too much to surpass.

Sample question answered: From the "Potent Potable Rhyme Time" category: "Whiskey made in the middle of downtown Lexington or Louisville." Answer: "Urban bourbon."

What we learned about him: His Cantonese language skills turned out to be rustier than he knew when he ordered what he thought were two egg tarts in Chinatown while visiting San Francisco. Turns out, he accidentally ordered two dozen.

Winnings from the night: $23,000

Total winnings so far: $69,001

Night 2: Once again, he found all three Daily Doubles

His opponents: A stay-at-home mom from Metuchen, New Jersey, and a settlement consultant from Windham, New Hampshire.

How he did: Just like on his first show, he again found all three Daily Doubles on Thursday. He answered all three correctly, but it was going all in with a $3,400 wager on the first one that jumpstarted the sizable lead he kept throughout the entire show. By the time Final Jeopardy rolled around, he was more than $20,000 ahead of both of his opponents.

Sample question answered: "This 4-letter abbreviation of a Roman slogan is the title of Mary Beard's bestselling history of ancient Rome." Answer: "SPQR." (Short for “Senatus PopulusQue Romanus," but you already knew that, right?)

What we learned about him: Viewers back in Green Bay may have been hoping for more details about his pub trivia playing days against Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers that came up on Wednesday, like which pub and who else was on No. 12's team. Instead, we found out he has two rescue dogs, Chester and Ruthie.

Winnings from the night: $30,000

Total winnings so far: $46,001

Night 1: Aaron Rodgers comes up in the contestant chat

For our recap of Chan's "Jeopardy!" debut on Wednesday, click here .

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Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert . 

Ben Chan defies the pandemic

Resolved not to cancel everything, the retail pioneer launches the first ever digital show for bench.

Photos courtesy of Karen Jardenil

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only.

That's according to  Coco   Chanel . "Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening," she explained. "Fashion is in the sky, in the street." And because of what has been happening since March, fashion is now online.

Over the weekend, anyone and everyone interested in fashion, in style, in what's current, and in what's coming converged online to take part in the first ever digital Bench Fashion Week, compressed in just a little over an hour this year, to showcase holiday 2020 collections for the brands under the Bench group—Human, Kashieca, and Bench, along with this year's guest artist, Tokyo genius  Tomo Koizumi , whose work, after having only been discovered on Instagram early last year, is now being touted as revolutionary, more costume than ready-to-wear, more provocative than inspiring, "bucking up the trends in American fashion," according to  Vogue .

Bench Fashion Week on the screen of your phone, tablet, or laptop proved no less special than Bench Fashion Week in the flesh at the Bench Tower. In fact, it proved more special with everybody as close as everybody else to everything unfolding on the stage, as well as to all that stars, established and emerging, ever-blazing and just rising, who would as a matter of course grace both the stage and the bleachers.

No more jostling for good seats this time. Online we were all front and center at the show, with as good a view of, say,  Ben Chan , the man behind Bench—and its stellar history in elevating local, casual fashion to the realm of dazzling possibilities—as everybody else.

From the moment Ben decided to launch Bench just 33 years ago, he had resolved to bring forth not only a clothing brand but a lifestyle of dreams and self-expression. And just as dramatic as the perfume ad, more like a short film with  Richard Gomez  in the title role, he launched in those early years, which caught the imagination of the anybody who saw it, was his foray into the digital age, into which the current crisis forced us lock, stock, and barrel, but not exactly against our will for, after all, we have known for a while that this age is forthcoming and that digital is the new frontier.

Besides, for Ben and his team of carefully selected creatives, the screen is nothing new. They have long mastered the medium, particularly of film that ignites dreams. And thus the success of the first ever digital show for Bench, hosted by style arbiter and  Philippine Tatler  editor  Anton San Diego  and Miss World 2019  Michelle Dee .

We are presenting short fashion films, not your usual runway videos, because we always want to show you something fresh. Now, we bring you a new way of watching our collection. — Ben Chan

As always, the show was in a word a youthquake, featuring only the freshest faces or the most promising among the latest crop of idols in music, movies, theater, or modeling. Ben has a sixth sense for talents who eventually become larger than life and turning into figures of pop culture, so his shows aren't only a showcase of trends but also an introduction to the names and faces that dominate—or will dominate—industries engaged in catching public fancy.

Last weekend's digital premiere was no different. First to unveil its holiday 2020 offerings was Human, with its edgy, experimental, androgynous pieces, both playful or rebellious, artsy and angsty, underground and mainstream, male and female, all the complexities and fun of youth expressed in shirt prints, hoodies and bomber jackets, and sneakers.

Headlining holiday 2020 for Kashieca was Bea Alonzo, whose transition from teen sensation to A-list leading lady you could measure in the way her personal chic has evolved. The easy fit collection, in luxe fabrics like silk and knits or a combination thereof, like velvet trimmed with ruffles, like houndstooth layered on abstract prints, and in cuts that displayed her best features, such as her rounded, delicate shoulders, brought out the inner goddess in Bea as well as dreams the viewers could dare to dream of classic romance, self-possession, and la dolce vita .

Meanwhile, Tomo Koizumi, who is currently busy crafting a capsule collection for Pucci, presented his own interpretation of the Philippines terno with his frilly, frothy, fanciful signature. His participation in the Bench Fashion Week Holiday 2020 as a surprise artist is a strong statement of Ben's resolve not only to promote the Philippine brand among the Filipinos but also to establish its place on the world stage.

As for the flagship brand Bench, the virtual show, as always, as in every Bench Fashion Week twice a year pre-pandemic, was a riot of breakout stars with Maine Mendoza , Gabbi Garcia , Ruru Madrid , Paul Zamora , Jack Manere , and more rocking the virtual stage in a mashup of streetwear and preppy.

Baseball jackets, plaid skirts, denim coats found a new gig in hoodies and joggers, and the classic Bench T-shirt got revamped for the season with new, fresh graphics on a collaboration with Secret Fresh, designed by DJ, sneaker head, toy collector, and cool kid Big Boy Cheng .

More than a runway show, Bench Fashion Week was more of a performance art, replete with fashion films that stirred up fantasies and romantic musings. "Not your usual runway videos, because we always want to show you something fresh," said Ben in his welcome remarks. "Now, we bring you a new way of watching our collection."

There really is nothing like a fashion show in the flesh, but for Ben and others like him here and elsewhere in the world who won’t settle for second best, who won’t be content with such flimsy excuses as a crippling pandemic and a stifling quarantine, only a lack of imagination, even in times as dire as these, can deprive us of the fun and, more important, the hope that fashion brings as an armor, as second skin, as a reflection of our inner resolve.

Only a lack of imagination can deprive us of the power of fashion to put a spring in our step, to make us feel more alive, and to express who we are.

So we carry on.

If I were to put together what I have gathered from the wise words of fashion powerhouses like Coco Chanel and Diana Vreeland and, straight from the horse's mouth, from Ben Chan himself, hope does express itself in clothing. And hope is a very powerful, indispensable thing.

After all, in good times and bad, even at the worst of times, even those times that ultimately involve undressing, we always need something to wear.

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Ben Chan Chairman and CEO, Suyen Corporation: Interview Interview

Philippines | Industry,Retail

Ben Chan, Chairman and CEO, Suyen Corporation: Interview

Interview: ben chan.

How has retail liberalisation altered the domestic landscape, and what role has franchising played in bringing foreign ideas to the market?

BEN CHAN: The results of retail liberalisation have been nothing less than dramatic. The retail landscape of the Philippines is barely recognisable from the way it was just 10 years ago. Whereas many Filipinos used to travel to Hong Kong or Singapore for a global shopping, dining and leisure experience, now we have all of that in Metro Manila.

The most striking feature of this liberalisation is how global it is. The foreign retail market used to be dominated by US brands and a handful of really well-known European ones. Now we have Scandinavian, Japanese, Australian, South American, Canadian, Israeli and other foreign-owned franchises competing side by side in one mall.

Franchising has played a huge role in making this happen. Our company both franchises its own brand, Bench, and acquires foreign ones. This practice has created a dynamic exchange of ideas within our company, something that is replicated in the retail market as a whole. Each franchise comes with its own business model and its own point of view, so when one franchiser or franchisee exchanges business models with another, much growth and learning comes as a result. The consumer benefits from this immensely, as standards are raised, quality is improved, and knowledge is shared and imparted, which in turn fuels growth and more demand for other new ideas and concepts.

How has the proliferation of malls affected retailers? What are the challenges in further extending penetration outside Metro Manila?

CHAN: We are now very motivated to fill those new mall spaces with the most exciting and inspiring retail concepts we can find in the world. The new malls are providing customers with a complete lifestyle experience, where you can spend a whole day there and have all your needs met, from shopping and dining to lounging and entertainment. It is completely aspirational. As a retailer, you have to cater to that desire and take a lifestyle approach to the way you do retail. You have to be very meticulous about the lifestyle message that your store wants to deliver, because if it resonates with the lifestyle to which your target customer aspires, then you will have an increasingly loyal clientele who will keep coming back for more.

Advancing outside of Metro Manila is an organic process that will take more time, since customer habits there are a bit slower to adapt. The malls in the second and third biggest cities, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, will inevitably carry the biggest and most successful brands already found in Metro Manila, and will usually follow the trends set by Manila.

What have been the challenges to building brand loyalty and consciousness in the Philippines?

CHAN: The biggest challenge is that there are no longer any set rules or formulas for establishing brand loyalty and brand consciousness. There used to be a sort of tried and tested technique to creating brand awareness and public relations, but that is now giving way to new methods of promotion thanks to the internet, blogs and social media. Nowadays, a retailer is not just a purveyor of products and services but also a disseminator of information. You have to keep feeding the public with posts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; you need to upload videos on YouTube; you need to be in the news; you need to be on top of celebrity culture. Your customers appreciate it when you send them text messages and emails about the latest offerings in your store. You get instant feedback as well, which keeps retailers on their toes. Because of this flow of information, retailers are now working at a very fast pace. Brand loyalty is an elusive thing given that customers are more responsive than ever to new products.

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Bench boss Ben Chan wins Entrepreneur of the Year Award

He wears the title well.

ANC correspondent Jekki Pascual reports that "clothing mogul Ben Chan won the prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award, besting 11 other finalists who are also top achievers in their own fields."

The report noted: "Chan, who also won in the Master Entrepreneur category, said he believes in the Filipino talent and spirit as shown in the expansion of his stores worldwide. Chan is the chairman of the Board of Suyen Corp., the company behind BENCH. He was recognized for growing Suyen from a small local shop to an international brand with over 1,000 stores across the country and stores in China, the Middle East, the US and Guam." The report also added that "Chan will now represent the country in the World Entrepreneur of the Year awards, which will be held in Monaco next year.."

Other entrepreneurs were also recognized:

• Serenitea president Juliet Herrera was given the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
• Leonarda Capuyan of Baguio’s famous Narda’s Handwoven Arts was honored as Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year.
• Milagros How of Universal Harvester was declared Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.

For more on this story, log on to ABS-CBNNews.com.

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Ben Chan still in it to win it after Game 5 of 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions; thanks local brewery, beloved dive bar

Ben Chan came up short in Game 5 of the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions finals but score one for St. Michael’s Pub and Zambaldi Beer.

The Green Bay champ could have won the whole thing on Monday with a third victory, but instead it was Yogesh Raut with a runaway win to tie Chan in the standings with two games apiece to Troy Meyer’s one as the competition heads into the home stretch.

If Chan or Raut win Game 6 on Tuesday, it’s over. If Meyer comes from behind to knot things up at two wins each for the three finalists, the ToC will go to its seventh and final game on Wednesday to determine the winner of the $250,000 grand prize.

For the third time during the ToC, Chan hosted a watch party at  Zambaldi Beer in Allouez. Even without a win, there was an extra reason to hoist a beer. The brewery got a shout-out on national TV. So did St. Michael’s Pub, the longtime and lovable dive bar also in Allouez, and Jim’s Place in Appleton.

“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings used the contestant interviews in Game 5 to let each player say some thank yous. Chan, an assistant philosophy professor at St. Norbert College in De Pere, thanked “all the places around Green Bay that have generously hosted watch parties for me, from St. Mike's to Zambaldi's to Jim's Place.”

Don’t worry, he made sure to first thank his mom, family and his “extended family” of students and colleagues at St. Norbert, where he has taught since 2013. He also thanked Merv Griffin and the late Alex Trebeck “for creating and growing the show and for everybody who works here for keeping the tradition alive.”

More: He’s ‘Jeopardy!’ champion Ben Chan. She’s an 89-year-old mother of 12. Here's how a postcard made them fast friends

At Zambaldi Beer, there's some serious Ben-ergy at watch parties

It’s not the economic impact of Taylor Swift bringing The Eras Tour to town, but Chan’s watch parties have been a boost to local businesses that host them. Where Chan goes, people follow.

“He brings in a great crowd. Everybody always wants to cheer on the hometown guy,” said David Malcolm, who owns Zambaldi with his wife Abigail. “Ben is such a nice person. He’s so unassuming and kind.”

The couple has known him for years, before he was “Jeopardy!” famous. Whether he brought in a crowd or not for the parties, Malcolm said they would be happy to host, but it has been a nice bonus to fill the place.

There’s a certain Ben-ergy at the parties. Everybody is quiet and listens when the show is on, but when Chan came from behind to win Game 1 by $1, the room went bananas.

“The whole place just exploded. Everybody was yelling and screaming and banging on tables and chanting Ben’s name,” Malcolm said. “It’s just fun to be in that atmosphere of all these people who are so excited.”

The bratwurst moment that got away from Ben Chan in Game 5

There was a funny moment in the first round when Chan took Annual Events for $400 and this answer came up: "Bucyrus, Ohio's festival honoring this German sausage includes a pigtail contest for youngsters." Raut was first with the buzzer and correctly responded with, "What is bratwurst?"

If there was a clue tailormade for someone from Wisconsin who talked in Game 2 about firing the Bratzooka , it was that one.

"Sorry," Raut said, as he looked over at a frustrated Chan.

The scores heading into Final Jeopardy! had Raut with a a sizable lead at $38,800, followed by Meyer at $16,800 and Chan with $9,200.

Chan and Meyer both had the correct response to Final Jeopardy! and wagered $7,601 and $1,601, respectively. Neither could catch Raut, who bet zero.

Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and feature writer at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at 920-431-8347 or [email protected] . Follow her on X @KendraMeinert . 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Ben Chan gives 'Jeopardy!' shout-out to local dive bar in ToC Game 5