Ben Chan gets a French accent

Oui, retailing maverick Ben Chan is thinking French and speaking French these days. He is craving more for Laduree macarons than dimsum. He can swiftly order the food he likes from a totally French menu in a Paris restaurant, even uttering a few specifics in French to the waiter.

This, I found out during a recent trip to Paris with him to investigate firsthand what has been Frenchifying his mind the past year: Repetto, the famous Parisian shoes, which he has just brought in to the Philippines.

Our destination: the Repetto shoe factory in Sorges, a remote town south of France, with a population supposedly of only 1,000.

“Well, their population will be 1,010 when we get there,” smiled Richard Gomez, our livewire travel mate as he settled in the NAIA lounge with equally vivacious wife Lucy Torres-Gomez and daughter Juliana. There is never a dull moment when you travel with showbiz royalty with a sense of humor.

“You know, two years ago, I saw those pretty ballet flats by Repetto at Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, but they didn’t have a pair in my size. Finally, I was able to get my size only last year, and I found them really comfortable. So I told Ben Chan: Why not get Repetto shoes for the Philippines?” said Lucy.

“If you can’t find the size, get the franchise,” laughed Richard.

And that’s exactly what Ben did. Last year, he sent his nephew, Bryan Lim, to negotiate with the Repetto owners in Paris. After two trips, they got the franchise. Finally, a Repetto official visited Manila and gave the thumbs-up to the site of the first Repetto store in Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center which opened only last April, complete with the brand’s signature chandelier inside the store and a pink tutu hanging in the display window.

The sole of Repetto: “What impressed me most during the factory visit is the process involved in making each pair of Repetto shoes, using the same methods passed on from one generation to the next.” says Suyen chairman Ben Chan, being shown a sole by factory manager Paul Gilles.

Upon arrival in Paris, we were met by Barbara Legras, Repetto’s export director, who gently informed us that we would need to travel two hours and 30 minutes by train with her and other Asian media and marketing execs to Angouleme, then take another two-hour ride by bus with a stopover in Brantome, before we could reach Sorges.

“So this is a trip by trains and boats and planes,” Richard said, launching into Burt Bacharach’s song as we embarked on our journey with the Bench family: Ben Chan and Bryan Lim with his parents Virgilio and Nenita Lim; Bench architect Miguel Pastor; and Anna Austria of Suyen Corporation, the company that owns Bench and some 30 other brands.

As for the boat part, we almost rode one that was docked on a river alongside graceful swans and ducks during our stopover in Brantome, the postcard-pretty village that, we were told, has become a favorite of British tourists. My colleague, Thelma San Juan of Inquirer, and I got energized by the relaxing sights after the lengthy train and bus and plane rides, not to mention the night-long presswork in Manila that preceded our journey.

So why travel all the way to visit the factory of Repetto?

Because Repetto is a shoe brand so coveted for decades now by fashionable women all over the world, including the legendary icons Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy-Onassis.

Because celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kate Moss, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica Alba love it.

Because power women like Hillary Clinton wear it. 

Because fashion houses/designers like Carven, Rodarte, Karl Lagerfeld, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons have had collaborations with Repetto and are asking for more.

Because Repetto was commissioned to do a special edition for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee at Selfridges.

Because ballerina flats — specifically Repetto — are a staple in every fashionable French woman’s wardrobe.

And most of all, because the Repetto story is worth retelling.

The story began in 1947 when Rose Repetto designed ballet shoes upon the request of her choreographer-dancer son Roland Petit. Her tiny workshop was located near the National Opera of Paris.

The Benchmark in Philippine retailing: Suyen vice president Nenita Lim joins brother Ben Chan during a store visit at 22 Rue de la Pais in Paris. At right, one of Repetto’s ingenious ads.

Soon, Repetto became the preferred brand in the dance industry, the necessary pair for both young ballerinas as well as professional dancers. It is the official brand for companies like Opera National de Paris, Opera de Lyon, and the Ballet School of Marseille. It is the shoes which ballet legends like Rudolf Nureyev wore. Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet? Oui, the Russians also like Repetto.

How Repetto became a shoe brand preferred by non-dancers as well, began in 1956 when French actress Brigitte Bardot requested ballet flats for her personal use, as comfortable as the ones used by dancers, using the same “le couse retourne” or “stitch and return” method uniquely used in the Repetto factory.

Our first stop was the school where workers get one to three years of meticulous training before they can work for Repetto. “This is the same school where other shoe brands like Hermes train their people,” explained Barbara. A virtual university for leather artisans, every step of production falls under the meticulous eye of the “teachers.” Since 2005, Repetto has been collaborating with the University of Technology of Compiegne, focusing on making “soundproof and harmless” ballet shoes. Workshops are organized by the CTC or the Technical Center for Leather. There are external teachers and there are internal teachers. There can be no room for error as far as Repetto is concerned.

    Next stop was the Repetto factory at St. Medard d’Excideuil in Dordogne, some 425 kilometers south of France., where we saw, step-by-step, how every pair is lovingly created by hand and by machine by skilled workers. We took note of details:

• Each pair of shoes undergoes 15 steps before it lands in the shoebox. Oh, and did you ever notice that a Repetto shoebox automatically locks on one side? Yes, each shoe box has a “secret” magnet.

• You don’t see any stitching on the outside of a Repetto shoe. That’s because “we stitch everything on the reverse,” proudly explained factory manager Paul Gilles.

• The sole of ballerina flats is exactly 5.5 mm thick; no more, no less.

• Some 10 percent of shoes are thrown away during production stages if they are not made perfectly.

• Since 2005, Repetto has been accepting orders for made-to-measure ballet (pointe) shoes for dancers. It takes three days to produce a made-to-measure pair.

• Some 200 pointe shoes are produced daily.

• Before 2003, Repetto was producing 50 pairs of shoes daily. Now, it’s 2,500 pairs daily. “For the future, our target is 7,000 pairs daily,” smiled Paul.

• Repetto gets leather from France, Italy, Spain and Germany, “where cows are bigger,” Paul explained. And take note, only the softest and silkiest leather is used, the kind that goes into the making of gloves or ready-to-wear.

• All leather used by Repetto must comply with “Reach,” a European Union regulation that aims at consolidating knowledge of chemical substances produced or imported into the European market, thus ensuring better protection of health and the environment.

Repetto manufactures only about 2,000 pairs per style done by their designer Olivier Jault. If the world outlets get more than this number, then they must be fake. Yes, like any coveted fashion item, fake Repetto shoes manage to surface in many parts of the world. “But it is so easy to spot a fake one,” Barbara says. 

Present during our factory tour were media and marketing representatives from other countries. From Hong Kong, Salome Chan of the Swire Resources which distributes Repetto in HK, said: “Repetto is so famous in Hong Kong. Five out of 10 women in Hong Kong own Repetto shoes.”

The hip Japanese delegates confirmed that Repetto is big in Japan. Its flagship store in Ginza is 327 square meters! There are 11 Repetto stores in Tokyo. Truly, the Japanese love most things “Made in France.” They also love cute or kawaii stuff, and Repetto happens to be one such beloved brand in Japan. 

The Philippine market likewise has long embraced things French. When Ben Chan many years ago brought in Celio, the French brand for men, it was warmly received by stylish Filipino men.

Repetto has just opened its first store in Greenbelt 3, and already Ben is dancing his way to introducing another French brand in the Philippines: Paul, the very Parisian bakery-coffee shop, where the historic scent of freshly-cooked crepes, macarons, soups, pastries and sandwiches dates back to 1889.

When Paul the French bakery-coffee shop opens here, hopefully at the ground floor of the new Bench Tower right across Shangri-La at The Fort. I can picture Ben Chan himself serving a slice of cake with a cup of freshly brewed hot coffee to friends.

Oui, I can imagine Ben trying to translate the French menu for insomniac coffee lovers.