Top, the Chilean brand sponsors of Ben Brereton arrives in the US and Europe

It was in June when Andrés Pinochet, director of Vibra Marketing Projects -an agency of which Fernando Felicevich is partner -called the Marketing Manager of Top Underwear, Andrés Díaz: “We have Ben Brereton available, do they interest them?”He raised.

Díaz relieved the proposal to the company's sales manager, Felipe Awad, and he in turn proposed to his father, Cristián, partner and general manager of the company.So almost no one knew the British-Chilean footballer in Chile.The price of auspices, therefore, was within what the male underwear firm could pay."Let's give him," Cristián Awad replied.

As Brereton could not travel to Chile to record, Díaz made a script with a storytelling- "Tell the story of Ben and her life"- and sent it to London.In the recording, the only phrase that the player should say was: "Be comfortable, feel up".

“Ben - who does not speak Spanish - did not understand it and took an hour to reproduce it completely.He repeated it and did not come out.The one that appears in the commercial is the only one who finally succeeded, ”says Díaz.The video came back to Santiago and the internal Top team made the postproduction.They launched the commercial on September 23, not knowing if Brereton would come to Chile to play for the National Team.

For his luck, that weekend the striker scored at the Blackburn Rovers in England 2 goals on Saturday and 3 Sunday.That same day they confirmed it for the game in Chile.In his four games for the Red, Ben Brereton became the new idol.And every time a note is made on TV, the Top Commercial appears.

“Things like this offer us a thousand, the grace is which ones you take.And there comes luck, ”says Cristián Awad by Zoom from Miami."I was always afraid to sponsor someone.We once quote with one of the great players who behaved well, like Alexis Sánchez, but it was crazy cost.Ben now combines there is some experience and a lot of luck...We brought luck to him, ”he says laughing.

The businessman is in Florida finalizing the details to enter that market: the first count with 5,000 male underwear products will leave from China next week towards the US.

From Syria to Recoleta

The brothers Henri and Samira Bahna, of Syrian origin, born in Spain, migrated to Chile in the ‘60s and settled on San Cristóbal Street, Recoleta.In the family home, Henri installed three sewing machines, and as did much of the colony at that time, it started in commerce.Soon walking, his sister joined and put together a clothing workshop dedicated to the manufacture of male underwear, whose products sold to the stores in the center of Santiago.

Of the small stores, they jumped to the big retailers in the ‘90s.In 2000, they transferred production to China and began to design, manufacture and sell their own brands to third parties.As a great novelty they began to put designs to the underpants and t -shirts through color, assuming that the underwear was not a "basic", but "a garment of dress".

In 2008 Henri Bahna died.And the family asked the nephew, Cristián Awad - the majority of the wine library - to take care of the family business.The commercial engineer at that time was dedicated to real estate.But before, between 1982 and 2000 he had had his own workshop (IMAN), focused on the manufacture of pajamas and sportswear (they made the t -shirts of the University of Chile).Awad bought 50% Top, soon their children Felipe and Javier, manager of E-Commerce, entered the company.

They started to open three multi -brand stores in Santiago, but they quickly realized that the business did not go around.Then in 2014 they opened the first store.The success was total: in seven years they opened 50 throughout Chile and will release another three in the next 10 months.

In parallel they deepened their participation in the retail - today are number 1 in their category in Falabella, Paris and Ripley - and began to explore in new designs.

Donuts, Pizzas and Pop

“When you are in underwear in front of a person who matters to you, it is a declaration of principles.There that person sees who you really are, ”says Andrés Díaz, the creative of the firm.With that in the sight, the Awad began to print more classic fruits and drawings to the garments.

But then they wanted to go further and stamp "fast food" designs in the underpants.They tested in a Focus Group, and the answer was not very good.Anyway they decided to run the risk.For Christmas they launched a complete collection with donuts, hamburgers and pizzas.It caused rage.

From there came Wild and Alien.“Until we get tangled up so much that we create origin collection to celebrate races around the world.Nobody understood, or us.We learned that one of the most entertaining things in pop is that the message is simple.If sophisticated, apart from ridicule, you are a commercial failure, ”says Díaz.

Jose Tomás Prieto, commercial manager, adds that he did not work when they did campaigns promoting organic cotton or microfiber: “Just as we have shrunk, in the past we were wrong.And it is grace, because if we would not be a flat brand ".

Along the way, they stamped images from Koran texts - which cost them a fight with that world - and other designs that bothered the Jews.But of all the campaigns, they agree, the most remembered was one that they made on public roads with “daring” photos of a couple.

"A lady found that it was disrespectful, and ran the advertising of a micros whereabouts with spray," says Cristián.That came to the news, and even Yerko Puchento, the comic character of vertigo on Channel 13, who wore top underpants on the TV to laugh at what happened.Pure advertising for the brand, they say.

"We have always wanted it to be a transverse brand," says Cristián Awad."That you see it when the Gasfiter bends down, in the footballer who wins millions or in the dressing room of a golf club.".And for that, one of the key milestones, he recounts, was when they began to warn in the CDF, six years ago.

“We did not have the possibility of doing a commercial on television, and with this we arrived at all families on Saturdays and Sundays.All Chileans see football, from Arica to Punta Arenas...Again, transversal, ”he adds.

For a long time, Cristián Awad tells, the door touched them to offer licenses.They never wanted because they demanded to make collections without their brand.Until Disney -which in Chile also drives Marvel- agreed to make a co-braking in adult underwear.Thus they made collections with Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America.That combined with Condorito, Chilean legends, popular sayings, reggaetton and other own designs.

“We realized that many of our clients collect them.That is why we create designs that are collectible, ”explains Cristián.These represent about 30% of sales, and are the ones that allow them to "throw the car" and break the seasonality.

Internationalization

Years ago they thought about going out to Peru.But instead they chose to deepen their participation in the Chilean market, where they are 40% today.Now the pandemic made them rethink the idea of internationalizing the business, although otherwise: the e-commerce opened a window."Who is going to buy underwear online?" Cristián insisted, given that purchases until then were principle of impulse: "It is striking, you enter the store," they explain.

Then Fernanda, her other daughter and who lives in Miami, took the reins and began managing the arrival of the brand to Amazon under the name of Ustop.“It sounded simple but the same had to make changes in the products, the brand registration, assemble the company;added to the fact that the Chinese are behind and that the shortage of containers makes everything more expensive, ”she explains.

Through LAP -Plataforma that connects Chilean sellers with American online markets - they will land in that marketplace in November, in order to test the market.If they go well, as they expect, the idea is not only to expand their presence on Amazon, but also open stores in the malls.For that they are in conversations with the Sawgrass and Dolphin outlets in Florida.

Given Brereton's success, they are also exploring the European market."Lap offered to take the products directly there, and it is something we are analyzing," says Fernanda.If not, another possibility would be to send them from the wineries in Miami, to try, and if it works, grow there too.

What prints will they send?Disney and Marvel licenses cannot, but Condorito is an option that could work in the US."All Latinos know a condorito and believe it is theirs," says Cristián.

“We are telling a story that is starting, like Ben Brereton's before being famous.This is an entertaining, scalable and low -cost project.You have to see how it takes off, ”adds José Tomás Prieto.

PLUS

During the social outbreak, five stores looted them.This Monday, they tell, nothing happened to them.However, security is a very relevant issue for Cristián Awad: "We have stolen entire trucks, so we have to bring the containers with escorts from the ports, and all our offices to the big stores go with escorts too," Explain.

"We are in the same category of assaults as cigarettes and cell phones," adds José Tomás.If a brandless underwear is sold at $ 1.000, for one stolen with a brand they charge $ 7.000 in the black market (they cost about $ 15.000).“The same with falsifications: you run with Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss...And Top, ”says Cristián.Therefore, the company has presented a series of complaints.