Local brand emerges from sea of foreign logos

Original Pilipino Music (OPM) ballads play in the background of a sportswear factory in the mountainous town of Baras in Rizal province while rows of seamstresses work with sewing machines and fabrics.

Far from a rigid assembly line, the workers’ optimistic attitude reflects the business’ aim to allow them to take pride at their products that are innately Filipino. For them, it takes a community to create a piece of quality garment.

Nine-month-old Atsui Alternative Athletics is both a passion and a calculated risk in an industry besieged by foreign brands. Owned by couple Homer and Leslie Silvestre, its idea of “alternative” is simple yet challenging: promote an authentic Filipino brand of fashionable sportswear that won’t break the bank.

Atsui was born out of fate, of little dots that connect together and of experiences that lead to a different and unexpected path for two Human Resources graduates from De La Salle College of St. Benilde.

It’s passion-driven and stems from personal affinity. For Leslie, a former ballet dancer and Pilates instructor, her profession gave her an idea of what other people consider in buying sports clothing.

“I used to buy an expensive sportswear brand because I can’t find other brands with similar quality that do not have steep price points. Since we already have our team of sewers, we thought we could create our own, less expensive brand instead,” says Leslie.

End of the food chain

Homer narrates how they used to be “at the end of the food chain,” exporting pieces of clothing for big brands that dictate the price, design and quality of the products.

The local garments industry, meanwhile, has fallen prey to the lure of sub-contractualization, limiting its growth to exports for multinational brands without developing its own.

“Before we had Atsui, the garments we produced are tagged with other brands. We were able to make export products for Disney, Target, Walmart and even Madonna’s Material Girl collection. We’re just a sub-contractor, a smaller firm. The big brands will dictate us from scratch,” says Homer.

He says the export business became a reliable source of income. “But after doing it for the past 6 years, we found out it’s not sustainable. It will drain your batteries for passion. It’s not as rewarding.”

When they took the jump with Atsui, the couple could not compare the bliss of holding a finished product that’s Filipino in every fiber—from design to manufacturing and distribution.

“I’ve had the best time with the company seeing our own creations being worn by someone. Seeing your vision turn into something people will really buy and wear, that’s irreplaceable,” says Homer.

From six sewers and an 80-square meter backyard, the factory has expanded to hundreds of workers on four hectares of workspace.

It was an ambitious move, says Homer, but they make sure it won’t demoralize their staff.  The couple thought they could still aspire for a globally competitive setup and do mass production but not at the expense of the dignity of their community of workers.

“Two of our original sewers still work for us. We call them our angels. They’re our eyes and ears especially in packing, exporting and handling brands. They were with us through thick and thin,” says Leslie.

Turning global

While production does not come much of a challenge for the sportswear newcomer, permeating the Filipino consumers’ consciousness is both a challenge and a learning opportunity, especially in a market saturated with expensive foreign brands.

“There are notions that when it’s cheap, it’s inferior. Some could not believe how low our products’ prices are,” says Leslie.

The cultural notion of inferiority toward local brands still exists, but Leslie says the firm adjusts to special considerations of Filipino consumers.

“We’re not yet perfect. You learn as you do it. Our designs are in Asian sizes. When we found out that a lot of women are still conscious about showing their armpits in public, we started making tops with short sleeves. For some who are conscious about their stretchmarks, we have special designs for them, too,” says Leslie.

The industry also saw the proliferation of fake or imitation products and the couple used that as a motivation to prove that high-quality products can still be locally made without copying major brands.

For Homer, the personal mission is to sell overseas not only products crafted by a Filipino, but an entire brand.

With 15 retail partners and online platforms, the next step is to bring Atsui to places outside the Philippines.

Atsui has yet to put up its own store, but the brand’s products are available in branches of Urban Ashram, Yoga+, Plana Forma, Bikram Yoga Manila and FTX within Metro Manila.

“We are confident, because we know this kind of endeavor could only be sustainable if we’re passionate about it. It helps having local brands pop up in fashion in general because it means the industry is alive even with the entry of foreign brands. If you have local brands thriving as well, it creates a balance. It teaches us to compete with big brands and go global as well,” says Homer.