Renowned interior designer Kelly Hoppen MBE has a global brand encompassing consumer goods, books, teaching, fashion and digital products so she knows a thing or two about operating in foreign markets. She blogs about the latest episode of The Apprentice in which the candidates travelled to Paris.
This week the teams travelled to Paris to see what it takes to work in foreign markets. My brand is global so I know you have to understand the market you work in. I usually establish relationships with local licensees so I can tap into their expertise. Unfortunately, the teams didn’t have this luxury and the baffled looks on faces of the buying team at La Redoute said it all.
I was shocked that neither team used the two and a half hour train journey to do any research on potential buyers. Tom seemed more interested in getting his breakfast then using the valuable time to get organsied!
Last week Jim called her a ‘meek little mouse’ but I can relate to Susan. Like her I started my own business at 16 and through hard work I’ve built it into a global brand. Being the youngest person in the room is a challenge, which is why you need to be confident and speak up. I thought she was great in the boardroom last week as ‘the mouse that roared’ so was excited to see what she would do as a project manager.
I was just as shocked as Karren at some of the ridiculous things she said when looking at the products! That said, Susan did do a great job organising the Venture team and I think she’s a real talent. Hopefully the win this week will be the confidence boost Susan needs to keep her fighting to the end.
With the mantra ‘I want to be more than just average, average was never good enough for me’ Melody is a woman on a mission. It may sound arrogant but I agree that you should never be complacent. My mantra is ‘nothing is to big, nothing is big enough’ and my projects now encompass publishing, consumer product, retail, ethical fashion, digital product, teaching as well as interior design. I couldn’t have achieved this without a lot of drive so Melody’s traits can be a real asset to her.
I think Melody will struggle the most with leading a company and inspiring employees. I know that within my own staff of 30 unless you have the right interpersonal dynamics you will not achieve the results you want.
This week Melody was incredibly selfish not sharing the appointments and using her shoddy ‘market research’ as a justification for dismissing the booster seat. I think she needs a dose of humility that hopefully will come from the quieter contestants like Helen and Tom.
It was difficult to watch Melody walk all over Tom but he really needed to show some leadership. When Tom outlined his achievements to Lord Sugar it was clear that he has great instincts and the skills to back them up. I am a big believer that you need to follow your instincts so I was disappointed that Tom didn’t put his foot down and stand up for what he knew would be a great product.
I don’t think the lamp was a poor choice, in fact I know that if they had been better prepared Logic could have easily sold more units. It was quirky, decorative and well priced which is perfect for the French market.
That said, the booster seat was clearly the star item. Tom sensed that immediately so I hope he takes the experience from week 8 and doesn’t allow himself to be intimidated by other contestants going forward.
Helen did a great job recovering the La Redoute pitch from Susan whose lack of understanding of the company and their consumers was far too evident. Helen pushed hard to justify the price of the booster seat and in the end achieved record sales of €214,000. Sometimes it takes the quite ones a while to show their strengths but with this task Helen has put herself on the radar.
I have always been confident in business, wanting to evolve and striving for growth. That approach will be important for the winner who will have an unprecedented opportunity to create his or her own business with an investment from Lord Sugar. It will be interesting to see how Susan, Helen and even Tom demonstrate they’ve got what it takes.
I know this is a competition but if I could convey one thing to the contestants it would be that I have always felt the most fulfilled when I have happy staff and happy clients, which in turn keeps my business growing. I believe that being a good business owner and being a good person are not mutually exclusive. I personally think women make better managers and I’m not
alone so I love that there are so many women left in the game.
I want a woman take the top prize to see how she runs with this amazing opportunity so I’m rooting for Helen or Susan to hear Lord Sugar say ‘You’re Hired’.
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