The BBC’s rebranded ‘Young Apprentice’ kicked off on Monday evening, as the crème de la crème of the UK’s young entrepreneurial talent got the chance to show to the country that, despite high youth unemployment and tabloid scare mongering of a ‘lost generation’, they have a lot to offer to the economy.
Alan Sugar was quick to highlight the impressive attributes of the candidates’ CVs as he picked out the economists, salesmen and fashion designers of the group, before splitting the candidates into two teams (males and females) and announcing the first task.
The challenge; create and brand an ice cream range, then sell, sell, sell on a hot summers day and deliver as much profit as possible.
Team ‘Atomic’ – the Boys
The boys were quick to finalise the details of their brand as they opted for a Pirate theme to impress the day-trippers at Essex’s premier seaside resort.
An impressive brand image was created by the team, as candidates dressed as pirates; donning the classic blue-and-white-striped attire and selling ice creams out of ‘treasure chests’ amidst cries of “ahoy there!”.
However, whilst they succeeded at creating a strong brand and implementing good pricing incentives (1 for £1.50, 2 for £2) their strategy to substantially undercut other local ice cream vendors hindered their profit margins. Would their efforts be enough to outmuscle the girls?
Team ‘Kinetic’ - the Girls
What the girls lacked in delivering precise mathematics and determining profit margins, they more than made up for in effective upselling, consequently raking in hefty amounts of cash per transaction.
After setting up stall in a theme park, they were quick to highlight business-savvy ways in which they could increase profits, as all members of the team were effective in persuading the parents of ravenous children to part with more cash.
Sprinkles and sauces, and even cones, were priced as ‘extras’ and resulted in high profit margins for the team.
Gold stars for the Girls
After the ice creams had melted away and the numbers crunched, Sugar was delighted to see both teams make good profits.
Although Atomic delivered more than £500 profit and were praised for their achievement, it was Kinetic who triumphed, as their impressive pricing strategy proved to be the winning factor, delivering £700 of well-deserved cash.
Stay tuned to SBF’s blog in the upcoming weeks for more Young Apprentice appraisal!
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