The Apprentice Asia

It's fishy business in this first episode of The Apprentice Asia! In order to put contestants’ sales skills to the test, teams were sent to a wet market to sell fish. The goal? Simple. To make a profit. Contestants were divided by gender. The men named their team "The Mavericks", and the women chose the name "Apex". Too much testosterone, too little strategy Chaos ruled the men's team. All the guys tried to take charge - leaving project manager Hendy standing by looking dazed and confused. After much talking over one another, they decided to scout out market prices first before starting sales. But that didn’t stop self-proclaimed "sales ninja" Hanzo from pulling in customers even before prices were set. Other teammates followed suit and started selling fish too - at massive losses. Frenchman Alex even pretended to be a French chef in order to attract customers - a move that Tony later denounced as unethical. By the time a rather spaced-out Hendy finally applied a 30% margin to the wholesale price at Jonathan’s urging, it was too late. The damage had been done.

Brainy questions, stupid move Each team was given the chance to ask an Expedia Asia director a few questions before starting on the video. Worried about sounding dumb, Jon convinced The Mavericks to ask big business strategy questions – all of which were laughably irrelevant to the task – and wound up getting shot down by the Expedia Asia director. Apex, on the other hand, sailed through their meeting. Talk, talk, talk But when it came to brainstorming, Apex’s true team dynamics (or in this case, their lack of team dynamics) finally surfaced. Ning, Andrea and Celina out-talked everyone else, constantly interrupting the quieter Dee, Dian and Nik. So loud and aggressive were they, that a horrified Kathleen declared that if she ever worked with them, they would drive her wild!

Surprise surprise – Tony sent Andrea to join the men for this week’s task. Celina certainly was happy about the move, saying “Now that Andrea is not there, I feel that people are more able to speak up.” Teams were presented with 6 new Taiwanese products this week. Teams had to choose 3 products each, which they then had to sell to mega-retailers Giant and SOGO, as well as to small retailers of their own choosing. The team that made the most sales would win.

This week’s task: to come up with a promotional campaign for NESCAFÉ® Dolce Gusto®. Specifically, teams were tasked with setting up a pop-up café, and with the help of a graphic designer, to design the look of the café, including standees, flyers, and a tagline starting with “Coffee can be…” Executives from NESCAFÉ®’s parent company, Nestlé, would decide which team had the more successful campaign. Teams were sent to Singapore for this task.

Starting off with a swop of teams, the contestants embark on what might just be their most challenging task yet – as summed up by Tony Fernandes at the beginning of the episode, “To be my Apprentice, you need a high level of business acumen, and that includes managing risks, and making sound investment decisions, often under tremendous pressure.” Apex’s members are now: Alex, Sam, Celina and Nik. The Mavericks’ members are now: Jon, Nash, Andrea and Dian. Celina was happy about the shuffle, saying, “I think men are much more driven. They spend less time talking and go straight to the point.” (Ironic, given how much she herself talks!) This week, teams were tasked with online trading, using US$20,000 of virtual money. Over 24 hours, the team with bigger profits would win.

This week, teams were tasked with managing part of the Hilton Kuala Lumpur hotel for a day. Teams each had to manage: housekeeping for 3 rooms check-in for 3 sets of guests room service for part of the hotel The team that did the better job delivering hospitality would win. Teams were sent for short training sessions, and were also given a housekeeping folder detailing exactly how rooms had to look, down to the last detail.

This week’s task was one that was close to Tony’s heart. It was to design new uniforms for AirAsia staff, including: weekend flight attendant uniforms guest services uniforms ramp staff uniforms They were assisted by upcoming Asian designers, and had to present their designs at a fashion show attended by AirAsia personnel. The team that garnered more votes from AirAsia staff would win.

This week’s task was to script and produce a LIVE commercial based on the Volkswagen Beetle – essentially, a skit to be performed in front of a live audience. The team whose commercial is more successful in terms of brand delivery – as decided by the Volkswagen Director of Design – will win.

This week, there was no task. Instead, contestants each had to endure 3 rounds of interviews with Tony’s long-trusted business associates, namely: Stuart Dean – President and CEO of General Electric ASEAN Aireen Omar – CEO of AirAsia Ruben Gnanalingam – CEO of Westports Malaysia

It’s down to the final two! Jon and Andrea were up against each other, and Jon for one thought it would be a little strange, quipping, “Andrea and I are like Bonnie and Clyde. I would be missing my Bonnie in this specific task.” Their task was one close to Tony’s heart – they had to organize elements of a charity black-tie fundraiser for the benefit of the AirAsia Foundation. AirAsia Foundation supports the development of regional communities in the ASEAN, by funding social enterprises

Cocktail Receptions Jonathan was really relaxed and confident, and he pulled the reception off without a glitch. Mark was impressed, declaring the cocktail an “absolutely first class job.” Andrea, on the other hand, was supremely nervous, and it showed. As guests were streaming in, Andrea kept asking her team silly questions!