Adventures in Apprentice Candyland

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Last week on “The Apprentice,” we were finally down to the Fab Five of season two of Donald Trump’s NBC reality show. Back to profits, the two teams had to make the product and then sell it and whoever made the most money would be declared the winner and survivors of the episode.


First, the teams had to manufacture a bushel of Mars candy bars with M &M’s in them and get enough of the product through Mars’ quality inspectors. Where they sold them and for how much was at each team’s discretion.


The old adage of power in numbers did not apply here. Despite Apex having three members to Mosaic’s two, the Apex team had a dismal failure and leader Ivana bought a bitter trip from the suite to the street.


The remaining two Mosaic players, Jennifer and Sandy, fresh from the previous episode’s board-room screaming match in which they fought like rabid cats, played a perfect game – it was positively a melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand strategy. By contrast, the Apex three, Ivana, Kevin, and Kelly, sold their limited inventory too cheaply to beat them.


Episode 13 Turning Points


With Apex team member Kelly exempt from firing in this episode, both Kevin and Ivana knew they were on the hot seat. All members of the Apex team had accumulated telling track records in the game thus far. Kelly and Kevin both brought winning records as project managers – 3-0 and 2-0, respective ly. By comparison, Ivana brought a dismal 0-2 record. So when Ivana volunteered to be the Apex team leader, she dragged her losing streak along with her like a heavy bag of M&M Mars bars.


Before hitting the streets, each team first had to manufacture enough inspection-perfect bars to create inventory. Because each M-Azing Bar is solid chocolate with floating M &Ms inside, making a bar is much harder than it looks. Over several hours, the final approved tally gave Apex 323 bars and Mosaic had considerably fewer at 290.


With their limited inventories, both teams decided to hit Wall Street to catch the hungry crowds on their way into work. The Mosaic team of Jennifer and Sandy focused perfectly on the task. As if on command, the pair morphed into Barbie-doll-perfect twin Super Selling Sisters. They termed this strategy, appropriately, “buying candy from the eye-candy.” Dressed alike in red shirts, jean skirts, and high heels, the Apprentice gals priced their bars at $5 each, jumped into an M &M Mars promotional van, and wildly worked Wall Street.


Apex’s Kevin, feeling uncomfortable with the task, ran a fire sale almost immediately by dropping his price to $1 per bar.


As Apex ran through its supply, Ivana, fearing that the $1 price point was too low, panicked and decided that she could sell bars for $20 by offering to drop her skirt. She showed some skin and sold some bars, raising Apex’s average sale price. But it was too little, too late. The Barbie dolls of Mosaic, dressed to kill, had already won with their $5 strategy.


Mosaic’s take was $1,023.11, compared with Apex’s meager $560.75. Mosaic’s prize was a trip to Chicago to meet “The Apprentice” season-one champion Bill Rancic, who took the duo on a tour through his local project, the Trump International Hotel and Towers.


Meanwhile, in the boardroom, Kelly and Kevin helped The Donald decide that Ivana’s losing record and her ill-considered striptease act were enough to give her the Trump-A-Dump.


Lessons Learned


LESSON ONE When you have limited supply you must price ’em high. With only 290 bars to sell, Mosaic knew that with some skillful salesmanship and marketing, they could get $5 each. After all, they correctly reasoned, these were no ordinary candy bars – they were M-Azing Bars handmade by beautiful babes. Apex, on the other hand, ignored the laws of supply and demand and priced their rare goods just like common commodities.


LESSON TWO Presentation is often worth more than the product. In Mosaic’s case, their presentation added $4 to the price of each $1 bar. Dressed as M &M Tasty Treats, Jennifer and Sandy kept their dignity while generating added excitement to the product. Their appearance added even more value than the M &M brand did.


LESSON THREE Know your opponent. Any true student of Professor Trump knows that The Donald makes a study of his opponents and competitors. Ivana, Kevin, and Kelly missed the boat on this one. The Apex team clearly underestimated their bubbly blonde adversaries and got handed a lopsided loss.


In the next episode, it is down to the Final Four, and the team format goes away. It is every person for himself or herself. More like boxing than basketball; no more dancing, it’s time to wrestle. That means even more lessons for true Trump-ologists. Stay tuned.



Mr. Whitehead can be reached at trumponomics@aol.com


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