'I've basically been mugged!' Apprentice finalist Bianca Miller
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Well, this certainly puts a new light on Bianca. Personally, I am going to try to avoid passing judgement, because at the end of the day, we don't know the ins and outs of the situation. This Ella claims it's her idea, and it may be, but we don't know, do we?
£24 for a pair of tights? They would have to be of exceptional quality for me to pay that and virtually indestructible. Bianca won't sell many at that price. The other woman's prices are far more reasonable.
Come to think of it, was this what Claudine meant when she said, 'Tell me something no one else knows about you'? Had someone told her about this, and she was trying to goad Bianca into admitting it?
Bianca didn't steal anything. Unless the other woman has patent protection anyone can use the idea.
Mark's idea isn't his own either.
Mark's idea isn't his own either.
I don't think this Ella can claim that Bianca 'stole the idea' just because Bianca spoke to her about it. Bianca claims that she already had been developing the product - perhaps she just wanted to weigh up market competitors.
This is creating a scandal now. But maybe any publicity is good, so it will work out for the best for her, I don't know. You guys said it, she has no patent, and even if she started the business, she's sold nothing from it since 2012 when she met Bianca, so perhaps its not taking off. So why begrudge someone, lets see maybe the £24 is too much and Bianca won't sell, but going by the way she is she will adjust the pricing and make some money.
By the way these networking events seem like a good idea, I think I should get my act together and attend some.
By the way these networking events seem like a good idea, I think I should get my act together and attend some.
Originally Posted by hownwbrowncow:
“I don't think this Ella can claim that Bianca 'stole the idea' just because Bianca spoke to her about it. Bianca claims that she already had been developing the product - perhaps she just wanted to weigh up market competitors.”
“I don't think this Ella can claim that Bianca 'stole the idea' just because Bianca spoke to her about it. Bianca claims that she already had been developing the product - perhaps she just wanted to weigh up market competitors.”
I agree - if she didn't have a patent, there is nothing to stop Bianca doing whatever she likes. I don't think Bianca has ever claimed to be the first person to come up with the idea.
What do they say in the music business - "Where there's a hit, there's a writ"
There's always someone who claims the same idea, that's why we have patent and copywrite laws. Every idea can be borrowed and as we've seen in other threads, Ella Bennett hasn't come up with anything new.
There's always someone who claims the same idea, that's why we have patent and copywrite laws. Every idea can be borrowed and as we've seen in other threads, Ella Bennett hasn't come up with anything new.
On Dragons Den one of the killer questions is "What's to stop anyone replicating this?" In this case nothing. If Elia Bennett had got backing for her idea she would have been in business making them by now, disability or not.
Of course this is the exact same major problem with Bianca's own business plan: That it's absolutely trivial to copy. If it does prove a hit (which is a pretty big if) then any big underwear manufacturer could have their own version, at a much reduced price, probably within literally days.
This "tan coloured hosiery" is difficult to find the exact shade as your skin, I've seen white people wear tan hose and you just see a slight shine when they are moving, which is what Bianca is trying to achieve I THINK. i'm not too sure, I think they are going for tights that don't look like you are wearing tights unless you sit really close and are staring then you can see. So they keep you warm in winter when you wear skirts, without showing obviously you are wearing hose.
A friend of mine she's darker then Bianca and she couldn't find matt finish hose to match her skin, and she made me go into the market and picked two pair pack sold for £1 from Lewisham market this was 12 years ago, they ladder after one time wearing them, but she didn't mind buying two pair every Saturday when she went down to the shops to wear to work, because they were affordable for her.
Now I buy from M & S, both tan for white people it shows you are wearing tights on me even though I'm light skinned and black pairs of hose show also, but with shine, I like that type its a bit expensive but they last a long time and I think the shiny fibers they use to make the hose its stronger than those £1 ones from Lewisham which didn't have any shine at all to them, matt finish but they did match my friends skin colour and the holes as well were bigger not smooth and nice, I have found all my time looking at hosiery that the cheaper they are the more bigger the holes in the fibers and less shiny the pair of hose.
So I don't know what material Ella is using she said matt finish, so perhaps its the same fibers which are cheaper, but Bianca I think will go for a different durable fibers thats why she is charging more for them, fine if they match the skin but are they going to develop ladders after one day wearing them? Then you might aswell buy better quality and pay more for them, but more doesn't mean 24 pounds, maybe 10 pounds.
A friend of mine she's darker then Bianca and she couldn't find matt finish hose to match her skin, and she made me go into the market and picked two pair pack sold for £1 from Lewisham market this was 12 years ago, they ladder after one time wearing them, but she didn't mind buying two pair every Saturday when she went down to the shops to wear to work, because they were affordable for her.
Now I buy from M & S, both tan for white people it shows you are wearing tights on me even though I'm light skinned and black pairs of hose show also, but with shine, I like that type its a bit expensive but they last a long time and I think the shiny fibers they use to make the hose its stronger than those £1 ones from Lewisham which didn't have any shine at all to them, matt finish but they did match my friends skin colour and the holes as well were bigger not smooth and nice, I have found all my time looking at hosiery that the cheaper they are the more bigger the holes in the fibers and less shiny the pair of hose.
So I don't know what material Ella is using she said matt finish, so perhaps its the same fibers which are cheaper, but Bianca I think will go for a different durable fibers thats why she is charging more for them, fine if they match the skin but are they going to develop ladders after one day wearing them? Then you might aswell buy better quality and pay more for them, but more doesn't mean 24 pounds, maybe 10 pounds.
Originally Posted by spkx:
“Of course this is the exact same major problem with Bianca's own business plan: That it's absolutely trivial to copy. If it does prove a hit (which is a pretty big if) then any big underwear manufacturer could have their own version, at a much reduced price, probably within literally days.”
“Of course this is the exact same major problem with Bianca's own business plan: That it's absolutely trivial to copy. If it does prove a hit (which is a pretty big if) then any big underwear manufacturer could have their own version, at a much reduced price, probably within literally days.”
Thats always the problem, from the first wheel manufacturer onwards. its also why the economy stagnates because there's little incentive to take a risk on something new with quaisi monopolistic competition.. That's why Tom's nail file was so attractive as it had a patent on it. You could easily replicate Ricky and Leah's ideas too. They work if the market is big enough, and your people have some other advantages - like doing it well, and Apprentice publicity.
Originally Posted by george.millman:
“Come to think of it, was this what Claudine meant when she said, 'Tell me something no one else knows about you'? Had someone told her about this, and she was trying to goad Bianca into admitting it?”
“Come to think of it, was this what Claudine meant when she said, 'Tell me something no one else knows about you'? Had someone told her about this, and she was trying to goad Bianca into admitting it?”
No, because it remains a nonsensical question to ask. If its true someone would know - by definition. If an interviewer knew , and how could they, the question to ask would be "where did you get the idea from?" You can then note the answer, or follow it up. And you would still only ask it if it has any consequence - which it seems not to - or, if you wanted an excuse to not go with that idea.
Originally Posted by thenetworkbabe:
“No, because it remains a nonsensical question to ask. If its true someone would know - by definition. If an interviewer knew , and how could they, the question to ask would be "where did you get the idea from?" You can then note the answer, or follow it up. And you would still only ask it if it has any consequence - which it seems not to - or, if you wanted an excuse to not go with that idea.”
“No, because it remains a nonsensical question to ask. If its true someone would know - by definition. If an interviewer knew , and how could they, the question to ask would be "where did you get the idea from?" You can then note the answer, or follow it up. And you would still only ask it if it has any consequence - which it seems not to - or, if you wanted an excuse to not go with that idea.”
It wasn't a nonsensical question. You might as well say any open question is nonsensical. However it wasn't about her product idea either.
Skin tone tights are not a new idea. If you do a quick google search you'll find numerous companies that sell them. Debenhams stock skin tone tights which go for £3.50 a pair.
All I learnt from that article is that you have to have a freakishly shaped head to want to launch a range of coloured tights.
Originally Posted by Tallywacker:
“All I learnt from that article is that you have to have a freakishly shaped head to want to launch a range of coloured tights.”
“All I learnt from that article is that you have to have a freakishly shaped head to want to launch a range of coloured tights.”
Indeed.
It would appear that the Klingons have cornered that particular market.
There a thousands of business' plans like Biancas. Thousands like Marks. Thousands like Roisin's and thousands like the finalists from last year. The chances that someone is going to have a COMPLETELY original business plan are very slim. Even Tom, the curved nail file guy - my younger sister had one two years before he was on Apprentice. A woman sold them locally. Nothing is new.
Originally Posted by bozzimacoo:
“http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/a...-stole-4847525
Naughty girl Bianca!”
“http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/a...-stole-4847525
Naughty girl Bianca!”
I have never watched the Apprentice, but did click on the link in the Mirror.
What these 2 women have in common is incredibly large foreheads, reminds me of the Tefal adverts from the 1980's
I read this the other day, I laughed watching the aftershow with Dara when she said she was an honest woman and kept saying thank you when everyone get congratulating her on a amazing original brain bursting idea. Not a mention for poor old Ella.
Originally Posted by junipaire:
“I read this the other day, I laughed watching the aftershow with Dara when she said she was an honest woman and kept saying thank you when everyone get congratulating her on a amazing original brain bursting idea. Not a mention for poor old Ella.”
“I read this the other day, I laughed watching the aftershow with Dara when she said she was an honest woman and kept saying thank you when everyone get congratulating her on a amazing original brain bursting idea. Not a mention for poor old Ella.”
It's all fake flattery. Sugar himself is no mug and knows how weak she was with all the changes of mind and backpeddling she did in the final episode. Any woman who has ever thought that it would be nice to have skin coloured tights is on a par with Bianca, so any praise is hardly deserved.
It probably is a good idea and *might* be profitable, but for an established manufacturer only. B adds nothing at all to the mix.
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