Episode 5 Trade Your Way to the USA

The search is on for this year's best young traders.

For months, CBBC has scoured the country,

hunting for Britain's budding entrepreneurs.

They need to know how to buy,

how to sell and how to close the deal

if they want to win the day.

For more than 2,000 budding young entrepreneurs,

just 14 teams have made it through to the heat.

Now they battle it out, head-to-head,

in Trade Your Way To The USA.

Each team will be given £75 cash and a tough trading challenge.

They must decide what to buy...

What type of masks sell the best?

The fastest sellers are the foam masks.

..negotiate the lowest price...

-Six for £1.95.

-No.

..and then sell, sell, sell!

Animal masks, here today only!

Muscular Mike!

We need to sway the deal more my direction.

The team that makes the most money wins the challenge

and a place on the all-important leader board.

Get in there!

At the end of the heat, only the top four teams go on to fight it out

for a place in the grand final...

Best fudge ever!

..and the chance to be crowned this year's best young traders.

Treat your family to some nice sausages!

I'm Saira Kahn and I run my own business.

Follow my top trading tips

and one day you too could trade your way to the USA.

Trade your way to the USA is back.

And this time it is even tougher.

Today, we are putting some of Britain's most dynamic

and determined young traders to the ultimate business test.

Time to meet the two teams bold enough to take on today's task.

It's Heads Or Tails vs New To The Business.

-Heads!

-Or!

-Tails!

Heads Or Tails are three wacky Welsh lasses with big business ambitions.

TEAM: We are Heads Or Tails

and we are going to trade our way to the USA.

Yeah!

Alys, Carys and chief negotiator Rhiannydd

reckon their creative skills

mean they'll soon string a profit together.

I am the leader of Heads Or Tails because I am confident, loud

and I know how to make a profit.

I know the right strategy for the winning team.

Alys knows a thing or two about presentation.

I've got a good eye for creativity.

I know how to make the stall look really appealing for customers.

My creativity will guarantee us a win!

And Carys has the trading techniques to twirl her team to victory.

I have made money lots of ways,

selling cakes, painting nails, and even running.

Anyone who doubts me is just wrong!

This team are sure they'll be there opposition

all the way to the USA.

-We stand out in the crowd because we are bubbly.

-Unique.

And we've got loads of energy!

TEAM: Woo!

But they're up against a very determined bunch of boys.

TEAM: Two, four, six, eight, New To The Business, it's so great!

Husnain, Jacob and Harrison are best mates from Reading.

Each brings business expertise to the trading table.

I bring the skills of haggling hard

and I always get the prices I want because of my charm.

I make money through my hoodie business.

I design and customise my own hoodies.

Harrison is the team entrepreneur.

I make money by selling sweets at school. And so far,

I've made over £25.

Anyone who doubts me as a trader, I would just say, bring it on!

And team leader Husnain has the vision for victory.

For my production company, I've made about £300 from editing movies.

I am the leader of the team

because I am always a little bit more bossy than everyone else.

With Husnain's leadership this team are certain

they've got what it takes to win.

TEAM: We're New To The Business

and we're going to trade our way to the USA!

Yee-haw!

It is New To The Business vs Heads Or Tails.

But only the team that makes the most money wins the challenge,

and only they stand a chance of trading their way to the USA.

Today's teams have arrived in London, prepared to do battle.

They have no idea what their trading challenge will be,

all they do know is that they have got to win

if they want to stand a chance of competing in our USA grand final.

Welcome to London and to the Southbank Centre on the Thames.

This is a magnet for tourists,

with millions of people visiting every year.

This week is hosting a special festival for children.

The theme - your imagination.

Your challenge is to sell fancy dress masks

to the thousands of children visiting.

You'll get to choose a theme, negotiate the lowest prices

and then sell, sell, sell!

The team that makes the most money wins the challenge.

Here is your trading fund.

I've given each team £75 to trade with.

Heads Or Tails, New To The Business, are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-Let's go.

The teams have £75 to buy as many masks as they can.

To win tomorrow means getting the right products today.

Before you start any business, you really need to do your homework,

so I have brought you here to meet your expert, Simon.

You need to learn everything you can from him.

Remember, asking the right questions now will determine how far

you go in this competition.

Here are your notebooks.

Teams, are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-Let's go.

Simon sells fancy dress masks all over the world.

He is an expert in what sets imaginations alight.

With animal, fairytale and dinosaur masks to choose from,

if anyone can tell the teams

how to turn fancy dress into lots of cash, it's him.

They've just 15 minutes to find out all they can about Simon's business.

Every question counts.

What types of masks sell the best?

I think the fastest sellers are the foam masks,

but because of where you are, the ones that are really good fun

could be the 3-D masks.

So, you might want to look at a mixture of both.

Good question, Carys - that'll help you focus when you are buying.

Do you give discounts if we buy in bulk?

We can always look at a discount,

it depends how many you are looking at buying.

Husnain, good question, because now you have established

he's willing to give you discounts.

What would you say is the best theme?

If you decide what are some of your favourites

and you can make them come alive and have fun with them on the stand,

you'll find you'll get a better response.

Great advice - make the masks come alive.

I hope the teams are paying attention.

What is a good price to sell our masks?

Something like the chimp mask, which you would sell for about £2.50.

Or these, which you buy in packs of six.

This would normally retail maybe £3.50 to four pounds,

but you could get between 75p

and a pound if you split them up.

Yes! Finally, retail price established.

Teams, your time for questioning is up. Simon, thank you very much.

It is now time to decide what to buy. Follow me.

The teams can decide on what themes to buy, what they are made from

and whether to go for expensive or the cheaper multipacks.

They must choose carefully. If I was doing this task,

I'd choose a theme that really played to my strength.

I'd choose something fairytale

or glamorous, because I would be confident I could bring that alive.

But what will the girls do?

We've gone for a variety of two themes - we've got the dinosaurs.

-OK.

-And we've got a few farm animals,

cos we have gone for the assorted packs.

We think we'd be able to bring the animals to life

and we think they will sell well to the customers.

Good, bringing the masks alive by demonstrating them

is a great way to attract people to your stall.

So when you go in for negotiation, what is going to be your strategy?

We want to start halfway and work our way up.

-OK, so starting at half price?

-Yeah.

The girls have a clear strategy for the negotiation.

How are the boys doing?

We need to buy multiple packs and then split the packs up

so we can sell them individually and we get more money.

Excellent. And what else?

-We got individual animals.

-Yeah, what animals are you going for?

-We are going to have the lions.

-What else?

-Monkeys.

-Monkey...

How would you bring that alive?

-Wear it, dance around.

-Could you give me an example?

Eek, eek, eek! Come to our stall!

Eek, eek, eek!

Come to our stall!

-You enjoy that, don't you?

-Yeah.

-Fantastic, brilliant. Well done.

Good luck, I'll see you in the negotiation.

Both teams are aiming to boost their profits buying multi packs

and they plan to bring in the customers

by showing off their products.

But it is down to who can negotiate the best deals on their masks.

This will be the toughest negotiation

the teams have ever faced.

They must bargain Simon down to stand a chance of winning

this trading challenge.

First up, it is Heads Or Tails.

Rhiannydd is leading the negotiation.

We are really interested in the eight, all sort animal pack.

-You have priced this for two pounds each.

-Yep.

-We would like 15 packs.

-OK.

And we would like to start the negotiation at £12.

Simon did say he'd do discounts on bulk buys,

but that is under half price, a bold start.

I can't go anywhere near that.

So, I would probably go

somewhere around £25 mark.

£17.

You push a hard bargain, don't you?

I tell you what, if you do it for £20.50,

you've got a deal.

-£20.50?

-Yeah.

-Yep.

Happy with that? Yep, thank you.

Well down, that's £9.50 off. Excellent start!

We would also like six of the dinosaur masks.

So, normally, £8.40 would be the normal cost.

We would like to start negotiations at 4.20.

Again, way too low.

I'll do seven.

6.50?

-I'll let you have that one.

-Thank you.

Another good deal, with almost 25% off.

Next up, four packs of fairytale masks.

So wouldn't it be £24.80?

-It does.

-We would like to start the negotiation at £12.40.

I'll come down as far as 17.50.

15.75.

Rhiannydd is proving to be one tough negotiator.

Look at that stare.

Call it 16.25.

16?

Oh...

-Go on then.

-Thank you!

Rhiannydd, I really like your style.

Number one rule of negotiation - if you don't ask, you don't get.

Which is exactly what she does, and gets five varieties of masks

and still has 22.50 left.

We would like to spend that on 3-D woodland masks.

Could we have nine for that price, please?

It should be normally 31.50.

So that's another ten pounds off.

It is a very close call.

I'll let you have that one.

Thank you.

The girls have smashed this negotiation.

They knew exactly what they wanted

and how much they wanted to pay for it. Well done.

65, 70, 75.

That's great, thank you very much.

Next up, the boys. Can they do as well as their opponents?

So, we would like to start it off by the assortment.

Ten of those would come to £20, could I take that down to ten pounds?

Husnain, that isn't bulk. 15 packs like the girls got is bulk.

I think you are going to have to go a little bit higher on that.

£14?

I'll do them for £14.

OK, thank you.

It's a good deal, but 4p more per pack than Heads Or Tails paid.

Also, we are interested in buying four sets

of the Little Red Riding Hood.

We would like them for £6.20.

£6.20, that's half-price.

How about £8.75?

I think we need to sway the deal more my direction.

Jacob, that's cheeky, I like it.

£7.95?

Go on then.

Boys, you are getting some cracking deals, well done.

How about if you throw in one or two freebies?

How about I throw in a couple of the dinosaur 3-D masks.

Can we have some lion 3-D masks

-instead of the dinosaurs?

-Yep.

-OK, we'll take that.

-Great, two free masks.

After going for the woodland theme along with chimps

and masquerade masks,

their money is almost gone.

-That comes to?

-£73.

What if we could do

a six foam set,

two of them for two pounds?

I could only do that

if you didn't have the other two free masks that we talked about.

-OK, we'll do that.

-What?

-Instead of the plastic masks?

-Yeah.

-Keep the lion masks.

-Sure?

-Yep.

-Are you all sure?

-Yep.

-No.

In business, working as a team will get you the best deals.

Harrison, listen to your team-mates.

He swapped two masks for 12 free ones, bargain!

-Yeah, you got more units.

-You have got more units.

-OK.

-OK, fine.

-That equals our £75.

-It does indeed.

Pulling together as a team has bagged you a great deal, boys.

-65, 70, 75.

-Excellent.

-Thank you very much.

-Pleasure to do business with you, sir.

-Pleasure to do business with you.

-Thank you very much.

For their £75, New To The Business ended up

with 208 masks, including ten assorted multi packs

five wild animal packs, seven chimp masks and nine masquerade masks.

For their £75, Heads Or Tails got 222 masks,

including 15 assorted multi packs,

they also got nine woodland packs, eight chimp masks

and six dinosaur masks.

Those multipack bulk buys got them more masks than the boys.

Tomorrow, for one team, it'll be happily ever after.

For the other, it'll be simply the end.

Today, New To The Business go up against Heads Or Tails.

Both will do anything to win and get the chance to compete

in our Trade Your Way To The USA grand final

and be crowned Britain's best young traders.

The teams have arrived at London's busy Southbank

for the Children's Festival.

But which team will make the most cash with their make-believe masks?

Good morning, Heads Or Tails. Good morning, New To The Business.

Soon, the Southbank Centre will be open,

full of people arriving for the Children's Festival.

You have just two hours to sell them your fancy dress masks.

The team that makes the most money wins the challenge,

and only they stand a chance of trading their way to the USA

and becoming Britain's best young traders.

Heads Or Tails, New To The Business, are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

-Let's set up the stalls.

Make it look nice and presentable.

The teams need to get ready.

Every sale will get them one step closer to the USA.

Alys, what is your pricing?

-We have got foam masks here. We have gone for 1.50.

-OK.

-And these 3-D masks are three pounds.

-OK, brilliant.

Heads Or Tails have a clear pricing strategy

and more masks thanks to their multipacks.

How are the boys doing?

What is your pricing?

-Our pricing currently is that foam masks are £2.50.

-Right.

-Plastic masks are £3.50.

-OK.

-And packs of four or five cost you five pounds.

-OK.

Charging more than the girls is risky,

but they don't have to sell as much to bring in the cash.

No, no, no!

It's cold, it's windy, but this is business and the stalls are set.

Time for the battle to begin.

-Teams, are you ready?

-ALL: Yes!

Three, two, one, start trading!

You close the deals, I'll bring them over.

Straightaway, the boys get out to target customers.

Everyone, come to our stall!

-People, come to our stall!

-Masks for everyone!

-One mask, please.

-Yes.

Despite the higher prices, the boys are selling straightaway.

We made our first sale really quickly,

about 30 seconds after we opened.

-Thank you so much.

-There we go.

Come and get a mask!

Would you like a mask?

The boys may be doing well, but 30 metres away,

the girls are struggling.

Would you like to come and get a mask?

-OK.

-Despite their lower prices, the girls aren't sealing the deals.

Maybe try over there cos there's a lot of people over there.

Would you like to get a mask? Buy one now!

There are a lot of people here, the only way you're going to sell

successfully is to take your product to them and bring these masks alive.

How are we going to get them to come to the stall?

The girls are making one big mistake, time to step in.

-What are you selling?

-We're selling masks.

And how do you think you can make a mask come alive?

-By wearing it.

-Ah-ha! You got it, see you later.

Run, run, get your mask! One day only! Try them now!

Hello!

Oh, thank you.

-Thank you very much.

-Brilliant!

Bringing those masks to life has bagged you three pounds.

Thank you!

Nearby, New To The Business

may have got off to a good start...

Great value!

..but it now looks like Husnain is doing all the work.

I see you have a very lovely jacket on with a dog on it,

we have so many animals here.

At the stall, the boys seem to have forgotten what selling is all about.

We've got foam masks, animal masks,

we even have got Little Red Riding Hood sets.

I've seen you running around selling masks, great idea.

You're standing behind the stall, you're standing behind the stall.

I highly recommend

that in order to bring these masks alive you wear them.

M'kay. One day to buy our masks, come on!

Eek, eek, eek!

Animal masks, here today only!

Eek, eek, eek!

-Yeah, how many would you want?

-Three.

-Three?

That's nine pounds for the three plastic bear masks.

Thank you.

Here's your masks.

Harrison has done a deal,

that's nine pounds for the cash box. Great.

Here is our scary dinosaur.

It is halfway through and the sales are rolling in.

-Three pound each.

-There we are.

-Thank you.

Oh, you look really cute!

Both teams are doing everything they can to win the customers over.

How much is your big dinosaur?

-These are...three pounds.

-Three pounds.

And then these are five pounds.

We'll give you a lower price than theirs.

Have you got any dinosaurs?

You might want to go down there.

I can't believe it, Husnain is standing at the girls' stall

and selling his masks. He is so cheeky!

Well, as we haven't got much time left,

-how much are you willing to pay for a mask?

-20p.

Carys, come here, we've got a problem.

Him.

If Husnain was standing at my stall, selling to my customers,

I'd tell him to hop it.

He just took all of our customers, came across, just went,

"Oh, I will give you that for 20p."

If somebody was doing that to my stall, I would actually,

politely, tell them to go away.

You need to believe in yourself, get confident and work as a team.

Masks, buy your masks! 50p.

20p.

-Would you go back to your side, please?

-No, I can't.

This is our area.

Cheaper than the other team!

Thank you very much.

Great work, chasing off the opposition has got you

another three pounds.

You know you want one secretly!

There's just 20 minutes left

and the boys are slashing their prices.

50p masks!

Everything must go!

20p, 50p!

Name a price!

I'm not really getting that much.

But I think Husnain is too focused

on his opposition and their prices...

Cheaper than them! Get your masks! Get your mask cheaper!

..and is not doing his own team any favours.

10p, masks.

What are you doing? Stop dropping the prices!

20p for foam, 50p for plastic. Get going.

At the moment, I think you are obsessed with the competition.

Pick your space, take the masks to the people, sell the benefits

-and enjoy yourself.

-Yep.

-All right? High five.

-Good luck.

-These are the three masks. These ones cost a bit more.

-How much is that one?

-This one is three pound.

-OK.

-But I'll give it to you for 2.50.

-That's more like it.

Selling calmly and clearly to the customers

has secured you six pounds.

Would you like a mask?

There is five minutes left and the girls are selling well.

Three of these are £1.50 at the moment.

But having more multipacks means more masks to sell.

Could that backfire for Heads Or Tails?

We've got lots of masks left, what do we do? Do deals.

-How much are they?

-We can do them for a deal at the moment.

How much are these ones?

We can do two for £4.50.

And the girls' deals means their stock is flying off the stall.

Carys, can I have another five of these?

21, 23, 24, 29, 30.

30 masks.

Amazing!

That's £30! Could that be enough to win them this challenge?

Everything on this stall must go today!

10p a mask, bargain!

There are only minutes left.

Every sale gets one of these teams a step closer to the USA.

Animal masks!

Going now! Going now! Everything must go!

Both teams are going for it.

-Drop our prices...

-We can't drop our prices anymore!

There are times in business when any profit is better than none.

All that for two pounds.

-Ten, nine...

-70p.

I need change!

Two of these masks and that's a deal.

..five, four...

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, have a very nice day!

..two, one. Stop selling!

Stop, stop, stop.

Boys, stop selling. Can I have your cash tin?

Good luck. Girls, can I have your cash tin?

Yeah, sure.

-Thank you.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

TEAM: Yes, definitely!

-We are definitely confident.

-Come on, high five.

We're happy, really.

-Glad with what we've done.

-Just hope we have done enough.

They gave it their all, but only one team can win.

Is it Heads Or Tails

or New To The Business

who have made the most money and won today?

I've been watching both teams very closely for the last two days,

and I have to say I have been very impressed with what I have seen.

The cash has been counted.

New To The Business, you took...

Heads Or Tails, you took...

Congratulations, New To The Business, you are today's winners.

I feel sorry for the girls. Commiserations that they lost.

We are pleased that we won, definitely.

We did our best. There was only ten pounds difference.

Someone had to lose, someone had to win, like our name, Heads Or Tails.

TEAM: New To The Business, New To The Business, New To The Business.

Hard luck, girls. It was a really close competition.

New To The Business, congratulations,

you are today's winners

and it earns you a place on our leader board.

The question is are your takings enough to put you in the top four?

Because only those four teams will fight it out in the semifinals.

New To The Business' £97.70 takes them to fourth place,

stripping Team Hagglers' hopes of the semifinal.

Only time will tell

if they'll be able to make it all the way to the USA.

In business, there are times when you have to be calm

and collected, but there are also times

when you have to be rash, bold and put yourself out there,

and that is exactly what our winning team did today.

And it is well worth remembering

if you want to trade your way to the USA.

Next time on Trade Your Way To The USA,

two more teams do battle.

That is selling.

-See the difference?

-Come and get your Muscular Mike!

-Thank you. Go, go, go!

-It's yummy.

Superhero cookies!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd