Oriflame Summer Internship

I want to give an example of what a weekend can be like here in Bangkok! The things to do and see here are endless but this particular weekend I went to the Chatuchak weekend market where I practiced my bargaining skills and did some good deals. Everything you can possible imagine is for sale here, from roasted insects to art, from puppies to furniture. Just looking around and do some people watching is really entertaining, I liked the style of this cool group of teenagers and I could not stop myself from buying one of these bubble making machines…

In the evening I went for dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel with Caroline and Erik who is the Market Director of Sri Lanka. The place was magical and the restaurant was right by the river, I was amazed by the fairytale looking lobby.

We have had a big meeting here in the regional office called QPS (Quarterly Planning Session) to discuss processes and strategies for pricing, forecasting, catalogue planning and catalogue development.  People working in these areas in different Asian markets have come here and we have all learned about each other’s work and talked about what can be improved. 

One part of these meetings was a workshop where we were divided into teams and we were all supposed to come up with three catalogue themes for 2012 that had a “WOW” effect. I was working with Sharmili (marketing director in India), Ella (forecaster in Indonesia), Kesarin and Ratchanee (both forecasters in the regional office). Our results were “I am every women” highlighting that Oriflame has skincare products for all skin types, “Turn back time” focusing on the time reversing skincare range featuring a discount equal to your age and “Hollywood glamour” which is a classic. In total twelve themes were presented and hopefully this could give the catalogue development and design team some inspiration. 

They sure know how to build malls in this city and people sure know how to shop! Some of the big malls are Siam Paragon, The Emporium, Platinum, MBK, Central World, Siam Discovery...and yes, I have been to all of them!

As mentioned the team consists of Thai, Indians and Swedes and despite the fact that collaboration and everyday work runs smoothly it can sometimes be helpful with some team building exercises. The cultures in these three countries are very different which can sometimes cause misunderstandings, therefore a workshop was dedicated to this that I was responsible for. The event started out with a traditional Swedish “fika” and I found some cinnamon buns at a mall, they did not really taste like traditional Swedish ones and they overdid the frosting but that is as close as you get here in Bangkok. Then it was quiz time and you will find an example below, can you guess what statement belongs to which country?

1.       In general, people from this country are open and friendly, and compared to many others, have a lesser sense of privacy.

2.       Heated debates are very unusual at business meetings. Unlike the situation in most other countries, this business culture strongly favors compromising.

3.       Be careful not to give too much praise in regards to possessions, as he or she may feel embarrassed, or obligated to give you the item in question. It is best to give general praise, such as 'You have a wonderful office.'  

 The day continued with everybody trying to learn some Hindi, Swedish and Thai and later we went for bowling and dinner!










Quiz answers: 1-India, 2-Sweden, 3-Thailand

This is not only the regional office for Asia but also the local office for the Thai market and also where Oriflame consultants go to pick up products to sell. There are always a few people in the lobby who are here to pick up their orders.

Today I went out to eat with my co-workers Bang, Kesarin, Cake, Yam and Winona. They really know their way around Bangkok and we went to a nice little restaurant by the University where I had fried chicken and plum juice. We had a nice time talking about their recent weekend trip to Chiang Mai. Afterwards we went for a mandatory stop at MR Cup where we all had sweat tea with milk and jelly to keep us energized back at the office. Lunch really is the time to get to know the people around you!

Popularity of products varies a lot depending on the market, can you guess what lipstick shades are bestsellers in India VS Vietnam?

 Other examples:

• On the Chinese market light powder, feminell products and deo’s especially the ginger and lime scent is very popular.
• In many Asian markets skin whitening lotions are very well-liked. However, bronzing powder is not launched in many Asian markets.
• In India eyeliner is a best seller but mascara is less fashionable.

During the lunch break I use to go out to the nearby market to get some fresh juice and fruit and each little trip is an adventure. I always go to the same vendor who has amazing juice and when my mission is completed I use to take a quick walk around the market to see if any bargains can be made. Today was a successful day for Harmeet, Kanan, Eshwarya and me!

This is the rainy season in Thailand and September is the wettest month of the year. For a couple of weeks it starts to rain at around 5 o’clock every day and then it lasts for a couple of hours. The streets get flooded and after a few minutes outside you are soaked. However, the rain is not bad for everyone. All of a sudden an umbrella becomes priceless, everybody wants a taxi and the fares increases to about 300%...

Krishna and Pablo posing with the S8 model before heading out for lunch!

It takes me about 10 minutes to get to the office in the morning by taxi and depending on traffic it takes me 15-50 minutes to get home in the evenings, the traffic can be crazy here! The office is nice and modern, below are some pictures of the building and the interior.