Marcel Verkade, Hamifleurs
How are things in England, six months after the Brexit vote?
“There was a slight decrease in turnover, but this was immediately after the referendum. That’s when the exchange rate of the English pound dropped, making our flowers relatively expensive. This led to a slightly lower demand, but only temporarily. The pound is recovering and exports are too.”
Sounds like the situation isn’t too bad then?
“So far, it’s fine. Most of our customers consider Brexit something positive; they are happy and optimistic. And there must be other countries that are positive about England too, otherwise the exchange rate of the pound wouldn’t be going up. But at a practical level, nothing has changed yet in England of course. Let’s wait and see what happens when they actually do exit the EU.”
What do you think will happen?
“I expect that the free trade agreement will remain more or less the same, because that’s such an important aspect, not just for England, but also for the rest of Europe. Both sides will try their best in the negotiations. For us personally, we’re just focusing on the day-to-day business, which is all about Christmas at the moment. Most of our English customers order through the web shop. That works well for them and it does for us, too.”
Why is that?
“If they order through the web shop, they can see our complete range and that gives them ideas. I’ve noticed that people order more unusual flowers through the web shop, simply because they see them there. A picture says more than a thousand words!”
COMPANY Hamifleurs, Hondelersdijk
FUNCTION Account Manager England
MAIN MARKETS France, Italy, Russia
PURCHASES FROM Westland, Aalsmeer and Rijnsburg, as well as directly from growers
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 180
