“The large number of customers we currently have, doesn’t come with the level of added value that I would like”, said Lucas Vos, CEO of Royal FloraHolland, during the Freesia Evening at Keukenhof. With his statement, Vos wanted to get the trade people thinking.
He indicated that FloraHolland doesn’t want to take over the role of the trader. “We won’t be offering any further services beyond the purchasing moment. To be honest, we don’t need such a large number of customers, considering the level of added value they’re currently providing. We’d like to focus more on the growers. The added value offered by trade is logistics, and that isn’t something I, or you, need 600 customers for”, said Vos to the Freesiashow audience.
The CEO feels that both the auction and the growers need customers who know how to connect with the consumer, who develop new concepts and unlock new markets. “When we think about the future, we feel sure that there will always be breeders, growers and consumers. But the existence of Royal FloraHolland and its customers is uncertain. Our customers’ role should consist of understanding consumers, promoting flower sales and providing growers with feedback regarding consumers’ needs and wishes.”
Vos mentioned two important developments: globalization and digitalisation. He said that digitalisation is the most important. If FloraHolland wants to remain an international marketplace, with a large customer base, characterised by convenience, it must offer a completely digitalised auctioning process.
With regards to globalization, the Dutch floricultural industry is behind, according to Vos. “Growers are very innovative, they’re working hard, love their produce, but they’re very Dutch. All of us, working together here, are very Dutch and very much focused on each other. Demand throughout the world is increasing and we don’t really notice it in the Netherlands. We need more of our old Dutch East India Company mentality. We’re currently losing market share, other countries are doing better than us.”
FloraHolland has been trying to gain some market share in China for two years now. Vos said that it’s finally starting to go in the right direction. “Initially, we didn’t get any traction at all. But these days, the phone doesn’t stop ringing. We’re beginning to get somewhere.” Vos does see that Ecuador is ahead though, in China. “They got there first and they organised their distribution channels in China really well. We shouldn’t have let that happen. The Netherlands is the number one flower country. We really need to focus more on globalisation.”
Vos also highlighted a few other challenges, including sustainability, attracting talent to the sector and better organisation of logistics. With regards to sustainability and logistics, FloraHolland wants to take the lead. One of the problems with logistics is that transactions are getting smaller and smaller. Vos explained that lorries are carrying a smaller load and trolleys and containers aren’t always filled optimally. That increases the logistics costs per stem. “We’re taking a stand on this. Transporters may not always like it, but if we do nothing, we won’t be able to get products to the consumers in an efficient way.”
Vos’s final topic was consumer promotion. One of FloraHolland’s goals is to get more European consumers to buy more plants and flowers. “We’d like to win consumers’ hearts and minds. I haven’t managed to achieve this in the past three years. That really upsets me.” Vos is pleased that the trade is contributing, but he considers the 14 million per year that’s currently available a drop in the ocean. “My personal frustration is, that we didn’t manage to see an increase in consumer spending. That’s our next big focus.”
