We’ve reached the time of year when all our peak periods are behind us and the turnover of our cooperative Veiling Holambra has gone up dramatically, by 13%, so far. Potted plants in particular are doing well, with the orchids as the big driver. Just like everywhere else, our direct sales are increasing faster than the sales through the auction clock. Although the latter is still continuing to grow steadily – the gallery seats are full most of the time. So we’ve decided to expand the gallery by 20%.
We’ve been putting it off for several years, but we can no longer deny that the number of buyers has gone up. With regards to our auction presale, that’s made a cautious start. But as long as our members continue to deliver a steady supply for the auction presale, this component will be successful here, too.
Our digital platform is taking shape. The turnover through the Veiling Online web shop has gone up by 60% and will continue to grow at a similar rate for a while. Of course there are some teething problems, but we deal with those and solve them as we go along. Traders are showing an interest in starting a web shop, so this is the time to develop and push on!
Internally, all our spaces are let and we’re going to finalise our plans for 2018 over the next couple of weeks. It’s not unlikely that one of the proposals will be to invest in new buyers’ spaces. And to build an extension so that we can meet the demand for more processing space. The cooperative is in a strong position and we’re keen to grow more.
A few of our members were in the Netherlands last week, to visit the FlowerTrials, an important event for our industry. Our own technical horticultural fair, Hortitec, takes place in Holambra next week. We’re looking forward to welcoming many Dutch companies and salespeople. It’s always nice to see so many familiar faces and exchange the latest news.
Sounds like everything’s rosy in Brazil? Oh well, you never know what the headlines bring. Do we still have a president? What are people accusing each other of today? Which scandals were revealed this time? Who’s going to jail? When are we going to vote about the much needed reforms? The political situation is a big mess and there are plenty of businesses that were involved in all sorts of corruption scandals. It’s deeply rooted in the public system in particular. Sometimes it’s better to turn off the news altogether. And just work, full steam ahead, on improving our own business!
André van Kruijssen,
General manager Veiling Holambra
