The florists’ clock at the Royal FloraHolland branch in Naaldwijk will be closing as early as Friday the 11th of August 2017. That’s eight weeks earlier than planned. Initially, the clock was going to close on the 1st of October, but there were hardly any buyers last week. FloraHolland said that there isn’t a good balance between supply and demand these days and they feel that this is irresponsible.
The customers of the florists’ clock in Naaldwijk have switched to digital purchasing much faster than expected. The vast majority of those customers are now buying through export clocks and the FloraMondo auction presale. Plantion auction said that they might benefit too from the closure of the florists’ clock in Naaldwijk.
Some of the growers that supply small quantities feel duped by the sudden closure. “It seems like FloraHolland just wants to keep the big suppliers”, said Nenne Bos, summer flower grower from Nieuw-Vennep. “I feel very upset. Small growers don’t get anything to say. Considering the small quantities that we supplied, the florists’ clock was very important for us. I guess we’ll have to take four products on four trolleys to four different locations now. I hope there’s going to be a good alternative, offering us the opportunity to supply several types of summer flowers as one product group.”
Teunis Aleman from Ouddorp, another summer flower grower, cultivates a broad assortment and he was also very happy with the florists’ clock. “I used to supply a few trolleys. I expect we’ll still be serving the same market, but it will have to be elsewhere. FloraHolland is going to lose a few customers.”
According to the auction, customers of the florists’ clock in Naaldwijk have been successfully directed to other suitable purchasing channels. “The opportunities for digital and small-scale purchasing through the export clocks and the FloraMondo auction presale have dramatically improved and we’ve made these platforms more accessible and cheaper. They make good alternatives to the florists’ clock.”
