As long as the physical plant clocks of Royal FloraHolland in Aalsmeer and Naaldwijk fulfill their function, they will remain a part of the marketplace. This has been agreed upon by the board of the auction organization with the ‘Keep the plant clock' action group.
The action group is satisfied with this outcome of the meeting with the board and management of Royal FloraHolland held on 24 October.
Martin Hogenboom (l) and Remy van Adrichem (r): ‘Positive business with the clock’ (photo DeBeeldredacteur.nl/Martine Goulmy)
The meeting was a follow-up to the extra general members meeting of 21 September, where the image auctioning of plants was discussed as the sole topic. "Phasing as well as more influence on the introduction of image auctioning was the main conclusion of that meeting and a good follow-up was given to that," according to the action group. "Many members and customers of Royal FloraHolland have supported us in our efforts to continue to give the physical auctioning of plants a place in the digitization in the ornamental plants sector. And the auction organization has listened well. We are grateful for that," according to the action group.
Continuing Developments
During the meeting, policy issues such as the continued development of KOA (buying at a distance), the ‘strengthening of plant clock’ program, the development of apps for growers and buyers, the plans for ‘auctioning today for tomorrow’, and the new Floriday e-commerce platform are separate from the physical auctioning of plants.
"During the meeting, the board of directors made the comparison with the Royal FloraHolland branch in Eelde. That marketplace works well and is profitable. As long as the physical plant clocks in Aalsmeer and Naaldwijk function as a business unit and are profitable, they will be retained," the action group reports. "Royal FloraHolland has to be the most important marketplace for all business models", also was a powerful statement by the management that provides confidence in the organization.
In addition to the position of the plant clocks and digitization, other current and future market developments have been discussed and it is concluded that the meeting will be continued on a regular basis.