Veiling Rhein-Maas: Turnover up 9% in 3rd quarter

Veiling Rhein-Maas was able to realise more turnover in the 3rd quarter of 2016 compared to last year both at the auction clocks, through Clock Pre-Sales and at the Clock Service department. All in all, the quarterly turnover rose by more than 9% compared to the same period of 2015. The development of Clock Pre-Sales was especially pleasing as it showed continuous growth in both turnover and quantity. After the introduction of the digital sales channel for all cut flowers in March 2016, almost 2 million stems were sold during the months of July, August and September. Because of this, the positive trend of the year 2016 could be maintained throughout the 3rd quarter and the annual turnover up to and including September 2016 is 4% higher than in 2015.

Record-breaking July
In spite of the summer and holiday season, the auction clocks at Straelen-Herongen saw stronger demand compared to previous years, especially in the months of July and August. Up to and including calendar week 28, median prices were remarkably high for that time of the year, enabling Veiling Rhein-Maas to realise its highest July turnover since the company was founded. Only by the end of August, the demand at the clock dropped as a result of the high temperatures. Despite extreme summer temperatures in calendar week 37, Veiling Rhein-Maas was able to continue its positive 3rd quarter trend into September as well and managed to finish the month with a clear increase in turnover compared to 2015.

More than 300 customers active in Clock Pre-Sales
Clock Pre-Sales at Veiling Rhein-Maas is a service that offers suppliers the opportunity to sell auction customers part of their supply before auctioning begins, at a set price. One of the reasons for the positive development of Clock Pre-Sales in 3rd quarter was the extension of the 'opening hours' of this digital sales channel, which were implemented at the end of the 2nd quarter. By now, more than 300 Veiling Rhein-Maas customers have access to this pre-auction online sales channel. More and more customers log in daily to view the supply, which by now consists of more than 500 lots, and to make purchases. At the moment, Veiling Rhein-Maas is preparing a pilot concerning the pre-delivery of potted plants that have been sourced through Clock Pre-Sales. The long-term goal is to be able to pre-deliver potted plants and cut flowers from as many auction groups as possible. In response to the customer survey that was conducted this year, Veiling Rhein-Maas is also planning to increase the user-friendliness of the online environment by updating it in 2017.

'Together Active' autumn and international exposure
A 3rd quarter highlight for customers and suppliers of the market place was the 'Together Active' meeting that was held in September, during which 11 suppliers of potted plants and cut flowers presented their products and their business to the customers of Veiling Rhein-Maas in the lobby of the auction building. Especially the presentation of the themes of the second edition 2016 of the bilingual Veiling Rhein-Maas customer magazine ‘Rhein-Maas Temperamente’ (German-Dutch), released in September, drew attention. In addition, international exposure was realised by a number of trade fair participations: spoga+gafa in Cologne, as well as FLORALL in Belgium and Green is Life in Poland.

Source: Veiling Rhein-Maas