Mischa Groothuizen of Dutch phalaenopsis nursery Levoplant:

"Plenty of opportunities to expand markets outside Russia's major cities"

"The phalaenopsis demand from Russia is stable for us for many years", says Mischa Groothuizen of Levoplant, a Dutch phalaenopsis nursery who is supplying this market for about a decade now. However, according to the company's Sales Manager, there are plenty of opportunities for the sector to grow, particularly outside the major cities of Russia. "Regarding transportation and presentation, there is a lot to gain. But how long will it take to actually enter these surrounding cities?"

Mischa Groothuizen at the FlowersExpo 2017 in Moscow.

Transportation

It's quite a journey to Russia. "From the Netherlands to Moscow, it takes about three days and then, some need to travel even further to the smaller cities surrounding. On top of that, they are repacked." It all affects the quality of the product. "Fortunately, the quality of our phalaenopsis is high when leaving the nursery, but it’s also necessary to keep this quality during transport. Because Russians are fond of good quality products, I think we can gain a lot by making the ones in the transportation chain aware of the benefits when adjusting their habits."

Groothuizen at the FlowersExpo 2017 in Moscow, talking with clients.

Presentation

Next to transportation, presentation can be an important point to increase the sales in this country. "We are exhibiting at the FlowersExpo for about nine years now and we see that all visitors at the exhibition love phalaenopsis. However, when visiting flower shops or retail stores, we see that the phalaenopsis aren't presented to their full potential. There is a lot to gain when we could address this locally."

Addressing the problem

According to Groothuizen, the whole flowering houseplant sector can benefit from addressing these 'problems'. "For us, Russia isn't our main market, but it is an important market and we think there is so much potential to grow. However, achieving results as a company on your own is difficult. I think that when the flowering houseplant industry will cooperate, it will have a good change of success."

FlowersExpo

Next week, Levoplant will again attend the FlowersExpo in Moscow. This exhibition will be held from September 11-14 in the IEC Crocus Expo.

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