Anyone who is even a little familiar with the FloraHolland Rijnsburg auction site has probably already seen them lined up in rows: the silver trucks of Heemskerk Flowers. In this Trade Talk article of Dekker Chrysanthemum, this company is highlighted.
Every day, they supply more than 4000 affiliated florists. Not one European country is skipped, and has been for over 60 years now. The flowers of the Rijnsburg-based company can even be found far beyond Europe, with partner company EZ flowers who took over this task from Heemskerk Flowers last year.
The route to success
Like many other flower traders established in Rijnsburg, Heemskerk Flowers once started with several direct flower lines. The flowers were bought fresh at the auction, after which they were packed and sent for transport to our neighboring countries. The florists were visited with Heemskerk's own trucks, and the flowers were offered to the florist on the spot. Gradually, the demand arose at Heemskerk Flowers for more options to serve the customer, and so the company soon introduced a sales method that had never been seen before: a webshop with product images. At once, the affiliated florist could choose from a much more extensive range and from several possible delivery times. For example, the reach of Heemskerk Flowers became a lot larger.
A high standard
The fact that Heemskerk Flowers was the first to use a webshop with product images says a lot about the culture that prevails within the company. Passion, professionalism, and continuous innovation are therefore of great importance. Dennis Kromhout tells Dekker with pride how he has been committed to this beautiful family business since he was 19 years old. He started out as a distributor and buyer, but Dennis is now responsible for the Dutch, Belgium, and German sales team. Full of passion, Dennis tells us about his personal goal with Heemskerk Flowers: always offering the fastest, best and highest service to every florist in Europe. And he succeeds.
One-stop shop
The fact that speed is important to Heemskerk Flowers is apparent from the webshop, where some customers can even order until seven o'clock in the evening, only to have it delivered at their own store by six o'clock the next morning. That Heemskerk wants to be the best is apparent from the continuous innovation that takes place within the company. For example, they are the first company in the sector to use Google glasses to simplify order picking and make it even more efficient than it already is. It becomes clear when Dennis tells us about the care for the customer that the florist can also assume the highest level of service. In this way, every florist gets his own point of contact within Heemskerk Flowers, where personal contact is the norm. The affiliated florists are regularly approached by their account managers, and questions are answered with the utmost care. If you look at the website, you will soon find out that the florist will not be short of anything either. Almost all conceivable flowers, plants, and accessories can be found there, which rightfully makes the digital marketplace of Heemskerk Flowers a one-stop-shop.
A wide range of Dekker varieties
When we zoom in on the chrysanthemum as a product group within the webshop, we also see an offer of unprecedented size. More than 160 different types of chrysanthemums can be found on the Heemskerk Flowers webshop, many of which were once developed at Dekker Chrysanten. Disbud, Spray, Santini, and Madiba: the more than 4000 affiliated florists are not short of anything. If we ask Dennis about the numbers, it turns out that Heemskerk Flowers trades 7.5 million chrysanthemum stems in mono bunches alone, not even considering the chrysanthemums used in the pre-made bouquets. Most of the chrysanthemums sold by Heemskerk Flowers eventually find their way to England, France, Germany, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Especially in the Netherlands, Dennis sees a positive change in consumers' attitudes towards the chrysanthemum. The disbudded chrysanthemums such as Topspin, Aljonka, Momoko, and Capriool are particularly popular among Dutch florists because of their high ornamental value.
A beautiful portrait
Looking at the other segments within the chrysanthemum as a product group, we also see many Santinis that come from Dekker Chrysanten. All colors and flower shapes together form a beautiful portrait on the webshop. The Santini block is an important product group for Heemskerk Flowers. With the bunches being packed on water, and many stems per bucket, the Santini is, on the one hand, an interesting product from a cost point of view. On the other hand, the many colors and varieties also make the Santini the perfect product for a bouquet, with the majority of Santini's finding their way to the German florist. Our pink Santini, AAA Non-stop is also regularly bought by German florists from the Heemskerk Flowers webshop. “It's just a great product, and it looks beautiful too,” says Dennis himself.
Dekker ChrysantenJulianaweg 6a
1711 RP Hensbroek
T: +31 (0) 226 45 60 60
F: +31 (0) 226 45 60 75
E: info@dekkerchrysanten.nl
www.dekkerchrysanten.com