Participants satisfied, customers inspired
FLORAHOLLAND AALSMEER, 21 October 2009 – FloraHolland Flower Auction can, along with its suppliers and customers, look back on a successful trade fair week. All facets of the floriculture sector came together during the FloraHolland Trade Fair, held in Aalsmeer from 14 to 16 October. Over six hundred stands and a range of product plazas showed thousands of batches of flowers, plants and concepts from home and abroad. This selection, available immediately or at a later date, ensured the fair was comprehensive. Innovation and inspiration were central to the Expo.
With suppliers from dozens of countries and visitors from all over the world, the fair had an international character. The public was clearly inspired by the many new products, trends, innovations and the vast supply of plants and flowers. Buyers from export and trading companies from the Netherlands and other countries flocked in large numbers as they did last year. The atmosphere on the fair floor was positive. Traders took time to look around the selection properly, often together with their customers. Most visitors were not satisfied with one day and came back to the fair again. People clearly took advantage of the longer opening hours on the first day of the fair.
Inspiration and innovation
In addition and adjacent to the usual fair hall in the Aalsmeer auction complex was the Expo, a space for inspiration and innovation. The visitors gained a proper overview of the current seasonal products, new products and trends. The Flowers Plaza and Plants Plaza were well organized this year. Here customers were able to view and compare the year-round and seasonal products properly. The Trends and Retail Plaza and the Concept Stores attracted a lot of interest. Traders and their customers were positive about the ideas which had been developed into complete retail formulas such as the orchid table and Flower Tower®. A group of visitors to the fair had a look in the Black Box, a closed-off area of the fair where the ideal flower and plant display was exclusively explained. Apart from the many stands and plazas, the FloraHolland Trade Fair Aalsmeer also paid extra attention to innovation and sustainability in the field of container transport. Seminars on the latest developments in quality control and the possibilities of using containers on railways took place in a brand-new container. There was also a great deal of interest in the presentation by the Dutch Flower Council, at the entrance to the fair.
Digital business
The e-Business Pavilion was busily attended by those interested in the digital buying and selling of plants and flowers. In addition, visitors could acquaint (or reacquaint) themselves with RB (Remote Buying) and the importance of good product photography in digital business. PlantConnect.nl, the digital buying system for plants, can also look back at a successful fair. In total, around thirty new customers and almost 150 growers signed up to the webshop. Last week, FloraHolland e-Trade became the first virtual floriculture marketplace to receive the Florecom certificate, a quality label for message exchange.
Happy faces
There were many happy faces among the over six hundred stand holders. “There’s a good atmosphere,” said amaryllis grower Theo Blom. “I’m here for the fifth year but I’ve never seen an opening fair day like this. The visitors are qualitatively good. Customers are more targeted in visiting the fair than they used to be. They have done their homework and have their plans made up in advance. You get to the stage of taking orders more quickly like this. Apart from a number of day orders I’ve also made a lot of follow-up agreements.”
Fair in November next year
The auction is organizing the FloraHolland Winter Fair in Aalsmeer on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 January. The next major international trade fair is the FloraHolland Trade Fair Naaldwijk, on 3 to 5 March 2010.
The FloraHolland Trade Fair Aalsmeer is on different dates in 2010. This fair will take place on 3, 4 and 5 November next year. FloraHolland has decided on this adjustment in order to meet the requirements of its chain partners (suppliers and customers). Organizing the FloraHolland Trade Fair after 1 November meets their needs better.
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