All roses auctioned via central clocks

A milestone in the history of Royal FloraHolland! Today all roses were auctioned via central clocks. A big and important change towards optimal pricing.

After months of preparation, today we auctioned all roses on 4 central clocks for the first time. An exciting moment for everyone, as all tests showed a green light, but what would the practice yield? This morning at 04:30 the random location draw showed that Aalsmeer was drawn first, followed by Naaldwijk and then Rijnsburg. At 06:00 CEO Steven van Schilfgaarde gave the go-ahead to start auctioning! "A small step after the super preparation, but a beautiful sincere big step for Royal FloraHolland and the sector. I feel we have finally completed the merger. After 8 years of talking about it, we just did it today," said Steven.

Getting used to it
For the auctioneers, it was exciting. In a new clock environment, with different growers than you are used to auctioning, different cultivars on your clock, in short, plenty of things that were different from the previous days. "Of course every auctioneer had prepared himself, but when after 06:00 it appeared that everything went as it should, a moment of release followed," said Wim Könst, auctioneer of clock C09 in Aalsmeer.

Lots of enthusiasm from buyers
The number of logged-in buyers immediately shot to great heights. At some points the number of logged-in buyers was double the normal number on Thursdays, so that immediately gave us confidence. We could draw the first conclusion: buyers knew where to find us! Before the official auction started at 06:00, buyers were given the opportunity to check if they could buy by buying test lots. This was seen as very positive and we will definitely keep it up in the coming auction days. This immediately provided an opportunity to help a buyer with KOA settings. Auctioneers spoke to a number of buyers after the auction and they indicated that they generally have a better overview because they have fewer clocks to keep. This view was also confirmed by FPC Rose president Richard Kneppers: "Keeping fewer clocks gives buyers more overview. It makes the buying process calmer."

Focus on easy trading
It is still early days, but the first reports of other products also being auctioned centrally have already arrived. As Royal FloraHolland, on behalf of our members, we continue to strive for a strong international floriculture marketplace. That is why we continuously invest in the improvement and renewal of our trading facilities with the aim of easy trading.

Want to know more?
Want to know more about what central auctioning means to you? Take a look at our website. Or contact our colleagues at the Customer Contact Center at +31 88 789 89 89. They are at your service from Monday to Thursday from 05.30 - 17.00 and on Friday from 05.30 - 16.00.