Veiling Rhein-Maas achieved product sales of EUR 248 million in the first half of 2024. This is exactly the same level of revenue as in the first half of the previous year. The first six months of 2024 were primarily characterized by good average prices with a slightly lower product range. "Given the capricious weather, which had a significant impact on business in the second quarter of the year, we are satisfied with our product sales for the first half of the year," explain Günther Esser and Cees Hoekstra, Managing Directors of Veiling Rhein-Maas.
Marketing situation
As the best sales week of the second quarter, Mother's Day week (Monday, 6 May - Sunday, 12 May 2024) was very satisfactory overall for Veiling Rhein-Maas and it will probably remain the best sales week of the year. It is particularly pleasing that the level of sales achieved during Veiling Rhein-Maas' previous record week for Mother's Day 2023 was exceeded once again. Veiling Rhein-Maas achieved good and stable sales with good average prices for almost the entire first half of the year. One of the reasons behind this was the noticeable shortage of goods. In the first half of 2024, Veiling Rhein-Maas was down on the previous year in terms of volume for cut flowers. This was mainly due to a shortage of tulips, although there are now also shortages in outdoor products. The reason for this is the excessively wet weather in the second quarter, which meant that many sets were not ready to be sold. The figures for gerberas are also too low, mainly because of the weather.
The poor weather and low volumes also had an impact on the auction of potted plants. However, thanks to the positive developments in February, March and in the first two weeks of April, sales and average prices at the auction were slightly higher than expected despite the difficult marketing situation in May and June. Flowering indoor plants sold well but sales of outdoor potted plants were sluggish in June in particular. Demand here was low due to the initially low temperatures and the high amounts of rainfall, including storms with flooding in southern Germany. There was far too little good weather for gardening across Germany and this has been clearly reflected in sales of bedding and balcony plants. Only perennials sold well. The extreme slug and snail infestations affecting domestic gardens this year has also been impacting sales and the resulting need for consumers to buy replacement plants.
Customer participation in the first half of the year was on a similar level to the previous year - with a slightly lower proportion of in-person visitors to the auction. As a result, customer participation is now split equally between those attending the auction in person and customers buying remotely. This development confirms the shift towards the digital sales channels of remote buying, clock pre sales and the webshop that has been going on for several years now. In the first half of 2024, sales in clock pre sales increased by 6 per cent compared to the same period in the previous year. This increase in revenue was evenly split between cut flowers and potted plants. Since the end of February, Veiling Rhein-Maas' clock pre sales has had a new layout which has been well received by customers overall. The clock pre sales new layout is quite similar to a webshop with a wide range of new options such as filtering and searching available, and a significantly optimised display of the lots on offer including product images.
The Veiling Rhein-Maas portal on the website, which could previously only be used by customers, is now also being expanded to include functions for suppliers. From calendar week 29, suppliers of potted plants will be able to enter their delivery notifications via the portal. In the future, they will also be able to to set clock pre sales prices and - if desired - minimum prices. The portal also contains documents such as weekly reports, daily results and similar, which can be viewed online or downloaded.
Further development of the site and the business model as a whole
Veiling Rhein-Maas has laid the foundation for further growth with the takeover of the currently unused Hall N on the company premises in Straelen-Herongen. "Following the commissioning of the new LMC in Building T, the takeover of Hall N marks the next important step for us in our strategic project ''Standort 2025'', with which we are positioning our marketplace attractively for the future," emphasise Günther Esser and Cees Hoekstra, Managing Directors of Veiling Rhein-Maas. Hall N will provide Veiling Rhein-Maas with around 10,000 square metres of additional hall space, which - unlike in the case of a new building - can start being used by the auction and its customers in the third quarter. After the summer, the Import Department and Service Centre, among others, will start work in Hall N. This move will also free up space elsewhere that can be used for new purposes, thus increasing the design options for Veiling Rhein-Maas. It will create additional space for further growth for Veiling Rhein-Maas, its customers and its suppliers.
The company's strategic outlook already goes far beyond the " Standort 2025" project. Veiling Rhein-Maas, together with its two parent companies Royal FloraHolland and Landgard, is currently outlining a strategic ten-year plan. An important starting point for this plan is the expected changes in the overall market for flowers and plants as well as further changes in customer requirements and consumer behaviour. As part of its ten-year plan, Veiling Rhein-Maas is already working these conceivable changes into the framework conditions and developing responses for the future. The aim of the plan is to develop and implement positive future prospects for the successful Veiling Rhein-Maas model. This involves the continuous further development of Veiling Rhein-Maas, including the various distribution channels and the entire infrastructure at the Straelen-Herongen site.
Trade fair activities
In June, Veiling Rhein-Maas visited the IFTEX international flower fair in Nairobi, the largest trade fair for flowers and plants in Africa. The Veiling Rhein-Maas representative that attended used the fair to hold talks with Veiling Rhein-Maas suppliers and to establish new contacts with producers. The next trade fair that Veiling Rhein-Maas will attend is Florall in Waregem, Belgium, which will be held on 20 August.
For more information:
Veiling Rhein-Maas
[email protected]
www.veilingrheinmaas.com