Royal FloraHolland, legally Koninklijke Coöperatieve Bloemenveiling Royal FloraHolland U.A., is a Dutch
conglomerate of
florists
Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related sup ...
. It is one of the largest
auction companies in the world. Royal FloraHolland is headquartered in
Aalsmeer
Aalsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (''aal'') and lake (''meer''). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of ...
, with locations in
Naaldwijk
Naaldwijk () is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 10 km southwest of The Hague.
Naaldwijk lies in the heart of Westland. The largest economic sector is greenhouse ho ...
,
Rijnsburg
Rijnsburg () is a village in the eastern part of the municipality of Katwijk, in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The name means Rhine's wikt:Special:Search/burg, Burg in Dutch.
History
The history starts way before the ...
and
Eelde
Eelde () is a town in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Tynaarlo, and lies about 9 km south of Groningen. Groningen Airport Eelde is located near the village.
Eelde was a separate municipality until 1998, when ...
.
The export auctions are located in Aalsmeer, Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg, and there is an auction for the domestic market in Eelde. The brokerage agency focuses on futures and day trade and operates at all branches.
Measuring 740 by 700 meters, the auction building in Aalsmeer is the largest building in Europe by floor area. Until 2008 it was the largest building in the world (currently ranked fifth).
Company
FloraHolland is a non-profit organization which is a result of a merger between FloraHolland and
Aalsmeer Flower Auction
Aalsmeer Flower Auction (''Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer'') is a flower auction that takes place in Aalsmeer, Netherlands. It is the largest flower auction in the world. The Aalsmeer Flower Auction building is the fourth largest building by footprint i ...
in 2007.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
in 2020, FloraHolland's sales collapsed by over 70 percent due to the drop in global demand. In March 2020 alone, 400 million flowers had to be destroyed, including 160 million tulips. In the event that the crisis lasts longer, total damage of two to three billion euros is expected.
History by location
Aalsmeer
In response to the increased power of brokering, the flower growers in Aalsmeer joined forces. The auction in Bloemenlust was founded in late December 1911, "the auction of export flowers will take place in Café Welcome". In addition, the Central Aalsmeer Auction was launched on January 5, 1912. Five days later in the pub Three Columns the first flowers appeared at the
clock
A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and the ...
. Both auctions saw their sales grow annually. In 1918, the Central Aalsmeer Auction achieved, for the first time, annual sales of 1 million guilders.
With flower and plant exports booming the industry desperately needed to expand to a new auction complex with ample space. Against this background it was decided to merge the auctions of Bloemenlust and Central Aalsmeer Auction. The merger took effect on March 6, 1968. The organization continued as:
Aalsmeer Flower Auction
Aalsmeer Flower Auction (''Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer'') is a flower auction that takes place in Aalsmeer, Netherlands. It is the largest flower auction in the world. The Aalsmeer Flower Auction building is the fourth largest building by footprint i ...
(Verenigde Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer or V.B.A.:United Flower Auction Aalsmeer).
In 1972, a new auction complex at Legmeerdijk came into use. The complex covered an area of nine hectares. Further expansion followed and in 1999, the Aalsmeer Flower Auction and its customers took the first parts of the VBA South into use. This is located on the other side of the provincial road N231. Seven years later the first known plans for VBA Oost were drawn up. VBA Oost has a size of 36 hectares. Construction started in 2009. The main auction building was constructed in 2007, and covers an area of approximately 860,000 sqm and is the largest indoor market building in the world.
Other important milestones were in 1973, when the VBA allowed suppliers to market their products through an agency and from 2006, when international membership was introduced and recognized. The first auction in the world Aalsmeer Flower Auction opened membership to international members; companies located in countries outside the EU (companies from EU member states were already allowed to be members). After a short time there were approximately one hundred international members.
Naaldwijk
On March 2, 1923 it was founded as the Central Westland Cut Association (C.W.S.). Revenue in the first auction day was fl. 304.59. The C.W.S. rented a building in
Poeldijk
Poeldijk () is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about 8 km southwest of The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, ...
. In 1923, there were about 75 growers member of the auction. It was auctioned in a single clock.
On March 30, 1931 the auction association has decided to change into a cooperative. From that moment the auction is named Cooperative Central Westlandsche Cut Association (C.C.W.S.). It was decided to establish the auction to the Dijkweg in
Honselersdijk
Honselersdijk is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is home to the historic Huis Honselaarsdijk, former palatial estate of the Dutch Princes of Orange. Huis Honselaarsdijk was one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture a ...
, where the Naaldwijk town is nearby.
In 1971, a small amount of foreign flowers were sold for the first time on the clock. In 1976, the bells were number seven and eight in use for the auctioning of potted plants. This came to an end where the auctioning of flowers and plants were on the same clock. In 1983, the name changed again, this time in C.C.W.S. Flower in the Westland municipality.
The auction remains in Honselersdijk, formerly a core center of the auction business, in the municipality of Naaldwijk (today part of
Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to:
Places
*Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya
* Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme
*Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...
). The name Naaldwijk has so far not changed the Westland name.
Rijnsburg
In 1914, seventeen growers of Flower Flora established their auction in Rijnsburg,
South Holland
South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
. In the beginning it was auctioned in the local pub. Only became a real auction building inaugurated in Rijnsburg in 1917. Bulb flowers and especially tulips and lilies were for Flower Auction from its inception important products. other flowers were auctioned from about 1927.
In 1980, the new auction complex was put into operation just outside
Katwijk
Katwijk (), also spelled Katwyk, is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland, which is situated in the mid-western part of the Netherlands.
The Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine") river flows through the town and into the North Se ...
on the municipal boundary with Oegstgeest. Since the merger, it achieved most of the sales in the Rijnsburgse establishment of bulbous flowers, also in comparison with the other branches.
Bleiswijk
In 1928, the 'Rotterdamsche Vegetable Auction' was establishdf. It auctioned vegetables for the first time and later it auctioned flowers. A year later it built a separate auction in Berkel for the auction of flowers and the name was changed into Cooperative Fruit and Flower
Berkel en Rodenrijs
270px, Town sign
Berkel en Rodenrijs () is a town and former municipality in the municipality of Lansingerland, in the province of South Holland, The Netherlands. The town is very close to ROTTERDAM
History
Berkel en Rodenrijs was founded in t ...
. In 1973, the RVA merged with the vegetable department ‘’Tuinbouwveiling’’ in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
. Auctioning of flowers continued under the name Flower Berkel and Environs. In 1982, the auction building was moved to the Klappolder in Bleiswijk, South Holland. In 2014, this auction has been closed due to fact that the auction operations have been moved to Naaldwijk departement. The facility is maintained as a logistics center for distribution.
Venlo
In 1915, the Cooperative Auction-Vereeniging (CVV) in
Blerick
Blerick (; li, Bliërik ; ) is a city district of the Dutch municipality of Venlo. It lies on the west bank of the Meuse and its origin goes back to the Roman era as a military stronghold and settlement en route from Mosa Trajectum (Maastricht) ...
, Limburg, was founded by the local growers. At that time there were auctioned only fruits and vegetables. From 1916, they added
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
into their auction. Selling flowers through the CVV began in 1962, when a grower of
Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...
are reported at the auction. His flowers were auctioned at the vegetable clock, at that time there was no clock for flowers. Later, many growers went to grow flowers instead of vegetables and fruits.
After a year as many flowers already were auctioned on CVV, there was built a separate Bloemenhal in
Grubbenvorst
Grubbenvorst ( li, Grevors) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Horst aan de Maas, about 6 km northwest of Venlo.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1207 as Vurste, and means "not fe ...
. This is the place where the Venlo department is still located. The new auction complex was opened in 1965. On April 30, 1969 the building was destroyed by fire and the sale was to go into a Groentehal. A few years later, a new building for the auction and distribution was built at the same location of the Bloemenhal.
After several mergers the auction of CVV merged in 1991, with the Cooperative Venlo Vegetable Auction. They continued under the name Cooperative Auction Southeast Netherlands (abbreviated auction ZON). On July 1, 2002 it has been closed the floral part of auction ZON themselves with FloraHolland.
Eelde
In 1927, the first flowers were auctioned in the north of the Netherlands, in the city of
Groningen
Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
. The auction was called Flower 's North. The auction has twice moved from place in Groningen in 1936 and in 1948. In 1978, the auction moved to Eelde, a town nearby that city.
See also
*
Dutch flower bucket
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People ...
References
External links
NRC.bl*
*
Source about BleiswijkRoyal FloraHollandDubai Flower Shop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal FloraHolland
Aalsmeer
Katwijk
Tynaarlo
Westland (municipality), Netherlands
Dutch auction houses
Agricultural marketing cooperatives
Agricultural cooperatives
Agriculture companies of the Netherlands
Auction houses
Dutch companies established in 2007
Dutch brands
Flower markets
Florist companies
Online retailers of the Netherlands
Retail companies established in 2007
Cooperatives in the Netherlands
Conglomerate companies established in 2007
Organisations based in the Netherlands with royal patronage
Companies based in North Holland
Companies based in South Holland
Wholesalers