The busiest day of the year was Thursday, the last auction day before Mother’s Day, at the Eelde Flower Auction. The working day was extra stressful for FloraHolland employees, because it was the last Mother’s Day that they worked at this location: “We rewarded everyone with a sausage sandwich on this special day.”
FloraHolland’s announcement to leave Eelde has had little impact on customers until now. “There are already some customers who have started looking for an alternative, but 300 carts left on Thursday morning. The most we have had so far this entire year,” says location manager Arie Bezemer. “People still visit us, with the absolute highlight being Thursday morning,” he says.
Since the announcement of the closure of FloraHolland, there are still auctions on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, so this was the last auction before Mother’s Day.
The circumstances were excellent to make the last Mother’s Day auction a success. “It has been beautiful weather for flowers, so the peonies in particular are now in full bloom,” says Bezemer. “These are also supplied to us quite a lot from the region. The peony is actually the first product that heralds spring and summer for the flower market.”
But it’s not just the peonies that are selling like hotcakes. “You actually see that all flowers in a mixed bunch of flowers are popular, such as sunflowers or gerberas,” explains the location manager. “But bedding plants (this includes violets and marigolds, ed.) are also doing well.”
According to Bezemer, this auction day in Eelde was experienced differently than normal. “We’ve been waiting for this moment all week. Everyone helped with the logistics operation,” Bezemer explains. “We really put our shoulders to the wheel for this last Mother’s Day.”
And so the clock continues to count down to June 25, the day of the last FloraHolland auction in Eelde. Bezemer is all too aware that they are moving towards the final chord. “We put a lot of attention into the room and pay a lot of attention to the people. We ask a little more often than usual how they are doing and whether they have found new work yet.”
This does not appear to be a problem for a large proportion of employees. “Some say they will have new work as of July 1, others have already started a new job.”
June 30 is the last official day of FloraHolland in Eelde. The site is now for sale, a group of local entrepreneurs previously indicated that they wanted to realize a flower hub in Eelde.
