When Hans van der Linden opened the doors of his carnival shop in Tilburg on Thursday morning, twenty people were already standing at the door. After Tuesday’s press conference, the revelers know for sure: Carnival will continue and I still have to get a carnival suit quickly. The biggest problem for Hans is to handle the enormous demand in such a short time.
“Busy, yes, you can say that,” says Hans. “Three weeks ago I had three or four customers on Friday. It got a little busier two weeks ago. People wanted to have a party anyway, you noticed. Then just at home or with people in the street. Last week we sold even better, but after the press conference on Tuesday the bomb exploded. We can barely handle it, it is full.”
Like other entrepreneurs, Hans was dependent on the corona measures for a long time. “We sold well at Halloween. Many people went to celebrate Halloween with groups of friends anyway. You noticed that people wanted to party.”
The Koopjeshal Carnival Specialist is normally twice as large, but that is no longer possible this year. “For Carnival we are expanding the store from about 750 to 1350 square meters. But the day is too short. I have enough stuff, but expanding is no longer possible.”
“The biggest problem is to process everything, because I don’t have enough staff. So that’s going to be tough. I will never achieve a normal turnover in such a short time with a third of the normal range and half a store.”
“But everyone who comes in here is happy,” notes Hans. “They don’t complain that there is less supply and are satisfied with everything. People are happy that it is possible again.”
Until Carnival Sunday, Hans and his wife are busy day and night. “Next week and a half it will be night work. It does feel a bit double that we couldn’t do anything for a long time and can’t handle it now, but in the end I’m happy that we can sell again. That feels like a liberation.”