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Marketing situation
Sales of cut flowers and potted plants got off to a slow start in January, with slightly lower sales and average prices compared to 2023. Sales picked up noticeably in February and around Valentine's Day. Total sales for Valentine's Day at the auction clock were on par with the previous year, with a larger total volume of sales in the cut flower segment and slightly lower prices than in 2023. On all auction days before Valentine's Day, sales were pleasingly constant with a clear focus on cut flowers. Digital sales channels such as remote buying and clock pre sales also remained very popular alongside the auction clock. Overall, both the quantities delivered and the prices of cut flowers developed positively from February onwards and were therefore slightly up on the first quarter of the previous year. Roses, chrysanthemums, gerberas and lisianthus were in particularly high demand, with only tulips delivering significantly lower sales volumes than in the previous year due to lower bulb production in 2023. Sales of potted plants were good overall from February onwards, but with garden plants price levels for daffodils were down on the previous year due to the mild weather. All other products sold well in the first quarter of 2024, with bowls and arrangements in particularly high demand once again.
Clock pre sales given a new layout
The new layout of the clock pre sales, which has been available to Veiling Rhein-Maas customers since the end of February, has been well received overall. This update means that the clock pre sales now have an optimised presentation, similar to that of an online shop, and a wide range of new options such as filtering, searching and a much better display of the lots on offer, including product images. To maximise user-friendliness, the reservation process has not changed. All log-in data for previous clock pre sales customers is still valid and the new clock pre sales can be found, as before, in the Veiling Rhein-Maas portal.
Customer and Supplier Day 2024
After a three-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic, Veiling Rhein-Maas and 500 guests kicked off the new year with the traditional Customers and Suppliers Day on 9 January. The main topic of the event was "Artificial intelligence and its impact and opportunities for the green sector". Visitors were able to learn a lot about the different types of artificial intelligence (AI) as well as current developments and the various opportunities that AI can offer the world of flower and plant retail and logistics.
Personal dialogue with customers and industry partners
Veiling Rhein-Maas also used several industry trade fairs in the first quarter of 2024 to engage in intensive dialogue with many interested existing and potential customers and suppliers. Many visitors took the opportunity to talk to auction staff in person at the International Plant Fair (IPM) in Essen and the two trade fairs HortiContact (Gorinchem, NL) and Vaktentoonstelling (Zwaagdijk, NL).
