Almost 500 growers presented their products to the visitors at Groen-Direkt’s Spring Days as in 2016, and hundreds of buyers inspected the alphabetically arranged products in the Dutch town of Boskoop.
“A boost for the entire sector” is how Groen-Direkt’s director qualified the present market situation: “Since this time last year we have clearly been witnessing a steady upward trend that has culminated in a tremendous peak that fortuitously happened to coincide with our Spring Days." A live catalogue of 10,000 square metres
The fact that Groen-Direkt is growing even more strongly than the market trend is not a matter of luck, according to Koert, but a logical outcome of the organisation’s specific formula: “Buyers who visit our fair for the first time are delighted by the treasure trove awaiting them there. Thirty times a year we present a live catalogue of 10,000 square metres. The buyers stroll among the plants, look, compare and buy. Every time, we try to turn our fair into any European garden plant buyer’s dream. For almost twenty years our fairs have formed the basis of our unique formula. And during those years our range has steadily expanded and we have fine-tuned our services to ensure that they closely meet the requirements of the markets we supply. This is a constant process. And after all these years our efforts are paying off for the growers and buyers concerned. The past year a remarkably large number of new companies have discovered our treasure trove.”
Garden centres and DIY stores
“The crisis years have taught entrepreneurs to make choices and to focus on specific targets. Some shops try to tempt bargain buyers with popular products that will sell well, while others prefer to offer a wide range and a high level of service. Retailers simply have to make such choices, also the retailers in our garden-plant sector. You know that you can make a difference as an entrepreneur by making the right choices. In our sector it’s green that makes the difference. But you do need a strong partner to help you make that difference. And Groen-Direkt is that partner for the purchase of garden plants,” says Gert Koert, convincingly supported by his organisation’s results. “With a very wide, up-to-date range and special conditions we offer a perfect purchasing channel for both garden centres and DIY stores. Something to suit all tastes. And with our range offering so much choice, all retailers can create their own identity for their shops,” Koert explains. “What also makes our formula unique is the large number of growers at our fairs. Up to 150 nurseries have a stand there, enabling buyers to make direct agreements about, say, forward deliveries.”
Everything under one roof
Groen-Direkt works with a unique formula, offering a wide, highly diverse range of garden plants under one roof by combining thirty sample fairs a year with a webshop. Buyers can see, feel and smell the plants themselves at the fairs, or opt for the convenience of purchasing via the webshop, where they can view weekly updated photos of the products. In both cases they can choose from a distinctive range of plants that they will receive quickly, via one order, one delivery and one invoice.
In the remaining part of the year, around twenty more fairs will be organised in Boskoop, where trading companies and garden centres will find a full range of garden plants. The organisation’s webshop at www.groen-direkt.nl also offers the entire range accompanied by weekly updated photos of the batches.
