HOLLAND: PHOTOGRAPH BY SEM LANGENDIJK FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK55April 20, 2020They’rethenrepackedintomorecoldtrucksandplanes
anddelivered to supermarkets, florists, and bridal bouquets
across Asia, Europe, and the U.S.
The auctions are run by a cooperative, Royal FloraHolland,
formed a century ago by a group of growers who met in a pub
and devised a system to better control how their flowers were
sold. Royal FloraHolland now runs four auction sites that
handle the bulk of the global trade. Its facility in Aalsmeer,
a concrete warehouse larger than 75 soccer fields, is one of
the biggest buildings in Europe. Each day before sunrise,
workers fill it with truckloads of chrysanthemums, roses,
and tulips. Buyers assemble in rooms filled with computer
screens,wherephotosofeachlotaredisplayed.Clare’sorder
likelywouldhavegonefromherwholesalertoa brokerhere.
Thebloomsaresoldunderthetraditional Dutch auction
system, in which prices start high then tick lower as a clock
counts down. The first buyer to pounce wins. As the lots are
bought, electric tractors pull long trains of wagons loaded
with blooms from one side of the warehouse to the other.
The average day sees more than 100,000 transactions. Most
of the flowers end up elsewhere in Europe, in under 12 hours.
Spring is usually a busy season, with weddings, Mother’s