long-term relationships

Once a week, before dawn, I'm at the flower auction and walk through the cold rooms checking our lilies. I love that. Some people declare me crazy, getting up at a quarter past four! For me it's normal, I grew up with it. My father took me to the auction as a boy, and it still gives me energy. So we have beautiful flowers; exclusive lelier varieties that we've spent years building, together with our bulb breeders. I also always check the competitor's flowers, to see what the quality is or if we can still improve.

When we sell our beautiful flowers, personal contact and good relationships are very important. Maybe I got that from my father; a real connector. He made our family business, which exists for two generations, stronger and established relationships from which we still benefit today. He maintained all the contacts himself, with bulb breeders, exporters, florists; he knew everyone. And he did that on his own. We, my two brothers Peter, Thomas and I, have been doing it with the three of us for a few years now. Each with his own expertise and competencies.

Like father like son, so we too maintain our own contacts. That is why I visited about fifty relations in recent weeks to thank them personally for their cooperation. Just before Christmas I knocked on their door with a beautiful bottle of Le Lys wine, from the Bordeaux area. A region that not only produces delicious wine, but where one of our lily varieties also comes from. A nice gift for our exporters and relations; essential partners in the chain.

Our bulb breeders, often also passionate people, contribute greatly to our original lily varieties. They are at the base. Without good bulbs you are simply nowhere. By keeping an open dialogue with each other, together we ensure the very best product. This creates room for innovation; an important driving force in our organization.

We ourselves have really taken a hit. Since my father retired, our production has more than doubled! It doesn't matter how big you are in our business: there is still a kind of cowboy trade, where nothing is agreed upon. No fixed prices and no fixed agreements. Not everyone wants to commit, when there is just so much to gain from that. If you go for long-term agreements, we can deliver flowers every month that match the demand. Our aim is to establish long-term, loyal relationships with our customers and suppliers.

To connect the whole chain, you actually have to look beyond trade and our suppliers. Take florists, for example, at the very end of the chain. They too work with our lilies with heart and soul and deliver craftsmanship. Would it not be logical to ask them precisely what inspires them? If we know what their wishes are, we can respond and share this knowledge with our relations in the chain. This completes the circle...

I have my father as an example in this, which is very stimulating. And what he says is true: if you know each other, it works so much better. I aim for long-term relationships with our customers and suppliers. That gives me energy. That's what I do it for.

Levi Evers (26), after graduating from Horti Technics & Management, is co-owner of Bredefleur.