We recently conducted three experiments on Floriday to optimise Clock Pre-sales even further and offer growers more trading options. These experiments generated a lot of positive responses. For growers, this expands their commercial freedom and buyers can now enjoy a broader range of purchasing options. This article talks about the key outcomes, grower and buyer experiences and our next steps.
To make Clock Pre-sales more attractive to growers and buyers, Royal FloraHolland recently conducted three experiments within selected product groups:
1. Being able to adjust prices (both up and down) within Clock Pre-Sales
2. The option of offering up to 100% of the stock through Clock Pre-Sales (instead of up to 50%)
3. Bringing the start time of Clock Pre-sales forward to 8am (instead of 12 noon)
Variable Clock Pre-sales pricing
Growers were given the option to lower their Clock Pre-sales prices during the day, in addition to the existing option to raise prices. Over three-quarters of the growers took part in the trial, and out of these growers, 30% reduced the price once. Growers reported that this meant they felt “closer to the market” and sold more. Buyers were already used to price fluctuations in direct trade, so this change was well received.
Moving forward: the ability to reduce the Clock Pre-Sales price on Floriday during the day will be rolled out to all growers (and product groups) on 17 December.
Clock Pre-sales percentage raised
During this trial, growers could sell up to 100% of their stock through Clock Pre-sales, instead of the previous maximum of 50%. Over 400 growers took part in this trial, more than half of whom set the Clock Pre-sales percentage to 100%. Key findings:
● Growers sold more and noticed that niche products were selling faster.
● Buyers said they felt a lack of certainty as many lots were sold out before they reached auction.
Moving forward: for both flower and plant growers, the maximum percentage of Clock Pre-sales can be set at 80% as of 17 December, with a minimum of 1 container available for auction. By doing this, we are responding to what the growers want whilst also ensuring that buyers can still find enough batches at auction.
Clock Pre-sales brought forward to 8am
During this experiment, growers could bring the start time for their Clock Pre-sales stock forward to 8am instead of 12 noon. Bringing forward the start time for Clock Pre-sales proved less effective than expected. The results:
● There were some transactions between 8am and 12 noon, mainly through linked web shops.
● Additional stock continued to be limited, partly because growers only get a full list of their available stock later in the day and not everyone is able to offer it earlier.
Moving forward: new services aimed at expanding day trading are being developed, whereby growers will soon be able to make their commercial stock available earlier, independent of the sales channel and then scale up flexibly. Importantly, it will be possible to enter provisional stock and add to it later without affecting the auction lots.
How will things look moving forward?
Based on these experiments, we are working on the following improvements:
● Downwards price adjustment: From 17 December, it will be possible for all growers to both increase and decrease Clock Pre-sales prices during the day.
● Maximum Clock Pre-sales percentage of 80%: The new maximum will be 80%, with a minimum availability of 1 container before the auction. This comes into effect on 17 December 2024 and is open to everyone from then on.
● Expansion of day trading: A new form of day trading is being developed, where growers can market their stock early in the day on a flexible basis, and have the logistics handled by RFH.
All growers using Clock Pre-sales will be notified about this soon. Software suppliers are also being notified.