The Greenery UK hopes to make more of the opportunities it has to bring Dutch glasshouse product into the UK and leverage its economies of scale to import more products from countries other than the Netherlands, said md Martin Brown.
The Greenery has announced its annual results with pre-tax profit of €7.5 million compared to €5.2m in 2004, and Brown sees room for greater gains.
“The UK is one of four areas of focus for The Greenery internationally with the Netherlands, German and Easter Europe,” said Brown. “Our focus is two-fold: to bring direct deliveries into the supermarket depots to be as lean and mean as possible; and to exploit our market position on the wholesale markets with a reliable supply of quality produce to give us a competitive edge.”
He stressed that The Greenery is not just about Dutch produce. “We bring in produce from some 60 countries through Rotterdam and we think there are opportunities to exploit that further - it is The Greenery’s strategy to exploit its size. It sells a huge number of products which we could in the future bring into the UK.”
Brown would not be drawn on which imported products The Greenery might be looking to target the UK with, but the company is a huge importer of citrus into the Netherlands and one of Europe’s largest melon importers.
“The market has evolved,” explained Brown. “You can see what is happening on the High Street. There is more pressure on price than ever before and it is now taken as read that your level of quality will be excellent so it is coming down to looking at every last part of the supply chain.”
Brown believes that The Greenery’s best opportunity first and foremost is to increase the range of Dutch glasshouse product that it supplies into the UK and supplying it more efficiently. “We have to look at whether we are going through the purest route and that should be from the Dutch packhouse to the UK customer. We have a broad portfolio, for example there is significant potential for chicory and aubergines.”
Another key area of focus for The Greenery UK going forward will be innovation. “Recent new introductions have been ice-chilled Brussels sprouts, new apple varieties, snacking tomatoes and Aromio vine cocktail tomatoes,” said Brown. “Our focus is to create clear water between us and our competitors and innovation is part of that with our growers bringing new products to the marketplace. We will be sending a Greenery lorry over to the UK in the coming weeks to tour the wholesale markets on a roadshow to demonstrate the innovations that we have to offer.”
Other highlights from The Greenery’s financial statement include operating profit of €22m compared to €21m in 2004. The company also saved costs by implementing a single IT tool across its operations and has recorded a drop in absenteeism due to the implementation of enhanced training and appraisal systems.
