Last week, sales were calm at Armando Papa’s. “This is mostly due to the spring half-term. Many people left for a holiday. But we cannot complain regarding trade. We have had Moroccan early potatoes in our assortment again as of a few weeks. The earlies season has started again. We do about 3/4 pallets of those per week. After Morocco, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will follow with supply, and in May we will have plenty of Belgian and Dutch earlies again,” says Bart van der Heyden.
Bart in August 2013.
From 80 to 20 per cent
According to Bart, fewer of his customers actually come to the market. “I have been active 13 years now, and about 10 years ago, 80 per cent of the customers came to the market to have a look at the products. Nowadays, that is only 20 per cent. Many people order by phone, and we deliver the products. Over the years, we have built up trust, and customers now order ‘blind,’ as it were. I also know who needs which products. We can no longer be dependent on the market itself, it is more a case of ‘every man for himself’ nowadays. It is going to be less and less like a market.”
Yet according to Bart, the market will not become superfluous either. “We still have customers visiting, but fewer. Besides, we need a place to trade, to park, and to display and store all of our products.” Wholesaler’s Armando Papa’s, also called Van der Heyden bvba, has been active on the wholesaler’s market in Antwerp for years already. The company has a versatile supply of potatoes, earlies, onions, garlic and carrots.