Page 27 - Sphere No.21 (Mar 2008)

SPHERE 25
ter classes and exchange programmes for students and Dutch
companies in Hong Kong will initiate local projects related to
the BODW themes.
The tulips, meanwhile, are not just pretty to look at. They
are big business. More than 53 per cent of the world’s flower
bulb production area is located in the Netherlands, accord-
ing to Keukenhof. The trade in flower bulbs currently
amounts to USD1.1 billion and the Netherlands
is responsible for approximately 80 per cent
of all flower bulb exports.
But raw figures alone do not do the sto-
ry of the tulip justice. It is a tale of greed,
desire and mystery that originates far
from the Netherlands and one that
Sjoerd van Eeden, son of a flower bulb
grower, loves to tell. Mr van Eeden
and two friends founded the Amster-
dam Tulip Museum in 2005 in the heart
of the city to give tourists a glimpse of
how the tulip evolved from a rarity which
brought a nation to its knees to the darling of
the Netherlands that it is today.
Exactly where the flower originated is not clear, but Mr
van Eeden says it graced the gardens of the sultans in Istanbul be-
fore making its way to the Netherlands, where it quickly became
the object of unprecedented speculation in the 17th century.
“It was the period known as Tulipomania, when tulip bulbs
changed hands for the price of a house, leading eventually to
a disastrous financial collapse,” he says. “It is known as the
first financial bubble in the history of capitalism. According
to most historians, Amsterdam was the first true capitalist
city in the world. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the first
and oldest in the world and dates from the same time as the
disaster known as Tulipomania. This speculation in tu-
lip bulbs was an example of early capitalism go-
ing terribly wrong.”
He says his museum attracts a large num-
ber of Hong Kong and Chinese visitors ev-
ery week, with guided text also available
in Chinese.
The curator also has some advice for
gardening enthusiasts in Hong Kong.
“Tulip bulbs must always be planted
outside. As they come fromCentral Asia
they do need a serious winter, and can-
not be grown successfully in Hong Kong,”
he says. “If people visiting from Hong Kong
want to buy tulip bulbs, I tell them the bulb that’s
best for them is no doubt the Amaryllis.
“It’s a very large bulb that grows indoors in a pot with
earth or just on water. Planted, it will bloom in about six
weeks giving several two-feet stems, each carrying four to six
large flowers. It is no doubt the best and most popular bulb for
people from Hong Kong. And it never fails!”
THE GATEWAY TO EUROPE
HE NETHERLANDS is internationally recognised as the gateway to Europe. Rot-
terdam is the world’s biggest port with access to major centres so close that
170 million people live within a 500-kilometre radius of Amsterdam – that’s a
population density three times that of metro areas like NewYork or Tokyo.
HutchisonWhampoa Limited has realised its potential as a distribution hub and capi-
talised on it, according to Jan Westerhoud, Managing Director, Northern Europe for
Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) and chief of Europe Container Terminals (ECT), the
main operator at Rotterdam’s port, which HPH acquired in 2002.
“Hutchison has made a great difference to the operation here,” he says.“We have learned
and benefited from their enormous market knowledge and financial discipline. In the past
four years we have experienced double digit growth.The market is absolutely booming.”
MrWesterhoud says a key component for harnessing this growth potential is expand-
ing and improving inland connections via rail or barge facilities. He says the first phase of
the new Euromax terminal, close to the existing Delta terminal, is scheduled for comple-
tion in September this year, while a barge feeder for DeltaTerminal should be completed
in June. Euromax is expected to bring an additional 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent
units (TEUs) of capacity to ECT’s current six million TEUs per year in its first phase.
Hutchison’s interests extend past ports, and its retail armA SWatson operates in the
Netherlands through Kruidvat, the undisputed national market leader in the health and
beauty retail sector that is also well known in neighbouring Belgium.
While Kruidvat is famous for always offering value for money, it has also set the trend
in the Netherlands for offering products that customers do not normally expect in a drugstore, such as classical music,
books and electronics. “In everything we do and through all products we offer, we live up to our brand promise.That is,
always value for money, always surprising,” says Kruidvat’s spokeswoman Jose Mes.
Other A S Watson retail chains that cater to the Dutch market include its luxury perfumery and cosmetics chain ICI
PARIS XL and a second health and beauty chain,Trekpleister.
T
The Amsterdam
Stock Exchange is the
oldest in the world