|
|
 |
A look inside: Van Belle Floral Company
Van Belle Floral Company |
|
Written by Anja Sonnenberg
|
Van Belle Floral Company
The Continued Success of a Family Who Works and Plays Together
 |
| Van Belle Floral Company owners (left to right) Martha Vandepol, Ruth Van Belle, Karen and Carl Van Belle and Jacqueline Van Belle. |
The story of Van Belle Flowers began with Opa Van Belle’s love of flowers and his flower shop in the Netherlands. After the onslaught of World War Two, Opa and Oma Van Belle immigrated to Canada with their four sons, where they purchased eight acres of land in Courtice, Ontario. Van Belle Flower Shop officially opened in 1960.
The next generation, Harry and Ada Van Belle, expanded the company by adding greenhouses and upgrading existing structures. They also opened a retail flower shop in Oshawa in 1979 and one in Whitby in 1983 – both of which are still in operation today.
Today, the company continues to be a family success, and is now run by the fourth generation of Van Belles: Carl and Karen Van Belle, Ruth Van Belle, Martha Vandepol, and Jacqueline Van Belle. Carl is responsible for purchasing flowers and plants; Ruth manages the daily operations of each of the retail locations; Martha looks after the advertising and promotions, public relations and corporate accounts; and Jacqueline and Karen are responsible for the accounting.
The company’s head office, located in Bowmanville, Ont., was recently renovated and 750 sq. ft. of self-serve coolers for customers were added. The 4000 sq. ft. of retail space also includes greenhouses and gift shop areas. The Bowmanville location is also home to Belle Floral Wholesale, which opened 19 years ago to improve the buying power and competitive edge of Van Belle Flowers. Many of the flowers are imported from Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and southern Florida, which are picked and shipped to Bowmanville in 72 hours. With this direct buying power, Van Belle is able to guarantee freshness to their customers. Belle Floral Wholesale occupies approximately 10,000 sq. ft. of the Bownaville location. Two storage coolers house 5,000 carnations, 3,000 roses, and various other flowers on a weekly basis.
The Oshawa store is located in a renovated house in a central location. The 1,000 sq. ft. shop offers customers a quaint location to browse and shop. The third Van Bell Flowers store is located in a 1000 sq. ft. historical building in downtown Whitby, which offers busy commuters an extensive selection of fresh bouquets and giftware.
Just like every other retail business in Canada, Van Belle Flowers has competition to contend with.
 |
Van Belle Flowers family and staff are avid supporters of the CIBC Run for the Cure. Our company will be selling pink carnations the weeks prior to this event and donates the
proceeds to this very worthy cause. As well, Van Belle Floral Company’s Team Flower Power are avid supporters of the CIBC Run for the Cure.
|
“Competition is competition,” says Martha Vandenpol. “I think that what makes us stand out is that we are very customer service oriented. We make sure our customers are taken care of by providing excellent customer service and guaranteeing our products.” The displays in the Bowmanville location are changed every few weeks to create interest and repeat visits to the store. “The store is so big that often people just come in to look at our displays and then come back to see what’s new and different in the store.”
Van Belle Flowers also offers an extensive seminar program to educate the public about flowers at their Bowmanville location. Van Belle Flowers offers the adult and children seminars free of charge as a way of giving back to the community.
“Usually the events are organized by Ruth or myself,” says Vandenpol. “We have a lot of reoccurring events, which happen every year. For example, this Christmas we have our ‘Outdoor Urn’ seminar, which is always popular. Customers already start asking about it in the summer. Another Christmas seminar that is popular is the floral design classes, which we’ve done for several years now.”
Besides adult seminars, Van Belle Flowers also offers children’s classes. The children are asked to bring a donation to the local food bank when attending the class.
“We try to do one theme-oriented session every six to eight weeks,” Vandenpol says. “We’ve done a wall swag for fall, floral arrangements for Grandparent’s Day, for Father’s Day we did a golf ball made out of flowers with a golf tee placed on a small piece of sod. We try to limit the classes to thirty children and we offer three classes for each event - so normally about a hundred kids come through in one day.” The children’s classes are run by several of the store’s teenage employees, including several members of the next generation of Van Belles to work in the family business.”
“The girls are fantastic at it,” says Vandenpol. “We come up with the ideas, then they take over and look after coordinating it. The kids love them because they’re not an authoritative figure.”
The past and continued success of Van Belle Flowers can be attributed to a strong bond between a family who works and plays together.
“The business world is changing – it’s more competitive and cut throat. We still want to focus on the beauty of what we do, but you have to change with the times. I think it was natural for all of us to get involved in the business,” Vandenpol says. “When you’re brought up in a family business, it’s something that you’ve always done and it’s in your blood. When you have to choose what you’re going to do in life, you choose something that you love – and I think we all love what we do.”
|
|
|
