Cock Kromhout

Cock joined Heemskerk Flowers in 1975 as the third employee. He started as a salesman in Amsterdam, where he became a household name for retailers. Later, he sold in the UK. He eventually ended up in the plant department where he set up a whole corner with cacti. Cock is now retired, but he can still be found in our premises on Fridays. Read his story here.

Cock became a household name

Cock soon became a household name among shopkeepers in Amsterdam. As a result, the car he drove became bigger and bigger. In the end, he even had a car with a sleeper cab and refrigeration, which was a very big exception in those years. The days were long and all accounts were still simply written down in a notebook. On Fridays they started at three o'clock and in the evening, after nine o'clock, Cock would deliver the proceeds to Bert's home.

Cock liked to joke around. On his last car he had a sound system and a device with which he could imitate all kinds of sounds. So early in the morning when he was at his first customer's, he would let a rooster crow loudly. Whenever Cock was in a hurry again, he simply drove along the tram track.

From Amsterdam to Britain

Around 1990, wholesalers set up shop on the outskirts of Amsterdam. Many customers also started buying here, which made line driving to Amsterdam unprofitable. As Cock had mastered line driving, it was a good solution for the company to send Cock to Britain as a substitute salesman. For someone who had spent only a year at trade school, the English language was a real challenge. Fortunately, Cock always had his beak with him and got through it effortlessly.

Cacti

After serving as a substitute for three years, a job became available as a plant salesman in our new plant hall. During that time, Cock set up an entire corner of cacti (from Winco) under his management.

Pensionada

Cock has been retired for four years now. On Fridays, he still rolls in flowers at line driver Jaco Fleurs who is under commission at Heemskerk Flowers. With the same passion he has always had for his work, he enjoys going fishing and looking after his aviary of birds. That Cock likes to help is shown by the fact that Cock volunteers every Monday at the Ruijter Group.