Benoit Marelli

From customer to colleague, that's Benoit Marelli's inspiring story. He has been working with passion and dedication at Heemskerk Flowers for nine years now. Before becoming account manager, he ran no less than three flower shops and was, of course, a customer at Heemskerk Flowers. Eight years ago, Benoit had the opportunity to sell two of his shops and at that time Heemskerk Flowers was looking for regional managers for its development in France. The connection between Heemskerk Flowers and Benoit was obvious! Having been the owner of flower shops makes him a salesman with a wealth of experience and great empathy. He understands like no other what his customers need. He certainly gets it right too, for instance, in the past year he even jumped to the position of Sales Manager.

The combination of running his own shop and a sales job

The combination of running his own flower shop and his sales job at Heemskerk Flowers has proved to be a perfect match for Benoit. Benoit says: 'By experiencing what my customers go through daily in my shop, I understand their reality.... we speak the same language together! This obvious link enables me to provide the best possible service to my customers and make Heemskerk Flowers an indispensable partner, because every customer is unique."

Bridge between the Netherlands and France

Benoit really enjoys his work. 'The thing I enjoy most about my job is that I create a link between Heemskerk Flowers and the florists in France. I have daily contact with colleagues in the Netherlands from the logistics department to invoicing and purchasing, in the interest of my customers in France. Actually, I can say that I reduce the distance between the florists and my colleagues in the Netherlands.'

Challenge

The fact that Benoit combines having his own shop with a full-time job at Heemskerk Flowers is testament to his boundless energy. He says about this that he is always looking for challenge and development. He wants something new every time, something that challenges him. In the past year, for instance, he has made a leap from account manager to Sales Manager, where he is now responsible for a large region covering half of France.

Top team

But Benoit is not alone; he is surrounded by a fantastic team of motivated professionals. All have a background as florists, so they know the flower market and the florist profession inside out. Together with account managers Virginie, Alexandra and Liam, who each serve their own region, and of course Nathalie, who as Sales support keeps everything running smoothly from behind her computer ("she is our control tower"), they form a motivated, enthusiastic and close-knit team, ready for any challenge.

'Alone we go faster, but together we go further!' says Benoit.

At busy times, such as during Christmas and Valentine's Day, the team joins forces in the Netherlands, together with account managers from other countries. 'We all dedicate ourselves to getting the huge volume of orders out the door on time. These days are also an excellent opportunity to get together and share our experiences with colleagues from other regions and countries. But also to get to know the entire Dutch team at Heemskerk Flowers, from buyers and order pickers to logistics, administration and accounting, invoicing and, of course, management.
All working towards a common goal: customer satisfaction. During these days, the team spirit comes to the fore and we work together towards one goal: making our customers happy.'