In Domqueur, between Amiens and Abbeville, the Greenhouses of Plouy turn a page with the retirement of the historic boss. But the transition is smooth with a young buyer in retraining who comes from a completely different sector. Nicolas Dumas, 37, former public works engineer swapped concrete for hyacinths!
This Abbevillois by birth moved a lot in his old profession, Mayotte, Brittany, before returning to the fold and deciding to take a professional turn. “When you do building and public works, you have the soul of an entrepreneur, a builder. One day we wake up and we say to ourselves that we want to do it but for ourselves. That’s the feeling I had at some point in my life and that’s when I started to be more interested in taking over a business or creating it.”
Tutoring agreement
He therefore set his sights on the Serres de Plouy, managed since 1987 by Dominica Forest. A new retiree who is still very present to ensure the transition. “We concluded a tutoring agreement“, explains Nicolas Dumas. “For a year I have the chance to work with him, to place my orders with him, to ask him questions. I learn every day, he enthuses.
Next February, he will take the reins of this company with four full-time employees with the desire to maintain the “authentic and family dimension. This is what people are also looking for, in addition to lower prices.” In 4,000 square meters of greenhouses, the company produces some of the plants sold in stores as well as flowers, cut flowers, seeds, etc.
For the rest of his activity, Nicolas Dumas is confident. Attendance, boosted by gardening desires during confinement has not fallen. “We have seen a fairly substantial increase, from 20 to 25% more and it would seem, given the results of this start to the season, that the trend is confirmed.