The year 2020 through the eyes of De Jong Verhuizingen
The year 2020 was, of course, dominated by the coronavirus and can therefore be described as a year many would rather forget. For De Jong Verhuizingen, however, there was a positive side to it, as we experienced the best year in our company’s history. Despite COVID-19, we can look back on a successful year.
Housing market 2020 on the rise
Peter de Jong, relocation advisor at De Jong Verhuizingen, looks back on 2020. “The start of the year could be described as very good. In terms of the number of moves, January was a strong month. As a company, we were on the rise, just like the housing market. When the coronavirus reached the Netherlands, we wondered whether this would be the end of relocations. Everything we had built up could suddenly disappear due to uncertainty. Fortunately, that turned out not to be the case at all.”
“On the contrary, sales in the northern part of the country only improved, which of course also benefited us. This was mainly due to people moving from the western part of the Netherlands to the north, as homes there are relatively more affordable. In particular, house prices in Southwest Friesland rose the fastest in the Netherlands during the final part of last year. In short, I’m curious to see how this will continue to develop.”
The best year ever: also growth in relocations to Scandinavia
As mentioned earlier, we experienced our best year ever. “That really is quite surprising, to be honest. By October, we had already reached the same turnover as the previous year. Would it have been different without COVID-19? You can never know for sure, but I do think the coronavirus contributed to the strong figures, despite the dip we experienced in March and April.”
Brother Maurits adds to this: “When we look at relocations to and from Scandinavia, we saw an increase of 25% compared to 2019. This was partly due to improved sales efforts and partly due to stronger online visibility. This had a positive effect on both private emigration and our business-to-business relationships. These developments resulted in more trips to Scandinavia, higher transport volumes, and better combination possibilities. For example, transporting household goods from multiple relocations at once, which also makes it more affordable for our customers.”
Moving companies classified as essential professions
Looking back once more at the coronavirus and how we handled it as a company. Peter explains: “For a truck driver traveling with other people, that is of course challenging. Fortunately, moving falls under a special regulation, because people still need to move. From an economic perspective, it is also not viable if no relocations take place. That is why we are considered an essential profession and are allowed to continue our work, of course in compliance with COVID-19 regulations. For example, borders to Sweden remained open for relocations.”
“In addition, we work in fixed, small teams of a maximum of two people per vehicle. If an infection does occur among staff, only the ‘teammates’ may have been exposed, rather than the entire workforce.”
Housing market expectations and plans for 2021
Finally, what are the outlook and expectations for 2021? Peter: “In the coming year, we want to focus more on export. We aim to serve the export sector effectively, as overseas relocations will only increase in the coming years, especially once COVID-19 is behind us. More Dutch people will leave the country for work or simply in search of happiness abroad. As a moving company, we want to play a role in this by focusing more on worldwide relocations. This goes beyond just the move itself and includes the entire emigration process, such as applying for visas and finding schools and housing locally. A form of ‘relocation service’ that we provide.”
“In addition, we will continue to invest in our storage facilities next year. People who have sold their homes can store their household goods with us. They can deliver the items themselves, or we can collect them and deliver them later. This is a growing service, as more people temporarily leave their homes and move into a new one at a later stage.”
In 2021, we will also explore the development of a central location in Friesland where we plan to create a so-called ‘hub’. From this central hub, pallets, parcels, general cargo, and household goods will be distributed throughout Friesland using zero-emission transport. This approach is not only highly efficient but also reduces transport movements within the region. We wish everyone a healthy 2021!
