For Dave Gibbs, New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) has never been a place to simply make a living. The Flower Market is where he grew up, learned about life and his trade, raised a family and forged life-long friendships. As owner of DG Wholesale Flowers, Dave is proudly one of the Flower Market's longest-serving and most respected traders.

DG Wholesale Flowers sells premium-quality cut flowers to florists, event companies and street traders, as well as supplying contract florists across London and beyond. Yet Dave’s story began long before the modern Flower Market opened at Nine Elms in 1974; at the old Covent Garden in the 1960s.

"I've been a part of the Market for most of my life – it's all I've ever known," says Dave, whose route into the industry came through a childhood determination to earn money. “Unlike some of the traders here, I didn’t inherit a family business, and my introduction was by chance really.”

A very young Dave Gibbs, snapped by Clive Boursnell in the original Covent Garden

Growing up in Islington, N1, Dave was constantly searching for odd jobs. One of those was on a fruit stall run by Jimmy Cardu, a former boxer and a friend of Dave's father who regularly visited London's wholesale markets. One day Jimmy invited Dave to join him. “Jimmy told me that he was going to Covent Garden Market and that if I wanted to come, I had to ask my dad,” explains Dave. “We never had a lot of money growing up so I was always looking for jobs and the Market seemed like a good way to earn."

At first, Dave's role was straightforward. He helped load the lorry, moved produce and lent a hand wherever he was needed. But while Jimmy spent hours walking around buying fruit, Dave realised there was another way to earn money, as he explains. "The guy I was on the lorry with said, 'Why don't you go round the Market and ask if anyone wants a cup of tea? You might earn a few bob.' It turned out to be a better business decision than I could have imagined. I earned more money in the three hours getting tea than I did working for Jimmy all day. Not surprisingly, I quickly changed direction and Jimmy got the elbow," he laughs.

The man who changed Dave’s life

As important as that first visit to the Flower Market was, the turning point was when Dave met Charlie Sharman, a salesman at J. & E. Page. Fifty years later Dave still speaks about Charlie with enormous affection, and it’s clear Charlie felt the same about Dave, perhaps seeing a younger version of himself, as he began giving Dave jobs around the J. & E. Page stand. "Charlie would tell me to get the tea, tidy up, empty boxes, and I was always learning,” says Dave. “Over time, the relationship grew into something far more significant, and he took me under his wing. He became like a father figure to me."

For years, Dave worked weekends and school holidays in the Flower Market, learning everything he could. “Charlie guided me through the flower industry and educated me,” he says, adding those early years created the foundations for all that followed. “Every Saturday and every spare moment was spent inside the Market. I’d catch the 5.45am Tube from Holloway Road, the first train in the morning, so that I'd arrive in the Market just after six."

Sometimes Dave brought his friends along and, as with most teenagers, there was plenty of messing around before Charlie delivered some practical advice. "We used to muck about because we were only young,” Dave says. “Eventually Charlie had had enough and told me to leave my friends at home and come on my own.” The message was clear. The Flower Market could offer a future, but only if Dave treated it seriously.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Joining J. & E. Page

Dave officially joined J. & E. Page when he turned 16, working for one of the Flower Market's best-known businesses with a history stretching back generations. This first job wasn’t on the sales floor but as an office junior, a role that gave him an education behind the scenes. "I used to do the post every day, sending invoices to people,” he explains. “Many people found the work boring, but I saw it differently, as it gave me a good understanding of how it all worked."

Dave would still arrive in the Market during the early morning hours to unofficially help on the floor before moving into his office duties. Looking back, he believes the Market gave him an education that could not have been found elsewhere and, by his early twenties, he already knew flowers inside out.

The other thing Dave learned is that successful businesses depend on people, relationships, and trust – and that’s how you earn your reputation. “Every morning involved conversations and every sale depended on relationships built over years,” says Dave. “The Market operated like its own community, with its own rules and rhythms and it was a world I loved. The education I received was invaluable, the combination of roles helping me understand sales, administration, invoicing, customer relationships and cash flow – long before I ever dreamed of owning a business – and those lessons would stay with me for the rest of my career.”

Dave (second from right), with a host of familiar Flower Market faces - his friends

Starting a business

The friendships formed during those early years would help shape Dave’s future career, especially his connection with fellow trader John Hardcastle (who now owns NCGM firm Bloomfield Wholesale Florist Ltd), and the two men would eventually go into business together.

“I left J. & E. Page at 25 and spent time working for Fyffes Monro, another major market company,” says Dave. “But I had bigger ambitions and I felt that I needed to do something on my own. In 1989 I joined forces with John to launch a new business called Euro Sales. We thought we could have a fresh start and move forward."

Dave fondly remembers the difficulties as Euro Sales launched, the first of which was finding somewhere to trade as space at NCGM was at a premium. “We purchased an empty trading area that was formerly occupied by a business that had gone bust,” he says. For £60,000 all we got was a bit of concrete, an area of space. It was a leap of faith.”

Launching a new business is never easy, but Dave and John had chosen a tricky time to start their firm: the flower industry was changing rapidly and traditional wholesalers faced increasing competition from Dutch suppliers that were selling directly into the UK market. “For decades, many secondary wholesalers would buy stock at Covent Garden before selling it on,” says Dave, “but that customer base was starting to disappear and a lot of the customers started going direct to the Dutchman."

Despite the challenges, Dave and John stuck to their guns and Euro Sales not only survived the changes but went on to successfully trade for 16 years. A fresh start By the early 2000s, conditions were becoming increasingly difficult, and many long-established names were disappearing. Dave and John decided to go their separate ways and close Euro Sales. “The decision was amicable,” explains Dave, “as we'd been selling flowers for a long time. We both thought there was enough business in the Market for both of us."

Three months later, Dave launched DG Wholesale. Those first months were among the toughest of his career and, despite Dave’s decades of experience, there was no guarantee of success. "In my first week I lost four and a half grand,” he admits. "The second week I lost three grand. The third week I lost two grand. But I didn’t walk away, I kept going as I knew trade would come back."

Dave’s confidence came from understanding the nature of the flower business and believing that his customers, hard fought for over many years, would eventually return. “Competition remained fierce and companies around you would do their best to keep your customers from returning to you,” says Dave, who had to rebuild momentum through determination and long hours. Working seven days a week for eighteen months, he was a one-man-band at this point with nobody else to fall back on. “Sales needed making, flowers needed buying, and accounts needed doing,” he says, “so the only solution was working harder than the competition."

By the end of the first year, DG Wholesale had stabilised and broken even. It wasn't glamorous but it was progress and, as the business grew, Dave developed a clear strategy. “Rather than fighting competitors on price, I wanted to become known for quality,” he says, thinking back to those difficult days. "I tried to work high-end with the quality of the flowers and my approach was deliberate. I always tried to improve the quality I was selling."

As well as a premium assortment, Dave became obsessive about presentation and availability. "I consciously filled the stand up with flowers every day,” he says, adding that even on difficult days, he made sure customers never saw half-empty displays. "Whatever I sold out of, I refreshed. My reasoning was simple. When customers come in, I have plenty of flowers for them."

Over time, the strategy paid off. Event florists, contract florists and premium customers increasingly chose DG Wholesale and Dave felt he was attracting a better clientele, not because he was the cheapest but because customers trusted DG’s quality.

Moving to the interim Market

Dave’s witnessed enormous changes over the decades, including the move from the old Market buildings into the current (interim) Flower Market in 2017, which is due to relocate to its final location in the Food Exchange building in 2028. Unlike some traders, he welcomed the change. "It was nice to move into a new building and although we knew it was temporary, the modern building offered better facilities and a more efficient layout,” he says. “It was more condensed, plus my new stand was around 25 per cent larger too.”

The move created opportunities for expansion and allowed the business to continue growing. Dave recruited additional staff. Then came the Covid-19 outbreak.

The challenge of lockdown

For most Market businesses, the lockdowns that Covid-19 brought represented the biggest challenges they had ever faced, and DG Wholesale was no exception. "Before Covid we were trading well, with sales and profits constantly rising,” he says. Then everything stopped. Established trading disappeared overnight as the lockdown brought a standstill to the hospitality and catering industries that all NCGM businesses rely on for their livelihoods.

But what Covid brought in equal measure was a determination to succeed despite dreadful circumstances. Like many businesses, DG Wholesale had to adapt quickly to new ways of selling their stock. "We started doing click and collect,” says Dave, “and recovery was gradual. It took about a year for sales to regroup, but it left a lasting impact in different ways."

Dave believes the pandemic changed consumer attitudes to the benefit of the flower industry, which has resulted in a new breed of customer with more money to spend. "I think people realised there's more to life than just working,” he says. “What initially was a disaster eventually generated renewed appreciation for what flowers bring to people's lives. We saw people were investing more in their homes and surroundings and flowers provided comfort and positivity. People started buying flowers to cheer themselves up."

Marathon man

Away from flowers, Dave is an enthusiastic runner who has completed nine marathons, including four for charity. His fundraising experiences have reinforced his belief in the Flower Market community as, time and again, colleagues and customers supported his fundraising efforts. "People can’t wait to sponsor you,” he says, revealing he raised at least £2,500 every time he ran a marathon for charity. “That generosity remains one of the things I value most about our unique industry,” he says. “People are very generous in the flower game."

Of course, no community is perfect. Traders disagree, competition exists, arguments happen. Yet there is a spirit of camaraderie that keeps bringing people together. "We all have a fall out now and then,” says Dave, “but that is only part of the story. The majority of people get on with each another and we try and have a laugh every day."

A family affair

Dave’s wife Loraine has been an essential part of the firm’s success, running the office operation from day one despite no prior experience of office work. “Loraine has been with me since we first started,” says Dave, “and without her dedication to the back of house operation, the company wouldn’t be where it is today.”

Dave and Loraine’s children have also worked at the Flower Market at various points. “Over the years my children have helped me during their school holidays, which I hope they enjoyed,” says Dave. “My son Louis worked with us for a few years, eventually moving on to work in recruitment. We also have our niece Nicola, who works in the office, so it really has been a family success story.”

Sonny Martin is part of the DG Wholesale sales team

Bringing up the next generation

One of the most important chapters in Dave's story began during the financial crisis of 2008. His son James had lost his job and Dave offered him an opportunity, but not a shortcut. "James had been made redundant so I said to him that he could join the business, but he’d have to start work as what we used to call ‘a bucket boy’, doing a little bit of everything and learning the ropes." Dave never believed that family members should receive special treatment, and James embraced the challenge as his dad had done decades earlier. He started by sweeping floors, carrying buckets, making tea, and cleaning up.

Eighteen years later James is now running the business, alongside his dad. Reflecting on his son’s NCGM career with obvious pride, Dave explains that James now handles much of the purchasing and the day-to-day flower buying. "He hasn’t done a bad job, has he?” he says, adding that a formal succession is now underway. “I’m looking to take a step back over the next year or so, with James set to fully take over within the next two years.”

Now, aged 65, Dave is finally thinking about retirement. “Seeing the next generation step forward is one of the most satisfying moments of my career,” he says. But Dave’s connection to the Market will never disappear. "I'd always be there helping James."

Dave with some of his excellent sales team - from left to right Louie, Jay, Richie and James

He also acknowledges the ‘great team’ of experienced salesmen he’s recruited to work at DG Wholesale, who collectively bring decades of experience to the business. Ask him what makes him proudest and he doesn't mention turnover, profits or market share. Instead, he talks about colleagues, friends and family. "I've managed to give my family a good life,” he says. It’s an answer that says everything about his character.

Micky Burgess and Eddie Martin are also part of the DG Wholesale sales team

After more than 50 years in the flower trade, Dave’s greatest achievement isn’t the business he’s built but the life it’s enabled him to provide for those around him.