In the first of a new regular feature that looks at some of the people who put this Market on the map, Market Times speaks with John Hardcastle of Bloomfield Wholesale Florist Ltd to find out more about his Market connections.

What does New Covent Garden Market mean to you?

I love the Market as it’s always been a part of my life. I used to look out onto the old Flower Market when I opened my bedroom curtains each morning as we lived in Covent Garden. I’ve worked in three different versions of the Flower Market, and I’ve been here in Nine Elms since the day it opened. Hopefully, I’ll also be in the fourth version when we move to the Food Exchange building in 2027.

When was the first time you visited NCGM?

My Mum worked for the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) back in the 1960s as a caretaker in one of the many office blocks at the old Covent Garden Market. It was through Mum’s job that we got a flat living above the Market. All my childhood was spent around the Market, so it literally always felt like home - I even had a fire escape outside my bedroom window that would take me all the way down to the Flower Market. My connection to the Market has always been deep rooted!

What was your first Market job?

I started running errands for different people in the Flower Market every morning before I went to school, then when I left education I joined full time. My first Market role was as a junior salesman with a company called Fyffes Monro. They were based in a five-floor building just outside the old Market, so it made perfect sense as it was a short commute for me. However, it was a short stint with them - I didn’t last very long as it didn’t pay very well!

What was your first business called?

I set up my first company with my good friend Dave Gibbs, who is also still at NCGM as the owner of DG Wholesale Flowers Ltd. We called the business Eurosales, which was mainly a commission-based company. In those days you’d receive three big deliveries of flowers and foliage each day from across the country. It really was a case of feast or famine, and you’d have plenty of stock or not enough as the supply of British-grown flowers was so seasonal. After Eurosales I opened Bloomfield Wholesale Florist Ltd, which was really just me on my own in a little corner of the new Market. Look at us now - we’ve built up a monster of a business. I ran it full time until the Covid pandemic, which was when I handed the business over to my son Sam. Looking back, Covid was a tough time for everyone, but it was also a time of expansion for Bloomfield. As the Flower Market had to close, we needed to be creative to ensure we could remain trading. We really embraced the idea of selling online and that’s when we started offering direct deliveries to our clients.

What’s changed the most in your Market career?

The Flower Market has always been an amazing place to work - back in the day produce was arriving from all over the UK plus a lot of French and Italian produce that was all fantastic quality. Whereas nowadays we buy all our stock, back then everything was sold on a commission basis. The Dutch growers, who now supply all our stock, didn’t really come into the Flower Market until the late 1970s.

What’s the secret of your success?

It’s all about our relationships. We have a brilliant relationship with our suppliers in the Netherlands. Our daily and weekly ordering is now done online, with deliveries direct to us. That relationship also extends to our clients, who trust us to always provide the very best product for them, regardless of the season or the size of the order. We have a no-quibble guarantee with all our clients, which we’ll always honour. If they’re unhappy, we’re unhappy and we all want happy customers.