Dutch History and Business 2003

Overall one could say that the Dutch are sharp and tough businessman. They are well educated with an international perspective from scratch. Holland is the home of some major international corporations such as Shell and Unilever, co-shared with the Brits and also Ahold, Akzo, Heineken and Ing among others. The origin of Dutch trading started most probably in late 1500. The “Compagnie van Verre” later on evolved into the VOC, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, who’s mission was to search, trade and ship spices such as pepper, nuts, nutmeg, cinnamon and foelie in the Indies such as Java, Ambon, Sumatra, Malakka, and Celebes. There was fierce competition with the Portuguese and British but also at the very early stage between the shipping companies from Zeeland and Amsterdam. Success was achieved and instantly there was confidence from individual merchants who invested significant funds into the VOC. The biggest investors into the VOC were the Sephardim, Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who became active players in the very early days of stock trading. Peripheral business had been created such as insurance, caterers, shipping repair firms and communication. The VOC became the biggest trading company in the world, this status was maintained well into the 18th century. In Europe and Asia the VOC created large and influential shipping and trading network. Most probably the start of shipping species from the Indies was the start of the Netherlands as a trading nation, even today firms such as Hagemeyer and Borsumy Wehry have their roots from the early trading days. Nowadays the Dutch have strong partnerships with British companies, there former archenemies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Unliver and Reed-Elsevier. Stand alone Dutch firms such as the earlier mentioned. Ahold is the biggest retailer for instance in the US, Heineken is the second biggest beer producer in the world. Other major Dutch multinationals are Philips, Aegon and ABN-Amro

Dutch companies are target oriented and to the point in their management style and approach.
Dealing with a Dutch businessman is usually in a no-nonsense and what you see is what you get manner. The Dutch still prefer broodjes with milk at the desk for lunch rather than a 2-course meal in a restaurant. Also known in business and private circumstances is the traditional “kopje koffie” with a cookie on almost every part of the day. s

It is interesting to observe that the Netherlands is one of Europe’s prime producers and exporters of XTC and Niederwiet, a homegrown strain of marijuana. The sale of hash is the main business of hundreds of coffee shops in big cities. Despite the criticism the government received about the so called “tolerance / acceptance policy”, the strategy seems to work in a way that small crime is decreasing and the number of serious Dutch drug addicts has been declining as well, on the contrary though it is also noticeable that the Dutch drug scene attracts many foreigners in particular Germans and French and that has consequently a high degreed of problems on its own!