Establishment of Trading House Hettema
Coffee and orange cake await Hette Tjitzes Hettema (1863 - 1947) and Anne Fokkes van der Meer (1865 - 1926) at their home on Alddyk in Bitgum. Hette turns 35 today. And they celebrate this lavishly, because in addition to his birthday, the couple is marking another happy event. Hettema's trading house was established.
Trading is in Hette's blood
Hette has been trading in small livestock, vegetables and potatoes since his early childhood. Later, as a gardener, he grew the crops he traded. In the years leading up to his 35th birthday, he mainly builds a good reputation with his seed potatoes.
His wife Anne saw opportunities abroad and acted accordingly. One day, she arrived nonchalantly from town with a new black suit and a grey bowler hat. "What is this?!", Hette exclaims in astonishment when Anne arrives home. To which Anne says: "You're a potato merchant now, boy. You have to go to Germany. They need your seed potatoes there more than here." In addition to her steadfast belief in him, Anne gives Hette 100 guilders, which she had secretly saved from her grocery shop; the starting capital of what would later grow into a multinational company.
Hettema trading house established
When Hette returns from Germany, he reports that he has been selling considerably well. In the wooden suitcase, which when he left contained a new suit and samples of Dikke Mûizen (a potato variety), now also held a stack of trade agreements. From then onwards, Hette began trading across borders. Anne took care of the bookkeeping as well as the PR.
Way before Hette's 35th birthday, Hette and Anne came up with a symbol that reflected Hette's trading activities: a red flying flag with a contrasting white circle in the middle that features a black 'H'. It is a bright, bold logo that really stands out.
Business is booming. The time has come to turn Hette's trading activities into an official trading house. And what better time to do this than on the founder's birthday? Because as a PR woman, Anne knew very well that people would remember the founding date more easily if it was on Hette's birthday.