ZUIDAS. Magazine

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The VU School of Business and Economics is holding an online open evening about its part-time programmes on Thursday 18 November 2021. Do you want to take the next step…

The VU School of Business and Economics is holding an online open evening about its part-time programmes on Thursday 18 November 2021.

Do you want to take the next step in your career, be retrained or keep up to date with the developments in your field?

VU School of Business and Economics Executive Education offers part-time programmes in the field of finance, accounting & control, audit & compliance, coaching, management & leadership, business analytics & it.

Anyone who wants to know more can attend an online open evening on Thursday 18 November. Programme directors, lecturers and staff will be happy to answer your questions about all these part-time studies, such as International Executive MBAs, part-time Master’s and postgraduate programmes. They will do so via a LIVE Zoom session. Together with you, they look at how you can develop yourself further.

There are three different rounds.

Between 18.00 and 18.45 hours, the following courses will be discussed:

Accountancy (RA) & Part-time MSc Accounting & Control
Management & Supervision in the semi-public sector
Certified Public Controller (CPC)
Compliance & Integrity Management (CIM)
Part-time MSc Business Administration
Treasury Management & Corporate Finance (RT)

Between 19.00 and 19.45 hrs:

Action Research for Change
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) (English session)
Controller training (EMFC/RC)
Digital Innovation & Transformation
Executive Master of M&A and Valuation
Geographical Information Sciences (GIS)
RBA Programme (Formerly known as Investment Management)
IT Audit, Compliance & Advisory (ITACA)
MBA in International Business
Part-time MSc in Marketing
Public Leadership
Risk Management For Financial Institutions

The third round will take place between 20.00 and 20.45 hrs:

Action Research meets Design Research
Business Analytics & Data Science
Certified Management Accountant (CMA)(Dutch session)
Data-driven management in the public sector
Executive MBA Leading with Purpose
Masterclass Digital Auditing Essentials
Next Generation CFO: Chief Value Officer
Organisational Behaviour Management (OBM)
Fundamentals of Treasury Management

Here you can register for one of the three information sessions.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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Art & culture

Festival ‘Muze van Zuid’ offers concerts and walks

Eduard Herkes

22 July 2021 22 July 2021

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This year, the Muze van Zuid music festival, which will take place on 17, 18 and 19 September 2021, will deploy more than a hundred musicians and singers to give…

This year, the Muze van Zuid music festival, which will take place on 17, 18 and 19 September 2021, will deploy more than a hundred musicians and singers to give concerts in Amsterdam-Zuid, in living rooms, parks, monuments and other special places.

In a hidden chapel, for example, soloists on cello and clarinet will shine and choral singing will resound in the historic Riding Hall of De Hollandsche Manege.

The programme of Muze van Zuid 2021 includes 24 different concerts by over 100 top musicians, 15 guided music walks or podcasts and four street safaris with amateur chamber music ensembles. Music by over 30 Dutch composers will be performed, including five world premieres. The festival offers many musical styles, from gamelan to string quartet and from brass band to piano, cello, lute and clarinet.

This time, special attention is paid to Surinamese composers from the South, such as Jan Victor Dahlberg. The Hindustani singer Madhu Lalbahadoersing will perform his work. Special attention is also being paid to Hungarian musicians who have given colour to Amsterdam’s musical life, such as Géza Frid, Oskar Back and Tibor de Machula.

For the first time, the festival also offers live music outside the Concertgebouw area, particularly in the Berlage neighbourhood and on the Stadionplein. Also new are the musical street safaris by Het Orkest Amsterdam and UvA orchestra J. Pzn Sweelinck.

Participating in the festival are cellist Lidy Blijdorp, singer Sterre Konijn, the Balkan Brothers, Neo-fanfare 9×13, the Nieuw Amsterdams Klarinet Kwartet, the Amstel Quartet, the Berlage Saxophone Quartet, the Aristos Quartet, violinists Joris van Rijn and Emi Resnick, La Sfera Armoniosa with Mike Fentross, clarinettist Anna voor de Wind, Ensemble Resilience and Ensemble Multifoon by Sinta Willur. This fourth edition, Consensus Vocalist is ‘choir in residence’.

Finally, pianists Koenraad Spijker, Maxime Snaterse and Lestari Scholtes will dig up rarely or never heard piano music from the archives, alongside top works by Debussy, Chopin and the Russian Aleksandr Skrjabin. The latter has in fact once stayed in the Van Breestraat.

Muze van Zuid is an initiative of two residents of Amsterdam-Zuid (South Amsterdam), who thought it would be great to play music by composers who have been immortalised on the street signs, such as Schuyt, Diepenbrock or Coenen. More information about the festival, for which ticket sales have started, can be found on www.muzevanzuid.nl.

Photo:

Amstel Kwartet by Govert de Roos

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Art & culture

ARTZUID 2021 includes seventy sculptures

Eduard Herkes

29 June 2021 29 June 2021

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No fewer than seventy sculptures can be seen on the five-kilometre sculpture route of ARTZUID 2021, which starts on Thursday 1 July. The sculpture route, which is free of charge,…

No fewer than seventy sculptures can be seen on the five-kilometre sculpture route of ARTZUID 2021, which starts on Thursday 1 July.

The sculpture route, which is free of charge, runs along Apollolaan and Minervalaan with offshoots to Museumplein, Churchilllaan, Stadionplein and the Zuidas.

There is an information pavilion at Minervalaan 1, where you can have a cup of coffee. You can also find all the information at www.artzuid.nl and download an app (ARTZUID), which allows you to follow an audio tour.

This year 55 artists are participating in the sculpture route, which is made possible by the tireless efforts of 100 neighbourhood volunteers. There are loans from home and abroad, there is a lot of new work to be seen and some artists made new sculptures especially for this sculpture route.

At the photograph:

Raquel van Haver: Untitled 2019

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Shopping

Swedish car brand opens Experience Shop

Eduard Herkes

7 April 2021 7 April 2021

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An experience shop is how the young Swedish car brand Polestar calls its new showroom in the Van Baerlestraat 2-4, close to the Vondelpark. The Swedish electronic performance car brand…

An experience shop is how the young Swedish car brand Polestar calls its new showroom in the Van Baerlestraat 2-4, close to the Vondelpark.

The Swedish electronic performance car brand Polestar shows its models in a modern space. You can touch the models, the Polar 1 and Polar 2, and through interactive displays and virtual reality, learn more about a car that is characterised by Scandinavian simplicity and transparency. Demos are also available for a test drive.

‘We have made our cars as uncomplicated as possible,’ says Thomas Ingenlath, ceo of Polestar. ‘We also do this with our experience shops, which are more reminiscent of an art gallery than a traditional showroom.’

He explains that the Polestar staff who welcome interested parties to the Polar Spaces are not on commission and are not targeting targets, but rather want to convey their enthusiasm for everything that makes a Polestar unique.

Polestar is an independent Swedish car market, which was founded in 2017 by Volvo Cars and Geely Holding. The car brand now has branches in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and Leidschendam.

At the end of 2019, the car brand debuted in the Netherlands with the Polestar 1, which combines two electric motors with a powerful petrol engine. Three years later, the Polestar 2 followed, an all-electric performance ‘fastback’ with room for five people, an output of 408 hp, 660 NM of pulling power, four-wheel drive and a driving range of up to 470 kilometres. It is the first car in the world with an integrated Android infotainment system.

Polestar plans to introduce new versions of the Polestar 2 in the near future, making the car available to an even broader public. All Polestar branches can currently only be visited by appointment. You can find all the information on polestar.com.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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Art & culture

ARTZUID is in the starting blocks again

Eduard Herkes

7 March 2021 7 March 2021

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The ARTZUID 2021 sculpture route is already in the starting blocks and hopes to start on 15 May. ‘Imagine’ is this year’s theme and 50 artists are contributing sculptures to…

The ARTZUID 2021 sculpture route is already in the starting blocks and hopes to start on 15 May.

‘Imagine’ is this year’s theme and 50 artists are contributing sculptures to this outdoor exhibition, in which they can incorporate their ideas about themes such as equality, freedom, sustainability, animal welfare, nature conservation and poverty. The organisation promises a fresh, challenging exhibition of international top artists and talent from the Dutch academies. There is special attention for female artists and artists from migrant backgrounds.

The following artists are in any case involved: KAWS, Leiko Ikamura, Zhan Wang, Sokari Douglas Camp, Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Lin May Saeed, Nelson Carrilho, Marieke Bolhuis, Tal R, Jonathan Meese, Anne Wenzel, David Bade, Raquel van Haver, Tirzo Martha and Arno Quinze.

Unfortunately, since 1 January, Art Zuid has had to make do without structural subsidy from the municipality, although fortunately the Stadsdeel Zuid does support the foundation. In order to cover the costs and make the exhibition, which is free of charge, possible, the organising foundation calls on all citizens of Amsterdam to make a one-off donation. How to do so is explained below.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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Reside

Crossover wants to be a green mix of offices als social housing

Eduard Herkes

18 February 2021 18 February 2021

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It will certainly be striking, the new Crossover complex that “area developer” AM is going to build in the Zuidas. It should be a green and sustainable building for entrepreneurs…

It will certainly be striking, the new Crossover complex that “area developer” AM is going to build in the Zuidas. It should be a green and sustainable building for entrepreneurs and starters on the housing market.

The special feature of this complex, which is due to rise on the corner of the A10 Zuid exit and the Europaboulevard in spring 2023, is that offices will be combined with social housing. There will be room for sixty “first-time home buyers” and an equal number of status holders. These homes will be managed by De Key housing corporation.

This housing concept contributes to the ambition of De Key to make and keep Amsterdam accessible for young people with a small budget,” says Eelco Siersema, Director of Real Estate for De Key. ‘De Key is renting these homes with a lease for the period of five years in order to promote the flow.’

But the Crossover building will also include 12,000 square feet of office space, ten owner-occupied homes and a 250-square-foot plinth for hospitality and social-society spaces. At the bottom of the building there will be a parking garage with eighty spaces, with spaces also reserved for car sharing.

Crossover is intended to be a “dynamic and bold” building, designed by Team V Architecture. All the roofs and terraces have space for water storage and both the offices and the apartments have access to spacious, green terraces. BAM Wonen is building the complex.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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Reside

‘Last year we rescued celebrity Lil’ Kleine from an elevator.’

Vlietstra

12 November 2020 12 November 2020

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Amsterdam has had a professional fire service since 1874, making it the oldest in the Netherlands. Of course, a lot has changed since then. For example, look at the Zuidas…

Amsterdam has had a professional fire service since 1874, making it the oldest in the Netherlands. Of course, a lot has changed since then. For example, look at the Zuidas area with its high rises. How can the fire service adapt to these new buildings? And what is a day like for these firefighters? We talked to 48 year old Peter Westerbeek, a supervisor at fire station Dirk.

Station Dirk is located in Amsterdam South, on the corner of Houthorststraat and Hobbemakade. It is the oldest operational fire station in Europe. Amsterdam-Amstelland’s fire service is responsible for the (fire) safety of the nearly one million people. Every day, at least 90 firefighters are on duty here, ready to serve the people of Amsterdam. In combination with the six voluntary stations, the total number of firefighters is 160.

Peter Westerbeek’s crew consists of eight people. He calls this his second family. “Together with my colleagues, we work 24-hour shifts, which means that we start at 8am and say goodbye at 8am the next day. We do this two days a week, so we have 48 hours of sleeping, eating and living together. You could say that Station Dirk is my second home.”

Productivity

You are mistaken if you think firefighters sit around and wait till they get called out. “We work around the clock. After the morning briefing, we perform vehicle and equipment checks. That’s our daily routine. Maybe the previous crew was called out, and a crowbar or something was left behind.”

“After we complete the check-ups, and the station is clean, it is time for our daily exercise. We take a run through the Vondelpark, for example. We take the truck and all our gear and go running together for at least an hour and a half. Each of us is super fit. We have to be because we are regularly submitted to the beady eyes of a strict doctor. If you fail their tests, they follow you up until you succeed and pass the tests.”

House calls and exercises

“Members of the crew take turns to cook and prepare lunches. We spend afternoons doing house calls and exercises. During these house calls, the firemen and women visit people and explain safety measures and distribute smoke detectors.

“Some people are surprised when they open their doors. Some don’t believe that we are real firefighters,” Peter says, smiling. “But we can always point out our fire engine. And if that doesn’t help, we can always identify ourselves.”

The crew visits commercial and public properties as well. In the area around Station Dirk there are several iconic buildings, such as the Rijksmuseum, the concert hall and the Van Gogh museum.

“For each of those buildings, we have a specific plan of action in case of an emergency. We need to know where the emergency exits and the fire hydrants are. We check the plans regularly, and we are shown around the sites by the in-house emergency officers. The Rijksmuseum, home to Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, is, of course, a unique building. Our priority is saving humans and animals, obviously, but for a beautiful place with such precious pieces of art, we go one step further to save valuable contents. Luckily for The Night Watch, it has a special construction so that in the unfortunate case of a fire we can hopefully save it.”

EMA, Courthouse and nhow

Peter’s team recently had an orientation around Zuidas. “We paid a visit to EMA, the European Medical Agency. Now we know exactly where we can find the escape routes and how to connect to the water supply.”

“Everything worked out perfectly. During a calamity, our briefcases are ready with handsets and floor plans, so we know where to find the technical equipment. We have done the same thing at Amsterdam Rai Hotel. This building might look complicated from the outside, but the inside has one central point, so the guests know how to escape.”

Some of the buildings in the Zuidas are up to 70 metres high. No ladder reaches to the top.

“Our tallest ladder has a height of 24 metres. That is sufficient for the centre of Amsterdam but not for the Zuidas. At best it will take you to the sixth floor. It means that we would have to perform all rescues from the inside of the sixth floor. We’ve had a recent experience of this situation in the new Courthouse. An employee got trapped on the seventh floor, under a wooden construction, but our ladder only reached the third floor because of the height of the building’s levels. Orientation visits are essential to get this sort of knowledge beforehand.”

Firefighters deal with a lot more than just fires, they manage resuscitations as well. “That happens at least two or three times a week. We had one recently at ABN AMRO’s main office. Resuscitation is part of our job, but it does have an enormous impact. We have to talk to and support each other in order to carry on.”

Naturally, it is not all disasters for Station Dirk. There are also minor cases. Some can be laughed about, and there is, of course, false alarms.

“Most offices at Zuidas have their restaurants on the upper floors, the best location to have Thursday afternoon drinks. It often happens that an employee sets off the fire alarm on the fourteenth floor. The emergency room immediately gets a call, and they notify the reception in the building, and they have to go up and check. The receptionist has to climb the stairs, all fourteen flights of them, because during a fire alarm the elevators are shut down automatically. This receptionist has to report back within two minutes. If not, the nearest station is alarmed, in which case we are called out for what we presume to be a priority stage 1 alarm.”

Sometimes, Peter gets to tell exciting stories when he returns home from duty. “Last year we rescued celebrity Lil’ Kleine from an elevator at Zuidas. He was stuck inside it with his girlfriend and baby. To make matters worse, it was the hottest day of the year! But before I got back into our truck, I realized I wanted to capture the moment because my children are big fans. As I had forgotten my mobile, Lil’ Kleine took a shot with his phone of the two of us together. Imagine! My kids, 10 and 13, went crazy.”

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Economy

Compliance as a passion

Vlietstra

22 October 2020 22 October 2020

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Tom van de Laar was born in Noort-Brabant, studied in Maastricht and started his career at Zuidas law firm CMS. The young lawyer loved sinking his teeth into difficult cases….

Tom van de Laar was born in Noort-Brabant, studied in Maastricht and started his career at Zuidas law firm CMS. The young lawyer loved sinking his teeth into difficult cases. Still, he decided to make a radical career change; he completed a master’s degree in Compliance & Integrity Management at VU Amsterdam and discovered where his passion lies.

When looking at Tom van de Laar’s impressive CV, you’d be inclined to think he is a middle-aged man with many decades of work experience. On the contrary: Tom is only 38 and the proud father of a one-year old girl. He and his partner live in Amsterdam – the most beautiful city on the planet, according to Tom.

“I grew up in the southern town of Helmond and studied law in Maastricht”, he says. “After graduating, CMS Netherlands offered me a job in criminal law. At the time, their office was in a building near the Amstel River so I moved to Amsterdam and found a small apartment on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, just around the corner from Dam Square. And to be honest, from day one I took Amsterdam to my heart.”

Challenging cases

Tom stayed at CMS Netherlands for more than seven years and divided his time between their offices in Utrecht and Amsterdam. “I had a great time at CMS and loved sinking my teeth into difficult cases. Initially, in order to gain experience, I mainly worked on civil offence cases. Later on I specialized in financial and economic criminal law, focusing on occupational accidents, money laundering, investment fraud, environmental criminal law, and health & safety incidents. These were generally big, complex and challenging cases, exactly what I wanted.”

“I’ll give you an example of a case: let’s say an accident happened in a chemical plant. If it is a serious accident, it must be reported to the authorities and it will be investigated as a criminal case. You can offer the client legal advice but you could also try to convince the CEO, CFO and CRO to change the company’s policy and improve its safety standards in order to make it compliant. So compliance is all about processes and behaviour aimed at reducing risks. A kind of safety belt, as it were.”

Increasing demands

Although Tom loved working on criminal cases, he realized his heart lies with compliance. He wanted to find out how organizations could achieve their core objectives in a responsible manner. “They are facing ever-increasing demands. Moreover, organizations themselves are implementing internal integrity standards in order to minimize risks. This means there is a need for compliance officers.”

“That’s why I decided to enrol for the executive master’s programme in Compliance & Integrity Management at VU Amsterdam. To me, the VU was a logical choice: this is the only university where compliance is taught in all its broad aspects and this programme is highly regarded. For two years, I was attending lectures every other Monday from 15:00 to 21:00 hours.”

Ethics

“The programme enables you to study compliance in a broad context as it involves much more than just regulation. You also need to look at internal standards, risk management, behaviour, and how to deploy technology in order to comply with the rules and meet expectations from society. Compliance issues are not only about legal matters; ethics and risk assessment play an important role as well.”

Upon completing the two-year master’s programme Tom was granted the title of Certified Executive Compliance & Integrity Manager (ECIM). “I was the only lawyer in my class. Well, the switch I made wasn’t exactly an obvious one. Halfway through my studies I left CMS and made my professional start in the field of compliance at the Japanese Mizuho Bank. Then after another two years I moved to Deloitte, working at their Zuidas headquarters. Sometimes you just have to grab an opportunity when you see one.”

Back to the VU

The alumnus was asked to return to the VU as a lecturer. “That was a no-brainer for me. I was a student here and now I have the privilege to teach a subject I’m passionate about: compliance. Every other Monday I’m teaching and sharing my practical experience with my students. You’ll understand that this was another opportunity I simply couldn’t let go.”

Fast forward a few years and he is now working for Rabobank, where everything has come together in his current role as Global AML & Sanction Officer. “I’m responsible for the bank’s policy on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, and on avoiding sanctions violations. It’s the most interesting job of my life!”

Tom has been a Rabobank employee for two years now, commuting from Amsterdam to their headquarters in Utrecht. At the moment, next to his busy job and his position as a lecturer, Tom conducts PhD research into the integrity and leadership of organizations. He expects to obtain his doctorate, the highest possible academic degree, within four years.

Are you interested in a Compliance Management programme or another executive master’s programme offered by VU Amsterdam? Then come and visit our Open Evening on Thursday 19 November. Please register via our website: https://ee.sbe.vu.nl/nl

VU Amsterdam

School of Business and Economics

https://ee.sbe.vu.nl/nl

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Economy

Corum offers stable investments

Eduard Herkes

22 October 2020 22 October 2020

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Transparent, stable and no-nonsense, that is Corum in a nutshell, This French investment company, founded by Frédéric Puzin in 2011, offers various investment solutions in 16 countries. This geographical diversification guarantees a sound spreading of risk. “The risk spread contributes to a great extent to the stable return on investment of 6%, a target we’ve achieved during each of the past eight years,” says Edwin Lips, Head of Sales of Corum’s Dutch branch.

The Novotel at Schiphol Airport, FedEx European headquarters in Hoofddorp and two shopping malls in Zaandam and Delft – just a few examples of properties acquired by Corum in recent years. In total, Corum has invested over half a billion euros on the Dutch property market. Globally, their portfolio has a value of nearly four billion euros; currently, Corum focuses its investments mainly on the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Finland. However, there is serious interest from Canada and Australia, so Corum expects to realize further growth soon.

How would you characterize Corum?

An investment firm with experienced professionals and a large network. We are able to respond quickly to situations as we have all the necessary expertise in-house: fundraising, investment, and asset management. Due to our short lines of communication we are able to make decisions faster than our competitors. Our goal is to offer our clients the best possible return on their investment; if you look at our track record, I think it shows we have always kept our promise.

Why did Corum decide to enter the Dutch market?

There are not many property funds on the Dutch market that enable private investors to invest in various countries in such a diversified manner. There are three ways to buy real estate: directly by investing in a building or indirectly through a fund, which can be either listed or unlisted. These are usually funds that focus on one market and one type of real estate, so they do not offer much spread. Corum invests in 16 countries, in 6 different industries and in 4 different currencies, so the spreading of risk is guaranteed. And I still don’t see any other company doing this in the Netherlands. That is what makes us unique.

Could you give a few examples of Corum’s investments in the Netherlands?

Corum bought the Zuidpoort shopping mall in Delft for 40 million euros and we purchased the Hermitage shopping mall in Zaandam for 27 million euros. Both these investments build on a strong business case with a good location, stable occupiers, and the right retail mix as the main pillars. And the presence of recognized brands such as Dutch supermarket giants Albert Heijn and Jumbo means this is a nice, tangible property investment for Dutch investors. That is something we find important as well.

What is your target audience?

Due to our accessibility we’ve attracted new clients from a wide range of backgrounds. Everyone is welcome. We have clients who have just entered the labour market or could be labelled as young professionals, but also investors who are turning away from the stock market and owners of companies who want to retire in 15 years’ time and are trying to build up a solid pension. We regularly welcome new clients who sold part of their property portfolio in order to use the easy investment options our Corum Funds offer. This is actually happening more often. But regardless of the type of investor, more and more Dutch people see our funds as a good alternative for the traditional savings account.

What kind of investment funds does Corum offer?

We have two different funds: Corum Origin and Corum XL. Origin is the fund it all began with eight years ago; this fund is aimed at creating a stable, long-standing return on investment within the Eurozone. Cash flow is an important factor here. In 2017, we introduced Corum XL; with this fund we focus on the increased value of property, looking for investments worldwide (excluding France). At the moment, both these open-end funds are run by the same teams. Origin represents investments of more than 1.9 billion euros, and the investments in Corum XL are currently totalling more than 800 million euros. Investing in Origin starts at 1,090 euros and the share price for XL 189 is euros.

What is the return on investment?

For XL, our target is 5% and in 2019, for the third year in a row, we’ve achieved more than 6% – in fact, it was 6.26%. For Origin, we’ve realized an ROI of 6.25%. However, our goal is not to achieve the highest possible return in the shortest amount of time. We’ve agreed with our shareholders to create a stable revenue source and a solid return on investment – and that is exactly what that figure of 6% represents. And it feels excellent that for eight years in a row now we’ve been able to pay out that sum every tenth day of every month.

Open-end funds are a deliberate choice?

Absolutely. This way Corum Origin and Corum XL will keep on growing with the investments made by private investors. With their share prices (€ 189 and € 1,090, respectively) we’ve opened a market that previously was only accessible to institutional investors.

Corum invests in offices, shops, hotels, healthcare and logistics, but not in housing. Why?

Corum has chosen to keep all the aspects of property investment in-house and our strategy is to maintain a streamlined asset management. Rental housing requires a lot of management and this simply does not fit in with our formula. We try to minimize overhead costs in order to achieve the best results for our shareholders.

In which other countries do you operate?

We’ve invested more than 150 million euros in Poland, one of the fastest growing EU member states and a country that offers good opportunities. Apart from Western Europe we are interested in the Baltic and Nordic countries. For example, Norway – where we started investing earlier this year – is a stable, mature economy. And we’ve also got our eyes on Canada and Australia.

Asset management company BlackRock made sustainability an integral part of its investment strategy. To what extent are sustainable investments important to Corum?

Corum’s properties in the Netherlands are at least A-label office buildings, and all our buildings have a Breeam or Leed certificate. Corum is very much committed to sustainability and we really value the use of green energy and solar panels. And sustainability is also important in our sport sponsoring: we do not sponsor Formula 1, but focus entirely on international sailing races. Since 2018, we are the sponsor of one of the best-known skippers, so his beautiful mono-hull IMOCA 60 sailing boat carries the Corum name and company colours.

Picture: Edwin Lips, Head of Sales Corum Netherlands

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Gezondheid

Schmidt Optiek focuses on the health of your eyes

Monique Smitsloo

12 October 2020 12 October 2020

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Schmidt Optiek, the longest-running optician’s in the country, is the crown jewel among Amsterdam’s eyewear shops. Their store on Rokin opened its doors in 1868 and they’re rightly proud…

Schmidt Optiek, the longest-running optician’s in the country, is the crown jewel among Amsterdam’s eyewear shops. Their store on Rokin opened its doors in 1868 and they’re rightly proud of their status of purveyor to the royal household. Their second branch, located on Gelderlandplein, is frequented by Zuidas business professionals and local residents alike. The health of your eyes is in very experienced and capable hands at Schmidt Optiek and they offer a wide range of frames, with the spectacular customized glasses by Cartier or Dita – diamonds optional– topping off their collection.

Schmidt Optiek focuses first and foremost on your vision, but their varied range of frames guarantees you’ll look the part as well. Did you know that former Dutch Queen Juliana and her husband, Prince Bernhard, had their own drawer in the mahogany-clad Rokin store? And their branch on Gelderlandplein houses an even wider range of frames.

There is a dazzling display of correction glasses, reading glasses and sunglasses by brands ranging from Lindberg to Chanel. As fashion designer Coco Chanel famously put it: “The best things in life are free. The second best things are expensive”. This fits in with Schmidt Optiek’s vision: they focus on the health of your eyes and the medical aspect of your glasses, selling high-end fashionable frames comes second.

A nostalgic wink

The sleek interior of Schmidt Optiek in the Gelderlandplein shopping mall may be in stark contrast to their Rokin store, but the compartments in dark brown are a reference – a nostalgic wink – to the hundreds of mahogany drawers in their historic shop downtown.

The Schmidt Optiek branch on A.J. Ernstraat was established in 1968 and has much more floor space than their 150-year old store on Rokin. Edwin van Dijk is the eighth generation of store owners. His son, head of management Tijmen van Dijk, and marketing manager Jim de Vos tell us more about the company.

Measuring with a ruler

Jim: “I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say we have some of the country’s finest optometrists working for us. They measure your eyes and gather all sorts of information including the position of your pupil, the moisture balance and vision correction. They even use special tiny rulers! The whole procedure takes about an hour; after all, the health and condition of your eyes are very important. And if necessary, they’ll refer you to an ophthalmologist. To be honest, other eyewear stores don’t have sufficient knowledge as the only training their employees have had is a 3-month in-house crash-course. Here at Schmidt, however, we consider optometry a serious profession.”

“It takes years of studying optometry in order to be able to assess what pair of glasses will provide the right correction for someone’s eyes. And that’s absolutely crucial! To give an example: my mother’s eyesight deteriorated significantly as she was given the wrong prescription glasses after a measurement that hardly took 15 minutes – this was long ago, but unfortunately it is still more common than you’d think. We don’t want that to happen to our customers.”

Glasses as a piece of jewellery

Tijmen, a well-dressed young man, explains why glasses are so important for Zuidas professionals. “Eyewear is like jewellery to them; glasses are obviously more conspicuous than your shoes, watch or tie. And in our Gelderlandplein store that is a very important factor: the business customer is looking for a pair of glasses with a serious look, but what they really want is something that defines their identity and will make them stand out among all the other businessmen in their grey or navy corporate uniform.”

“The right pair of glasses enables business professionals to lend a subtle twist to their look: slightly different coloured arms, a unique positioning of the actual glass… Moreover, glasses are more than a fashion item: they can accentuate or mask certain facial features, so it is important to get the right type of advice on the aesthetic part as well. The more comfortable you feel wearing your glasses, the more confident you’ll appear.”

Futuristic innovations

Schmidt Optiek is a company of extremes as the difference between their stores on Rokin and Gelderlandplein shows. On the one hand there is the traditional craft and medical knowledge of the 150-year old company, on the other hand they’re offering the latest futuristic innovations in the world of opticians such as glasses with lightweight, fully flexible arms. Hundreds of labels, influencers on social media, rappers and models are keen to promote Schmidt’s eyewear.

Jim: “It is hard to imagine that not even that long ago glasses were regarded as ‘nerdy’, whereas these days eyewear represents something very stylish. And here at Schmidt Optiek we try to connect to that. It is exciting to bring a classic brand to the fore using modern marketing tools, with all the events and promotion activities that go with it.”

Schmidt Optiek

Arent Janszoon Ernststraat 569

T 020 644 2108

Rokin 72

T 020 623 1981

W www.schmidtoptiek.nl

Schmidt Optiek recently acquired Reyer Lafeber opticians in Utrecht. In this wonderful eyewear store, Schmidt Optiek will focus on extending its range of products and services. In a pleasant and luxurious ambiance, Schmidt offers a wide range of eyecare and sells beautiful frames and sunglasses, as well as special collections. Buying a new pair of glasses will be a very nice experience in this wonderful new eyewear store.

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