“The undisputed number one pet product show”

The official closing report on Interzoo has confirmed the record figures for the show and revised them upwards in some cases. The organizer, Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe (WZF), puts the number of visitors at 26,876, 18 per cent more than two years ago. According to the so-called FKM international counting method recently introduced, which takes account not of the number of visitors but of the number of visits to the show, there were 31,072 visits. The proportion of visitors from abroad rose by five per cent compared with 2002 to 49 per cent (new FKM method: 53 per cent). The most visitors came from Germany, Italy, France, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, and with the exception of Ukraine, the number of visitors from all European countries rose. There was a strong increase in visitors from the new EU member states, and the figure for overseas visitors was higher.
A greater range of nationalities than ever before was represented among the 1,101 exhibitors (up eight per cent). Almost three-quarters of exhibitors (73 per cent, 2002: 68 per cent) came to Nuremberg from abroad. The main exhibitor countries apart from Germany were China, the USA and Italy.
The proportion of visitors from abroad rose by five per cent compared with 2002 to 49 per cent.
“The top echelons of the pet product trade – both national and international – were out in force in Nuremberg again at this Interzoo, underlining once more the significance of Interzoo as undoubtedly the most important and distinctive pet product show in the industry”, commented ZZF President Klaus Oechsner with regard to the figures. Two-thirds of the visitors were specialists from the pet trade (minus garden centres, DIY stores and supermarkets). Around half were independent entrepreneurs and joint proprietors, while 16 per cent were managers. Our PETplus / Industry topics section contains a survey of the trend in exhibitor and visitor numbers since 1984 (see also further reports on this subject).