Mecca of the pet supply sector

Preparations have already kicked off for the 28th International Fair for Pet Supplies with the mailing of registration papers to over 2 000 potential exhibitors worldwide. According to Klaus Oechsner, president of the Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe (ZZF), the show’s sponsor, “the current level of registrations means that we can look forward optimistically to next spring and again expect around 1 000 exhibitors.” Oechsner continues to rate Interzoo as the biggest draw on the trade show scene for the pet supply industry. This view is borne out by the figures for the last Interzoo in 2002: almost 23 000 visitors from over 100 countries came to look over the pet foods, care products and accessories offered by more than 1 000 exhibitors from 43 countries. The level of satisfaction with the overall success of the show among exhibitors at Interzoo 2002 was nearly 90 per cent. Over 90 per cent of them made new business contacts and reached their principal target groups, with 86 per cent expecting follow-up business from these contacts. Exhibitors were also satisfied with the quality of the potential customers: self-employed businessmen and proprietors (53 per cent), managers (14 per cent), heads of departments (13 per cent) and other high-level staff (10 per cent) predominantly from the retail trade (45 per cent) and wholesale and foreign trade (24 per cent) constituted the main visitor categories. Nine out of ten visitors were also involved in making the decisions in their company regarding buying and procurement.
The industry will meet once again in the exhibition halls of Nuremberg next May.
The spread of both exhibitors and visitors at Interzoo has become more cosmopolitan over the years: at the 2002 show, the proportion of foreign exhibitors rose to 68 per cent, while the proportion of visitors from abroad increased to 44 per cent.
The biennial fair is continually expanding the range of segments on offer, the most recent additions being equestrian sports and boutique articles. Interzoo 2004 will feature these two segments again along with products for aquariums, terrariums, dogs, cats, small ani-mals, birds and outdoor pets, trade literature, shop fittings, packaging, veterinary instruments, communications technology, e-commerce and inventory management and sales systems.
The show isn’t just stick-ing to areas in which it has a proven track record, how-ever; alongside the existing pet supply segments Interzoo 2004 will include a separate new “pet food…