Dutch competence in the pet supplies trade

Around 220 exhibitors occupied two large halls for the show. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were deliberately chosen as the show days, to give the numerous small-scale pet dealers on the one hand and buyers for the speciality chains on the other opportunities to visit in equal measure. And the visitor figures were spread accordingly over the three days, with approx. 1 900 people coming to the show on the Sunday, another 1 100 on the Monday and finally 900 more on the Tuesday. The Sunday in particular will stick in the minds of many exhibitors, as they reported experiencing "an unexpectedly high volume of business" with "non-stop consultation and lots of orders". The visitor figures could have been even higher, since the Dibevo speciality trade association granted free admission to two people from each of their member businesses, to maintain a high level of competence among the visitors. With a current membership of 1 520, including 1 200 pet product businesses, 160 suppliers and 160 grooming studios, boarding kennels and similar, the overall visitor total was therefore absolutely right, and many exhibitors spoke of the exceptional specialist competence of their visitors.One trend that was picked up on at the show by several exhibitors was a desire among their customers for high-class, exclusive products. In line with this, the Belgian wholesale company Flamingo  (www.flamingo.be) premiered dog accessories from the German manufacturer Patentopet and vivarium products of the American manufacturer Zoomed. The company is also increasingly consolidating its own "PetPlus" brand, a line that includes treats, litter, food and accessories. Another company to have perceived the trend towards quality is the German aquatics firm Dennerle (www.dennerle.de), which sells aquatic plants in particular to the Netherlands and presented a complementary water care range "Aqua Rico" at the show. Karlie Heimtierbedarf (www.karlie.de) from Germany was also exhibiting at the fair. Karlie has a Dutch team of four field sales staff as well as a country manager, and is hoping to secure a substantial market share in the Netherlands, believing great sales potential to exist there. The stand of the Dutch firm Vobra Special Petfoods  (www.vobra.nl) witnessed a premiere too, a new line of dog and cat food called "Casa Fera". Having already been exported to Belgium and Bulgaria, the dry food is to be distributed throughout Europe in the next stage of marketing. The company has been…