Enormous potential for development

Boasting 463 exhibitors from over 30 countries and nearly 20 000 trade visitors from more than 60 nations, last November's CIPS in the new China Import and Export Fair Pazhou Complex impressively underlined the reputation of the show as an attractive meeting place for the international pet supplies sector. The total number of professional visitors and international buyers increased 17.6 per cent and 53.3 per cent respectively over the year before, when the CIPS was held in Beijing. In Guangzhou, the exhibition area stretching to over 11 000 m² was divided into two separate halls for the first time. In one hall, 196 exhibitors presented products covering all aspects of the aquatics segment, while in the other, 267 exhibitors showed pet food and accessories from other product groups in the pet sector. The percentage shares enjoyed by these two categories were reflected in the distribution of visitors between the two exhibition halls: 56.6 per cent visited the pet hall and 43.4 per cent the aquatics hall. It's clear from the low total of foreign exhibitors at CIPS, amounting to just 6 per cent, that Chinese firms predominated on the exhibition stands. These were either manufacturing companies seeking foreign cooperative partners or importers of internationally renowned brands. However, most of the few non-Chinese exhibitors cannot have had any regrets about coming to the CIPS. On the contrary: "The CIPS is now the second most important international trade show for us after Interzoo," commented Maik Hartje of Juwel Aquarium. He was very taken with the idea of splitting the exhibition into two different halls, as it considerably simplified the layout. Didier Lergenmuller, the sales director at JBL, was particularly pleased with the international flavour of the show: "We welcomed specialist retailers from all over Asia onto our stand." Koord Janssen, global marketing director at Tetra, and Bernd Hindersmann, chief representative of the Chinese Tetra subsidiary in Guangzhou, also had positive things to say about the CIPS. Grzegorz Seweryn, export manager for the Polish aquatics company Tropical, was likewise extremely satisfied with the show. He concurred with his counterparts from other companies that the growing purchasing power of the Chinese meant that many aquarium enthusiasts were willing to spend more on their hobby. And Maik Hartje added: "As far as our products are concerned, our current bestsellers in China are our biggest and most expensive aquariums…