Meeting the decision makers

Download: Meeting the decision makers (PDF file)On 13 and 14 November, a major event awaits the pet supplies sector. The leading players in the sector will gather for the International Pet Conference, taking place for the first time in Amsterdam. The venue is the Dorint Hotel Amsterdam Airport, chosen for its proximity to the international airport at Schiphol and its easy access to the motorway system.Top-drawer speakersArd Malenstein, director of the Dutch IJsvogel Group, will be in Amsterdam along with Olivier Sillion, director of the French pet retail chain Animalis and president of the French PRODAF association. Dieter Meyer, head of advertising and PR at Vitakraft, will speak on the keynote topic of sustainability in the pet sector, as will Angus McIntosh and Dr. Jean Harper (both of Mars Pet Care) and Matthias Pohl (Kölle Zoo). On the second day of the conference, Torsten Toeller, managing partner of Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH, will unveil his company's latest projects and concepts. Lars Bergkvist, CEO of the Swedish Arken Group, is to present the ambitious expansion plans of his retail group to an international audience for the first time. And Erik Lambrecht, sales manager at the Belgian pet food specialist Versele Laga and an expert on the international pet supplies business, will look in detail at the dynamic development of the market in eastern Europe.Guest speakers from other sectorsTo familiarise the pet product sector with ideas from other lines of business too, a number of interesting figures from other sectors will once again be giving presentations. Bernd M. Michael (BMM Büro für Markenarchitektur) will be analysing the opportunities and market prospects for premium businesses in his customary humorous manner, Heiko Eckert (bigmouthmedia GmbH) will report on the different approaches to the Internet in Europe, and Jon Christoph Berndt, the proprietor of brandamazing, will explain the significance of human branding.A miscellany of topicsWhen putting the programme together, the two organisers - Dähne Verlag and B + P Management Forum - were keen above all to broaden the appeal of the conference as much as possible with a wide range of different topics. Presented under the title "Europe in two days - a tour d'horizon of the international pet product sector", the conference focuses on the following keynote topics:New concepts for success in the international pet supplies tradeLots of new stuff in the East: new trends and market developments in…