Market opportunities for the future

Trade and industry are in a process of global transformation. The digital revolution that is spreading like wildfire is engulfing the pet supplies business too, and the eurozone crisis is presenting big challenges for many companies. What effects will all these changes have on trade and industry in the long term? How can the pet sector prepare itself better for the future? The International Pet Conference will consider these questions. The conference title “Pimp my business. Spot market opportunities and exploit them” calls on players in the pet supplies sector to sniff out opportunities and exploit them to “pimp” their own companies. The challenges facing the pet supplies business in the next few years are manifold: E-commerce: the Internet poses major challenges for the entire retail sector. At the conference we will be presenting cross-channel concepts of pet product retail chains and we will look more closely at the opportunities offered by mobile shopping by iPhone or tablet and the limitations on it for the pet sector. We’ll also illustrate how the bricks and mortar retail trade can react to changes in shopping behaviour, taking the Metro Future Store as an example. The optimum market image: in the age of the multimedia presence, the market image of a company is more important than ever. What makes a product into a brand? How can brands differentiate themselves from private label products? How can a presence in social networks be integrated sensibly into a corporate strategy? In Prague, sector experts will offer interesting answers and practical advice with regard to these complex questions. Market expansion: securing new sales channels is one possibility. Which countries still offer potential for the future? Several talks will outline the market development in selected countries, with the focus on Turkey as an important market of the future, along with up-and-coming markets in Asia and Latin America. Another option for market expansion is to expand existing product groups. Just as nano aquariums have given the aquatics segment as a whole a boost, concentrating on premium could provide new impetus for the small animal market. How? You’ll find out at the conference. Social networks: what are the biggest mistakes to be made when communicating on Facebook and other social networking sites? What opportunities do these sites offer for raising the profile of your company and products? Another aspect that will be tackled at the conference is how to measure…