News

“Store of the future” at Super Zoo The organisers of the US pet trade fair Super Zoo, which will take place in Las Vegas on 23-25 July, will present the first ever “Store of the future.” This has been created by the World Pet Association (WPA), the producers of Super Zoo and the mega pet product distributor Animal Supply Logistics (ASL). One of the select group of companies represented in the “Store of the future” will be Clear Conscience Pet, a supplier of treats for dogs and cats made in the USA from 100 per cent American ingredients, the show organisers point out. Zooplus dominates competition study For its competition study “Service Atlas Online-Shops 2013”, the analysis and consultancy company Service Value GmbH of Cologne, Germany, investigated which online shops are doing best in Germany from the customers’ viewpoint. 4 732 customer assessments of 36 shops were evaluated for the study. Over 30 specific performance features and six test categories were also assessed from a customer viewpoint. First place in the atlas went to Zooplus, the online supplier of pet products, as overall winner. Zooplus also won in the categories “Design of online shop”, “Product recommendations” and “Dispatch service”. The online shops of Esprit and QVC came second and third in the overall ranking. According to Service Value, the strongest customer loyalty driver, even for online shops, is the personal processing of requests over the telephone or via e-mail. What the customer wants is the opportunity to contact staff. Online shoppers also expect product recommendations based on genuine customer reviews, which must be convincing in terms of number and quality. Anyone wishing to retain customers in online retailing, therefore, should expand their customer service, says the company. Natura extends its recall again The US pet food manufacturer Natura Pet Products has extended its recall of 29 March to all dry dog, cat and ferret food and treats that have expiration dates on or before 24 March 2014. This is the announcement the company has placed on its website. “Natura” canned pro­ducts and “Mother Nature” biscuits are not affected, the manu­facturer points out. New acquisition in the US The US pet supplies sector is becoming increasingly concentrated. The latest development is the acquisition of super-premium food manufacturer Natural Balance Pet Food by Del Monte. Terms were not disclosed. The transaction, expected to be completed in June, includes the stake held by San…