Over 1 700 exhibitors

The international pet supplies sector meets once again at Interzoo in Nuremberg from 29 May to 1 June. According to the provisional registration data at the time of going to press, around 1 700 manufacturers, wholesalers and service providers from over 50 countries will be presenting their products and services at the world's biggest trade show for pet supplies. The pet sector's global exhibition thus offers trade professionals what is probably a unique overview of the global market on a gross exhibition area of around 110 000 m2. However, the fact that some big companies in the industry such as Mars Petcare, Nestlé Purina Petcare, Spectrum Brands, Procter & Gamble Petcare, Hill's Pet Nutrition, Bunny Tierernährung and Söll stayed away from the show has caused a stir.The promoter of Interzoo is the Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH (WZF), which tasked NürnbergMesse GmbH with organising and running the fair. The honorary sponsor is the Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe Deutschlands e.V. (ZZF - German Pet Trade and Industry Association). The exhibition halls designated for the trade show were already sold out at the beginning of the year, and so the layout planning had to be extended to hall 3. Companies will also be located at the transition from hall 4A to hall 3A.

Foreign contingent growing
Foreign exhibitors are expected to top the 80 per cent mark for the first time this year. In Europe, registrations covering larger areas have been received from Spain, France, Belgium, Great Britain and Italy. The fair has attracted more exhibitors in particular from the USA and Asia this year, with a large number of countries once again exhibiting on large communal stands. These include Brazil, China, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and the USA. Over 300 exhibitors from China alone had registered by the time PET worldwide went to press, nearly as many as from the host country Germany. 145 exhibitors are expected from the USA, 124 companies from Italy, 111 from Great Britain and 54 from France. As far as visitors go, the WZF is not expecting numbers to grow: "Concentration in the retail trade continues to increase, not only in Germany but also internationally. This means that fewer retailers…