Most exhibitors have high expectations

In May, the attention of the pet sector will be turned to Bologna, where the Zoomark International trade fair takes place from 7 to 10 May. How do the exhibitors rate the Italian market? What product lines sell particularly well in the country? And what expectations do companies have in Italy for this year? PET worldwide spoke to a number of exhibitors.

"Italy is currently in our top 5 countries," says Paul Mercer, export sales manager at the UK firm The Company of Animals. The company sells iconic dog training and behavioural products to 60 different countries worldwide and is master European distributor of various third-party brands, such as Pet Head Shampoo, Arm & Hammer dental care for pets and Mr Muscle hygiene for pets. "Sales in Italy are growing year on year," he adds. He puts this development down to the raised awareness of many dog owners that training and behaviour is becoming an integral part of owning a dog. In particular, the Stop Pulling-Range, the HALTI, Clix training accessories and the Baskerville Ultra muzzle experienced extensive growth in 2014, according to the manager. His forecast for the future: "We expect to grow even further with our items this year."

Gerhard Auer, pet care division manager at the litter specialists J. Rettenmaier & Söhne (JRS), also takes a positive view of the Italian market. "The Italian market is proving highly receptive to cat litter produced from sustainable raw materials. We are pleased with the annual double-digit volume growth of our Cat's Best line with regard to the individual products Cat's Best Öko Plus and Cat's Best Nature Gold."
 After France and Great Britain, Italy is one of JRS's main European export markets, according to Gerhard Auer. The company is aiming for double-digit growth in Italy once again this year. It plans to introduce its new Cat's Best Green Power line for the Italian market at Zoomark International in Bologna.
"The Italian market still has an individualistic structure, which offers advantages for our litter range," explains Gerhard Auer. He says that his company has succeeded in establishing the Chipsi and Cat's Best brands in further speciality stores in the last few years.

Holger Passia, managing director of Europet Bernina International (ebi), still sees "huge growth potential" in the Italian market. The company has strategically reoriented itself in the last few months and aims to trigger…