Exploring new horizons

The speakers in Barcelona read like a "Who's Who" of the international pet supplies sector. Coming to Barcelona from the Czech Republic is Dušan Placček, the dynamic proprietor and CEO of the expanding Plaček Group. His group of companies has worked its way up to become probably the leading speciality retail group in eastern Europe at present and also owns the leading Polish chain Kakadu.
 A survey of developments in Romania will be given by Cristi Pop, owner of the retail and wholesale company Animax/Pet Product. Cristi Pop has managed to become established in the market in his country and to continue growing steadily in spite of difficult economic conditions. Conference attendees in Barcelona will hear how the creative entrepreneur has achieved this and what his plans are for the future.
The concept behind the online retailer Zoofast, which is active throughout Europe, will be revealed by Piotr Wie˛cek, CEO of the Polish operating company Krakvet Marek Batko. The company has grown in just a few years from small beginnings into a leading European online retailer in pet products, and this talk promises to be a highlight of this year's conference.
 Another presentation that is likely to arouse considerable interest relates to the development of the leading Spanish retail group Kiwoko. Javier Osa, the company's co-founder and managing director, and Alvaro Gutierrez, co-founder and CEO of Kiwoko, will speak at the International Pet Conference about the growth of the dynamic company and set out their plans for the next few years.
Torsten Toeller (Fressnapf), Norbert Steinwidder (Das Futter­haus Österreich) and Polina Kosharna (Suzirja Company Group) are other well-known figures from leading retail organisations who will be presenting their ideas and strategies in Barcelona. How will the bricks and mortar trade fare in the future? What is the potential for online retailing? How can the continuing decline in prices, especially of speciality retail pro­ducts, be halted? Such questions will provide a recurring theme in these talks. 

Other topics will also feature at the International Pet Conference, however. Many presentations will address the issue of how customer contact can be improved further in the digital era. Dieter Meyer, head of group communications at…