Interzoo captivates the pet sector

A decline in visitor numbers of around 11 000 compared with Interzoo 2018 was almost irrelevant. This year’s Interzoo fair took place under incredibly challenging conditions, and so any comparison with 2018 would be frivolous. What was important, as unanimously affirmed by the organisers, exhibitors and visitors, was that the global pet sector managed to reconvene at all in Nuremberg this year.

The anticipation of finally being able to make personal contact once again with existing and new business partners was already huge in the run-up to the show. On account of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, however, exhibitors and visitors from China and Russia were considerably fewer in number than has normally been the case. Many regular attendees from Germany were absent this year, too, but the verdict of the Interzoo organising body WZF was extremely positive: “The fact that, despite the continuing uncertainty, so many players in the sector had made Interzoo a firm date in their diaries is for us evidence of a high level of confidence in Interzoo and its organiser WZF,” emphasised WZF managing director Gordon Bonnet. And Norbert Holthenrich, president of Interzoo’s conceptual sponsor ZZF, praised the “staggeringly high” international spread of visitors at 72.5 per cent.

A positive response was also yielded by the exhibitor survey, according to WZF, with nine out of ten exhibitors rating Interzoo as important to extremely important in the context of their overall marketing and sales activities. 95 per cent were satisfied to very satisfied with the overall outcome (2018: 88 per cent), while over 94 per cent of exhibitors achieved their specific fair targets (2018: 87 per cent). Furthermore, 96 per cent of exhibitors gave a positive rating of trade visitors to their stand, and 97 per cent of companies reached their primary target groups. 96 per cent succeeded in making entirely new business contacts. Finally, nine out of ten exhibitors expect follow-up business from the show.