People Love Their Pets
Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 9/12/2008 11:30:00 AM
Doug Poindexter, president of World Wide Pet Industry Assn., is positive about the pet shop business.
“In this economy, we’ve all heard about people who can no longer afford to keep pets, and that’s sad,” Poindexter said. “But many of the rest of us are economizing by spending more time at home – with our pets.”
As a result, he added, the WWPIA tradeshow, SuperZoo, held Sept. 9-11 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, saw attendance, estimated at 8,000, on par with last year, as well as an increase in the number of exhibitors to more than 620, despite a tough retail economy.
Walking the showfloor, a clear trend was healthy pet food made in the United States. Wagatha’s Vermont-made dog treats were described as “wheat, corn, soy and lactose-free, 100-percent certified USDA organic, freshness dated and … certified kosher.” Two of its flavors were Tuscan Tomato with Italian Herbs and Cranberry Cheddar. Owner Normal Levitz said, “A tradeshow like this is everything to us. We’re a new company and to find distributors and reps and to become known, a tradeshow is the answer.”
Karen Spitzer’s company, Coats & Totes, capitalized on another trend: lavish wardrobes for boutique dogs. Her handmade outfits cost between $70 and $100, and a doggie carrying case, complete with Swarovski crystals, sells for $750. “Business is good,” Spitzer said.
In addition to everything for the pet, SuperZoo offered exhibitors the opportunity for exposure beyond the booth. For the third year, SuperZoo TV gave exhibitors the chance to film or submit short commercials that played continuously on eight large screens throughout the exhibit hall.
“We eliminate the need to distribute flyers to attract attention,” Poindexter said. Another effort, also free to exhibitors, was SuperZooTube, the opportunity to have a 90-second infomercial about a particular product filmed and made available on YouTube. “Last year’s products are still running,” Poindexter added.
In recent years, SuperZoo has collocated with Garden Market Expo, sponsored by the California Assn. of Nurseries & Garden Centers. The thought was that some garden stores also stock pet items and some pet stores sell plant material. However, because of 2009 scheduling problems at Mandalay Bay, the Garden Market Expo will move to the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall and Las Vegas Hilton Sept. 23-24 next year, while SuperZoo will stay at Mandalay Bay Sept. 15-17.
“We’re still great friends with SuperZoo,” said Elaine Thompson, president of the CANGC, “but, ultimately, SuperZoo would like earlier dates than we prefer, so we agreed to separate … very amicably.”
Thompson noted that the landscaping industry has taken a huge hit as homebuilding has stalled and foreclosures stack up, so this year’s show, with 350 booths and 2,500 attendees, was smaller than in the past. “We even had some empty booths, already paid for, but not being used,” she added.
