The branch meets in Moscow

The international pet industry exhibition Parkzoo has all the trappings to become a success story. The show was held for the second time in Moscow’s Sokolniki exhibition centre and has already notched up an outstanding rate of growth in exhibitors and exhibition space. 153 companies in all from Russia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the UK, Ukraine, Lithuania, the USA, Canada, China and Thailand exhibited on an exhibition area of around 8 000 m². “The number of companies participating and the size of the exhibition space increased by 95 per cent from last year,” reported the show’s organiser, Artis Expo, with satisfaction. The significance of Parkzoo for the Russian pet market should not be underestimated, therefore. “For many years, Moscow suffered from not having a pet industry exhibition, despite the fact that the Russian capital and surrounding region account for more than 60 per cent of the overall Russian pet market. At long last the gap has been filled and, what is more, judging by initial results and amazing expansion, there is a promise of far more to come,” said the organisers. New products and interesting accompanying events The New Products Competition, in which the best products presented at Parkzoo were chosen, provoked considerable interest among the 7 800 visitors to the fair. 124 entries for the competition were received from 40 companies. Among the winners were Interquell from Germany with its “Happy Cat” cat food in the food and treats category and the “Aqua Lighter Device”, a light and temperature control unit from Collar company (Ukraine), in the aquatics category. In the care products category, the “Kotoffey” clumping tray litter from Kotoffey company (Russia) took first place. The prize for the best stand of the show went to the Ivanko company from Saint Petersburg. Apart from new products, the various conferences and talks in the Sokolniki conference facilities proved a major attraction for the trade visitors, with 70 people attending the Russian Pet Industry Union’s conference on legal support for pet industry companies. The round-table discussion on franchising in the pet industry also attracted 90 people. At the presentation “Pet Store Assortment: How to Manage Chaos?” by Nic Dechamps from Germany, around 170 trade visitors crowded into the hall. The Autumn Veterinary Conference, organised by the Russian Association of Practising Veterinary Surgeons, attracted 230 professionals who received certificates as part of a post-diploma study…