All set to goat Interzoo.digital

The coronavirus pandemic knows no mercy. It is causing shifts in political power, forcing major events to be rescheduled and making a few global companies look pretty outdated. Much of the mayhem unleashed on our world by Covid-19 is unfair.  Even the venerable Interzoo deserves a better fate.
In 2018, the world-leading pet supplies fair delivered impressive figures: an exhibition area of 120 000 m2, nearly 2 000 exhibitors and 39 000 trade visitors. Fast forward three years, and thanks to the coronavirus, Interzoo can only take place in digital form. As a consequence, the organiser WZF might well be satisfied if even ten per cent of the exhibitors and attendees of 2018 are present at the digital event.
The time window to prepare for Interzoo.digital was very small, and so miracles were not to be expected. At first glance, the show concept also seemed a little over-ambitious. The benefits of exhibiting at the digital Interzoo weren't immediately clear to many exhibitors, at any rate. Maybe less was more from the organiser's perspective - but this is pure speculation. We will only know more when the fair opens at the beginning of June.

Might it even have been better in these difficult circumstances to cancel Interzoo altogether, as in 2020? Perhaps. On the other hand, it was not foreseeable at the start of the year, when the WZF had to make its decision, that the pandemic would continue to ravage the world in 2021 also. The decision of the WZF to proceed with Interzoo this year despite the difficult situation must therefore be respected. The pet supplies sector needs a long-term platform where networking can take place, where trends and new products are presented and contact between the retail and industrial players is possible. Many of these aspects will be facilitated by Interzoo.digital, even if not on the scale of a physical trade show. So let's embrace the venture - perhaps it will all turn out better than expected! And if not, it is still worth it for the new experience, especially as digital fairs are likely to have a role to play even in post-coronavirus times. And so, dear readers of PET worldwide, register for the first Interzoo.digital and have fun! In any event, Dähne Verlag will definitely be in attendance there.
Ralf Majer-Abele
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