The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas hosted Superzoo, the annual trade show and conference for the $46 billion dollar pet industry, held September 13-15, 2011. The event boasted a 15 percent increase in attendance, with 13,000 attendees and 795 exhibitors spanning 137,000 square feet of exhibit space, according to show officials.
“Ours is a pretty recession-resistant industry, so we’ve survived better than most,” said Poindexter. “In the recession people will turn more to home and aren’t traveling as much. So if they can’t go to Cancun this year, at least they can buy Fido a new toy. And if Fido’s happy, that makes them feel good.”
With its 2010 record surpassed, SuperZoo’s pre-registration was up 20 percent and attendance up 10 percent with an increase of 105 exhibitors. New trends, products and special events coupled with 93 cutting-edge educational sessions at SuperZoo University, this year’s event drew a huge crowd. Due to buyer and exhibitor demand, WPA also plans to move the show’s dates to July starting in 2013 and going forward. This will give retailers and manufacturers more time for the holiday purchasing season, Poindexter added.
Dominated by food and toy manufacturers, SuperZoo aisles and booths maintained a steady beat of traffic of both the two- and four-legged variety. First-time Attendee Al Barrett, vice president of DS Creative Services said he was so impressed with the show that he plans to keep coming back.
SuperZoo will return to the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and the dates are September 11-13, 2012. More information may be gleaned by visiting http://www.superzoo.org.
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