The coronavirus crisis is responsible for many changes, and has spared neither the pet industry nor the trade fair industry. As a result, Interzoo had to be postponed from May 2020 to June 2021. Additionally, WZF has taken the decision to hold Interzoo in odd-numbered years beyond 2021.

“Originally, we would have celebrated the opening of Interzoo 2020 with 2,000 exhibitors and almost 40,000 visitors in these days, but due to COVID-19 we had to reschedule the event by a year,” states WZF’s CEO Alexandra Facklamm. “We are now very happy to be able to announce a date for Interzoo in 2021. In selecting this new date it was important for us to talk with all the parties that are crucial to making Interzoo a success.” Although the stakeholders agree that the pet supply sector will face major economic challenges in the years to come, “a positive signal provided by a successful trade fair can generate the impulse needed to help the industry through difficult times.”

WZF and the German Pet Trade and Industry Association (ZZF), the honorary sponsor of Interzoo, received major support from the industry with the decision to move Interzoo to next year and also completing the transition to holding the event in odd-numbered years. “Since the last Interzoo in 2018, companies have put a lot of effort and hard work into developing new products that were ready to enter the market this year,” says Facklamm. “Manufacturers need a market platform like Interzoo in order to get the best benefit from these new developments. For many companies, four years without the world’s leading fair in their sector would be too long a break. Given the quality of its visitors and its global reach, Interzoo is ideally suited to developing new markets, executing international product rollouts and establishing new business contacts.”

According to Katharina Engling, chairperson of the Interzoo Advisory Committee, attending the world’s leading fair in the wake of a global crisis can contribute to economic recovery for both companies and the sector as a whole. “To get quickly back onto the path to success, the specialist trade and the manufacturing industry must be given an appropriate opportunity to prepare for business. As the world’s largest trade fair for pet supplies, Interzoo meets this requirement perfectly. The deals concluded at Interzoo are the economic foundation for many of the businesses that exhibit here.”

Interzoo 2021 will once again take place from Tuesday to Friday and will span a public holiday. Several of Germany’s federal states will celebrate Corpus Christi on 3 June 2021 and shops will be closed, which should help with the planning process for many independent specialist suppliers intending to travel to Nuremberg as visitors. “The holiday will be important for our German trade fair visitors, since they will definitely want to be on hand for their customers on normal working days following the coronavirus crisis,” Facklamm comments. “We are therefore doubly pleased, not only to have found a good date in an otherwise full NürnbergMesse event calendar, but also to have one that includes a holiday in the same way as the schedule we were accustomed to.”

Currently, trade fair organizers and venues around the world are working with the authorities and professional organizations to develop strategies for holding future events safely in a potential context of stricter hygiene and social distancing rules. This is something Interzoo will also benefit from. The Interzoo project team is currently working with exhibitors who are already registered on the necessary steps for the postponement process of Interzoo in connection with the new timing. Then, from 1 July, exhibitors that have not yet registered for Interzoo 2021 can do so via: www.interzoo.com

Information about the organizer:

WZF (Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Zoologischer Fachbetriebe GmbH) organizes Interzoo in Nuremberg in partnership with ZZF (Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe Deutschlands e.V) as institutional sponsor and supporting organization. WZF is the founder, owner and organizer of the world’s largest international trade fair for the pet supplies industry. With more than 1,900 exhibitors and over 39,000 trade visitors from 125 countries at the last event, Interzoo is the undisputed leading international fair for pet supplies. WZF has engaged NürnbergMesse GmbH to organize and operate the event on its behalf.

WZF is a 100 percent subsidiary of ZZF. It makes a major contribution to the economic development and communications strategy of the pet industry through its business segments Trade Fairs & Events, Media Relations & Industry-specific PR and Training & Professional Development, and through its animal ID agency.

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