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Bigger and Better

Tom Mazorlig//September 1, 2015//

Bigger and Better

Tom Mazorlig //September 1, 2015//

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Pet Age spoke with Kevin Fick, CEO of Worldwise about the Quaker Pet Group (QPG) acquisition, the new goDog retrieval line and plans for the future.

Tom Mazorlig: Can you tell me a little about Worldwise and its history?

Kevin Fick: Worldwise was founded in 1992 with the goal of making environmentally responsible products accessible to everyone. Early on, we recognized most of our successes and opportunities were in the pet space, so we decided to focus our efforts on expanding through innovation in pet accessories.

With the QPG merger we’re now one of the larger pet accessories suppliers in the nation, and I’m proud that we’re well known across all our brands for our innovation, our commitment to safety, our satisfaction guarantee and using environmentally responsible materials in our products whenever possible.

Tom: What made the QPG merger attractive to Worldwise?

Kevin: QPG is a great company with distinct brands and innovative products. Both companies were founded to create high quality, innovative and solution-based products for pets and pet parents. This alignment in values and the complementary core competencies of the two companies made this attractive not only to Worldwise but to QPG as well.

Tom: How will the acquisition affect the product offerings of Worldwise and QPG?

Kevin: This merger positions us to bring more innovation to pets and pet parents, provide our retail customers with even better service and strengthens our ability to further acquire successful brands in the pet accessory market.

Tom: Worldwise recently launched the goDog Retrieval line. Can you tell me a little about it?

Kevin: The goDog Retrieval line takes the durability that the goDog line is known for and makes it interactive. Designed to be fun and functional for both pets and pet parents, the set includes five innovative lines that provide a twist on a dog’s favorite game of fetch.
The line will be available in early 2016.

Tom: What’s a typical day like for you?

Kevin: My days are extremely busy these days, chock full of conversations and meetings about planning our future and quickly addressing challenges as they arise. But it’s working with our bright and talented team that keeps me going and makes me excited to come to work in the morning. Our future is bright and we have a great, hardworking team that is going to get us there!

Tom: What can retailers expect to see from Worldwise in the future?

Kevin: We’re constantly working to expand our product offerings with new innovative and solution-based product lines. We’re also actively looking for the next acquisitions that will add unique product offerings to our family of brands and allow us to organically expand to adjacent product categories.

Additionally, we will continue our focused efforts around consumer insights, category management, best in class branding, and educating the consumer with informative packaging.