The three-day show, produced by the World Wide Pet Industry Association (Arcadia, Calif.) and co-located with the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers’ Garden Market Expo, featured 545 companies in 900 booths.

“SuperZoo’s increase in numbers of attendees can be attributed to three key changes in the show preparations: the designation of a WWPIA staff member to cultivate a greater number of attendees; the new personalized program, MySuperZoo; and the new SuperZoo University program,” said Doug Poindexter, executive vice president of WWPIA.

The trade show garnered coverage from an array of media. For example, NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” taped interviews with 91 exhibitors for a special segment to air later this year. Also, Associated Press Television interviewed pet apparel designers backstage during onsite runway fashion shows.

SuperZoo University proved to be an enormous draw—so much so that staff had to reconfigure classrooms to accommodate the 1,300 participants.

WWPIA also previewed its PetSource.org Web site. Expected to launch this winter, the site will provide pet-related information for both members of the industry and consumers.

A silent auction featuring pet products and services, sports memorabilia, vacations and electronic equipment donated by WWPIA and exhibitors generated funds for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (Washington).

SuperGroom, a grooming contest held in conjunction with the show, attracted top grooming professionals from around the world.

WWPIA Officers
Steve Segner of California Premium Cage (Altadena, Calif.) was re-elected president of WWPIA. Serving with Segner are Mike Lasky of Current USA Inc. (Vista, Calif.), first vice president; Jim Alvord of Petco (San Diego), second vice president; Lewis M. Sutton of Pet-Ag Inc. (Hampshire, Ill.), chief financial officer; and Ruth Jeffers of Jeffers Pet Supply (Dothan, Ala.), secretary.

Newly elected to two-year terms on the board of directors include Barry Berman of NexPet Retailer Group (New York); Jim Boschee of Chuck Latham Associates Inc. (Parker, Colo.); Sara Dreamer of Oxbow Pet Products (Murdock, Neb.); and David Morris of Zupreem (Mission, Kan.).

Returning board members include Michael Guerber of Evergreen Pet Supply (Kent, Wash.); Rick Newman of Newman’s Fish Foods (Hackensack, N.J.); Jeffers; and Segner.

2007 SuperZoo Show Dates
Because of the 2007 Jewish holidays, WWPIA has shifted the dates of its next show forward by one day, to Sept. 18-20, 2007. For more information, call 800-999-7295 or visit www.wwpia.org. [December 2006 PET AGE]