The Pet Industry Federation (PIF) has announced that Virtual Petindex (VPI), the UK pet industry’s virtual trade show, is now open for visitor registrations.
Taking place from Tuesday 16 – Tuesday 30 March 2021, with two ‘live’ days scheduled for 16 and 17 March, VPI will provide a unique platform for visitors to access new suppliers without all the associated costs of visiting a traditional trade show. The event will engage pet industry exhibitors and visitors from all over the world in one virtual venue and will enable exhibitors to talk to trade visitors through live interaction tools which can be accessed from any device.
At VPI, trade visitors can access:
- Free registration
- Webinars and presentations from industry experts
- New products
- Product promotions and discounts
- Online ordering
- Real time communication with exhibitors
A fantastic line-up of webinars has been created to complement the trade show, offering high quality talks for pet professionals on a range of subjects. These can be watched free of charge at VPI once you have registered to attend. Some of the webinars available to view exclusively at Virtual Petindex include:
- Dr Sean Wensley, PDSA: How can we Improve the Wellbeing of the UK's Pet Dogs, Cats and Rabbits?
- Hannah Capon, veterinary surgeon: Not Just a Disease of the Senior Dog - Canine Osteoarthritis
- Louise Moran, Bruce's Doggy Daycare: Time to Chill - Managing Downtime in Dog Daycare
- Shannah Cantillon, Pet Business Insurance: Your Pet Business Insurance: What you Need to Know.
- Fleur Maitland LCGI, The Clip Joint: Clippity Snip! A Snap-tastic Salon Trim
In addition, there are a number of live ‘round-table’ discussions taking place at certain times, which visitors can attend and put their questions to those taking part:
Tuesday 16 March – 12pm
Making Visual Merchandising Work for You
The panel will discuss the relevance of visual merchandising and how it impacts customer experience and subsequent sales. So far confirmed are: Mark Johnson, Smurfit Kappa PLC; Peter Roy, Natures Menu; and Rob Brown, Browns Natural Pet Store.
Tuesday 16 March – 3pm
Pet Retailing Around the World
The panel will discuss the difference in retailing across the globe and investigate how to attract new customer and engage with existing customers in the face of changing customer trends. So far confirmed are: Phil Jones, Dubai Pet Food (Dubai); Michael Levy, Pet Food Express (USA); Dean Richmond, Pet Family (UK).
Wednesday 17 March – 1pm
The Impact of TV Programmes on the Pet Grooming Sector
This panel discussion will investigate how the public perception of dog grooming has changed as a result of TV shows. So far confirmed are: Stuart Simons, Groom Dog City; Jody Gordon, The Animal Welfare Consultancy; Verity Hardcastle, Shampooches of Harrogate and Colin Taylor, Colin Taylor Grooming.
To find out more about the VPI, including additional webinar details; and to register to attend, please visit https://vpi.vfairs.com/
You can also contact Daniel.everett@petfederation.co.uk, or telephone +44 (0)1234 224507 for more information.