Pet Product News - SuperZoo Show Daily Day3 2017

A Sweet Treat

[Above] Mariah Harmony of the Villalobos Rescue
Center in New Orleans explains how Treatibles Tater’s
Sweet Potato Tots treats calm the animals at the
rescue. The rescue teamed up with Treatibles (booth
1107), which will donate money to help with the res-
cue’s veterinarian bills. [Right] Julianna Carella of Treat-
ibles answers attendees’ questions about the treats.

[1] Damian Hall of The Hagen Group (booth 1767) promotes new additions to the Bug Bites line—the color-enhancing formula and the turtle formula.

[ 2] Neil Werde explains the benefits of the Tough Core safe tennis ball at the Worldwise booth (2655).

[ 3] Susan Weiss of Ark Naturals Products for Pets (booth 1547) with the company’s new meat-free Sea Mobility Joint Rescue supplements. [4] Retail attendees gather at the Tether Tug booth (2566) to see the product in action.

Jennifer Boncy (left) and Lindsey Wojcik of Pet Product News magazine present the 2017-2018

Retailer of the Year Award to Mark Vitt of Mutts & Co., which has five locations in Ohio.

2

WPA NAMES NEW OFFICERS

The World Pet Association (WPA) has elected new officers.

The officers are Michael Twain, chairman; Barry Berman, first vice chairman;

Pete Risano, second vice chairman; Vic Mason, CFO; and Troy Firth, secretary.

New board members include B.C. Henschen of Platinum Paws, Michael Lou of Patchwork Pets and Keryn Rod of Puppy Spot.

Lew Sutton, executive vice president of the International Markets Division at PetAg Inc., will be leaving the board.

Twain operates three direct import businesses—Amazing Pet Products, One Pet Planet and Pet Specialty Merchandisers—and a web business, Pet Train. com. He has experience in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing sectors.

Twain graduated from Oregon State with a degree in statistics and operations research, and a minor in computer science. His work experience includes selling computer systems to the banking industry with NCR.

Other involvements include the original strategic plan and financing for

PET PRODUCT NEWS
UNVEILS RETAILER OF THE
YEAR AWARD WINNERS

Competition for independent pet retailers is fiercer than ever. From the economy to big-box and mass competitors to more online retailers entering the space, independent pet stores have weathered many storms. Still, the country is chockfull of stores that are thriving and surviving in their markets.

With that in mind, Pet Product News (PPN) (booth 3858) is honoring outstanding pet specialty retailers, groomers and service providers with its annual Retailer of the Year Awards. After combing through dozens of applications from retailers all across the U.S., PPN’s editors have selected one standout store as our Retailer of the Year: Mutts & Co., which has five stores in Ohio.

An additional 11 stores join Mutts & Co. as special honorees in this year’s Retailer of the Year Awards. These stores have snagged awards for their business achievements in a variety of categories.

In the coming months, PPN will feature profiles of the winners in each issue.

The winners are:

Retailer of the Year

Mutts & Co., which has five stores in Ohio. The store carries dog, cat and small animal products. It also offers adoption days, grooming and self-serve dog washes.