Luxury Pet Pavilion Wraps Up Atlanta, Preps for L.A.
Having just wrapped its Atlanta trade show, the organizers of Luxury Pet Pavilion are already well into their planning for the next show, which will take place in Los Angeles March 7- 8, 2009, with pre-show events taking place on Friday, March 6.
“We have a lot of new things planned for the show,” said Stephanie Ellis, president of Luxury Pet Pavilion. “We’re going to be partnering with an L.A.-based pet charity for a celebrity fundraiser on the Friday before the show. All of the exhibitors will be invited to that too. We’re also going to be unveiling our exclusive Luxury Pet Pavilion experience booths where people will get to experience everything from luxury pet boutiques to custom pet bedrooms.”
The Atlanta show took place August 2-3 at Americasmart in the downtown area of the city. For this show, there was a strong focus on grooming and spa with its “Take Me Home” grooming contest, which featured 10 master groomers from all over the Southeast sprucing up shelter dogs from the Atlanta Humane Society.
Two pet boutique industry manufacturers distinguished themselves by winning awards for the best booth design at the trade show and the best product.
Cat Livin’, a cat product manufacturer owned by Jeremy and Angela Moser, won the prize for best booth design. The company’s setup at the show included a welcoming design reminiscent of a living space in a home, complete with carpet and wall decoration, along with a video presentation. The entire booth was coordinated with a theme of brown and green, two colors that are frequently seen together in the home furnishings market.
The best new product was the Doody Duffle, a surprisingly simple waste collection bag made of high-tech waterproof material that allows dog owners to easily scoop, bag and discard all without touching waste. Product inventor and Doody Duffle company owner Sylvia Carlson accepted the award at a ceremony held on the evening of August 2.
Cat Livin’ and Doody Duffle each received an American Express gift card for $500. Nancy Cribb from Furry Travelers, another company exhibiting at the event, won a raffle and also took home a $500 gift card.
Show organizers also held a “Best Dressed Dog” competition, and the winner was a dog named Magnolia, owned by the Davis family and dressed by Emma Rose Design.
Luxury Pet Pavilion has an ongoing charitable partnership with the official charity of the Westminster Kennel Club—Angel on a Leash. This organization provides therapy dogs to sick children and to people with disabilities across the country. Representing the charity at the event was David Frei, director of communications for the WKC.
“It’s a wonderful thing that our dogs do for us,” he said, remarking on the health benefits that can result from dog therapy.
Recent studies have shown a connection between dog therapy and lowered blood pressure, for example.
Frei said that it feels wonderful being part of Angel on a Leash, but “I’m just the guy on the end of the leash. The dogs are doing all the work.”
At the end of August, more than 30 manufacturers had already signed up to exhibit at the upcoming show in Los Angeles. There are 150 booths available in total, with several different pricing packages available.
“We didn’t want anyone to not be able to exhibit because of price,” Ellis said.
At the 2008 show in Los Angeles, there were 92 exhibitors.
In advance of every show, Ellis said, Luxury Pet Pavilion does a great deal of work to attract buyers.
“We e-mail blast once a week to retailers,” she said. “We do postcard mailings to more than17,000 stores in the U.S. and internationally. Our PR firm works year-round pitching stories.
The latest high-end pet fashions, accessories and furniture – from Swarovski crystal collars to pet armoires to monogrammed bathrobes for dogs – got the red carpet treatment at The Luxury Pet Pavilion’s Fall show, held Aug. 2-3 at the AmericanMart in Atlanta.
