H.H. Backer Associates Inc. announced today that their fall 2015 pet-industry trade show will be postponed and re-positioned to better service the changes that are taking place in the industry. The next show was scheduled for September 25-27, 2015, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), Ill.
“This was a very challenging decision, as the pet industry has been dear to my heart for practically my entire life,” Patty Backer, president, said. “But it is time for me to take a year off to explore other avenues of growth and creativity.”
Ms. Backer added that she would be part of “a new, exciting event for the industry” that is tentatively scheduled for 2016. “It’s truly a case of one door closing and another opening, and I’m really looking forward to this new venture,” she said. Details on this new event will be publicized as they become available.
Companies that have already contracted for booth space for the 2015 show will receive a full refund.
For more than 40 years, H.H. Backer Associates Inc. has been at the forefront of the pet industry with its record-breaking trade shows, educational conferences and trade publications, continually proving to be a respected and progressive force in the constantly evolving pet industry.
Formed in 1966, the company produced the annual Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show (later renamed Backer’s Total Pet Expo) in Chicago from 1967 through 2014. An annual East Coast show–the Pet Industry Spring Trade Show–was produced from 1989 through 2012. H.H. Backer Associates also published Pet Age Magazine, an award-winning industry monthly publication, from 1971 through 2012 (at which time it was acquired by Journal Multimedia), and Groom & Board, which was published from 1981 through 2001.