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Events

Groom Expo

How many dog groomers could possibly exist?

That’s one of the first things that went through my mind as I stepped inside the Hershey Event Center in Hershey, PA on Friday, September 8th, to attend the Groom Expo. Even before we registered, I could see the crowds of people, feel the energy, and begin to understand why this event is truly a destination for dog groomers across the country

Written By: The Dog Journal 

We had the opportunity to sit and chat with James, with Barkleigh Events, the event coordinator for the Groom Expo, and he gave us a lot of information and little interesting details about this event. According to him, this is the 35th year anniversary for the Groom Expo, and for 33 of those years, the event was help at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA. The first 2 years of existence, the Groom Expo was held in Harrisburg, PA, but every year since that it’s been in Hershey.

People ask every year “When will you go somewhere else where you can accommodate more vendors and people?” James says that that probably won’t ever happen, honestly. The relationship that they have with the facility is really good. They’re amazing to work with, and there’s just something almost magical about the Hershey Lodge, as we could see and feel. It’s a tradition! Parking space is ample, the whole layout is incredibly high end, and there’s restaurants and a hotel within the complex, so it makes it really, really easy for people to stay and participate, even when coming from far off, which is the case for a lot of people.

So how did the Groom Expo begin, and what happened to make it a success? Well, the founder, Sally, who has since passed, was a pet groomer and she was also a writer. James says she had this need to bring pet grooming to a level above and beyond what it was at that time. Grooming was just something that some people did, it wasn’t really a career. And so, Sally started the Groomer to Groomer magazine, which is probably the most popular grooming magazine out there. In year six of Sally’s magazine venture, she heard about this grooming convention happening in Chicago, called the All American Groom Show.

After participating, Sally walked away thinking “This is amazing, and it’s what the world needs, but I could do better.” So, she came back and went to work, creating and lining up all the different aspects of what is now known as the Groom Expo. According to James, the first event could have been held in a corner of what is now the Groom Expo, but even that first event surpassed the All American Groom Show. Interestingly enough, Barkleigh Shows, which is the mother company of these shows, later acquired that very event, the All American Groom Show, as one of their own, and has hosted it ever since.

Speaking of booths and vendors, I could not believe how many vendors that were there selling grooming shears and supplies! My little mind would think “how can there possibly be more than a few vendors for grooming supplies, and shears in specific? Isn’t a shear a shear?” Obviously not, as every vendor there seemed to have different reasons for which a potential “shear buyer” should buy from them.

Oh, and by the way, this show is usually a soldout show, as far as vendor space. Every year some retire, drop out, or down size, but there is still a waiting list to come in as a vendor. We are on that list, actually, so we’ll see if we end up participating as a vendor in the future.

This event is running for 4 days, Thursday through Sunday, although Thursday is a day for workshops and vendor setup only. The show is not open to the public, per se, but only to people in the professional pet industry. That would

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mean a dog breeder could participate at the event, but you would need a reason to be there, other than “I just want to see all the dogs.” 

Aside from workshops, vendors, and demonstrations, there is also a grooming competition held during the expo. I don’t know for sure, but I believe that happens on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you’ve never seen it, it’s pretty cool to watch dozens of groomers grooming their dogs all at one time, all staged out, preparing for the judges to examine their work. All told among the 4 days of tradeshow, the Groom Expo draws about 6000 attendees.

According to James, Barkleigh hosts a total of 10 trade shows or expos per year throughout the country. Groom Expo in Hershey is the largest, actually it’s the largest grooming expo in the world. Groom Expo West held in California is a sister show, much smaller, but comparable otherwise, and then there are others as well. 8 of the 10 shows they do are in the pet grooming industry, and then they also host 2 per year that are geared towards Pet Boarding and Daycare. The next one coming up is actually at the Hershey Lodge, so we’ll need to see if we can make it this year. 

When asked about continued innovation and whether that keeps happening every year, James confirmed that indeed it does. One such area that keeps evolving, of course, is technology. A few areas of example in which technology is rapidly evolving is scheduling, booking, record keeping, etc. Obviously you still have older groomers that stick to the more traditional way of sticky notes and paper, by far and large, just like in every other industry, the trend is shifting towards digital. 

Another area in which James noticed a rapid evolution within the last few years is in the mobile grooming space. According to him, the early grooming vans were literally vans, which big, noisy generators for power. Today, many of these vans are powered completely by battery, they’re clean, and they’re designed specifically for the purpose of mobile grooming. 

So, why should you go to the Groom Expo, in Hershey PA? Well, just the experience is worth it in my opinion! And definitely, if grooming is something you’ve got an interest in, it’s the place to go to!

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