Tupelo Market Shifts Spring Dates

August 15, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Markets on August 2007 The Tupelo Furniture Market announced Tuesday it is going “back to our roots” by moving its Spring Market back to February after a one-time experiment of holding the event in January.

On the eve of its Summer Market, set for August 22-26, Tupelo Furniture Market President Bill Cleveland said the Spring Market is now set for Feb.20-24. February markets have been a tradition in Tupelo for two decades, but Cleveland said a survey of buyers last year showed strong support for an earlier market. That prompted a shift in the start date to Jan. 10 earlier this year.

“We did it so our mom-and-pop stores could buy product and have it in their stores in time for tax-selling season,” Cleveland said. “We tried it, but we didn’t get the results we thought we should have, so we’ve gone back to our roots and back to our regular schedule.”

While retailers told an independent research firm they favored earlier dates, Tupelo exhibitors have been speaking even more loudly in favor of a traditional February market, Cleveland said. He said the February dates make it easier for many upholstery manufacturers to show new products in Tupelo and ease conflicts for exhibitors who also show in Las Vegas, which begins its next market on Jan. 28.