Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
High Point Market Shifts to 5 Days
October 14,
2015 by in High Point, Market 
Come April, the High Point Market will be a five-day event.
The change better represents the traffic flow of the Market by eliminating Thursday from the lineup. Future High Point Markets will end on Wednesday beginning with the spring edition. The Spring Market is set to run April 16-20.
The executive committee for the High Point Market Authority recently voted on the change, which had been proposed at a board meeting following the April 2015 Market.
The decision follows a survey of exhibitors that reported more than 85 percent of them agreed eliminating Thursday from the Market cycle made sense.
“In recent years, we have noticed that attendance has been light on the Thursday at the end of market week, and buyers coming to shop that day have been frustrated by showrooms closing early,” said Doug Bassett, president of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture and chairman of the Market Authority Board. “So the board decided it would best to remove Thursday from the official schedule. We also recognize that the Friday before Market officially opens has become a significant day for many buyers and vendors. While we are not changing Saturday as the opening day, our literature will alert first-time attendees that they may be able to see some vendors if they make an appointment on Friday, the day before Market officially opens.”
Bassett said the changes were made to ensure the time buyers and exhibitors spend at High Point Market is valuable, Bassett said.
“As an exhibitor, I fully support this decision and see it as a positive thing,” said Jeff Scheffer, president of Universal Furniture and vice chairman of the Market Authority Board. “I think this is a way to take any negativity out of the end of Market, giving us five really strong days.”
Tom Conley, Market Authority president, said badge scan data from previous markets indicates that few buyers visit showrooms on the final Thursday.
“The cost-savings from an operations standpoint will be minimal, but we heard the call for this from both the buyers and the exhibitors, so I’m glad the board has listened and responded with an informed decision,” he said.