Larry Thomas — Furniture Today,
AT THE MARKET — Market’s new late March dates and its Monday-through-Sunday schedule are drawing


complaints from attendees, High Point Market Authority Board members said at their meeting here Friday.

Members were noncommittal on whether dates would be changed, however.

Market Authority President Brian Casey noted that the organization is having research conducted now on which dates marketgoers prefer, with some results expected in late April. Dates could be re-evaluated after that, he said.

“Scheduling market in the middle of spring break is not a good thing,” said David Price, president of retailer Toms-Price in the Chicago area, who recently joined the Authority board. Other board members said they had heard from exhibitors that some retailers were skipping market because they were taking family vacations, since schools in many parts of the country were on holiday.

A Hamilton Wrenn area exhibitor added that some designers had expressed disdain over the Monday-through-Friday schedule, because they preferred having a weekend to effectively shop.

No attendance numbers were released for this week’s market, although board members agreed that attendance seems down from a year ago. Business and order writing have been surprisingly good, given the weakness in the economy and on the retail scene.

“The feeling is that less people are here,” said Palliser CEO Art DeFehr, a board member. “Let’s not kid ourselves. Its very hard to feel that you’ve had a successful market if enough people aren’t here.”

“I think we’re at a critical juncture. I’ve got empty space for the first time in 17 years of owning real estate here,” said board member Lynn Davis of Davis International, who also owns the Centerpoint buildings here.

Stanley President Jeff Scheffer, however, said his company wrote orders even with the lighter attendance. “Overall we were pleased with market and a bit surprised given the business conditions,” he said.