A group of furniture manufacturers gathered in High Point this week to make plans for the next Pre-Market, scheduled for March 3-4.

Pre-market happens in between the twice-yearly High Point Market wholesale furniture trade shows, and gives buyers and sellers an opportunity to preview new introductions and make last-minute changes for the big shows.

During the past several years the future of Pre-Market has been uncertain with the opening of the rival Las Vegas Market, but last year a group of 16 manufacturing companies partnered to bring a new structure and formality to the event.


That group expanded to 25 manufacturers this year, according to Brian Casey, president of the High Point Market Authority, who serves as a spokesperson for the group. The Market Authority does not have a direct role in planning Pre-Market.

“What was once the industry’s best-known non-event is fast becoming an opportunity for significant competitive advantage,” Casey said in a press release. 2015 will be a hard year for the industry, but “there is little doubt that Pre-Market participants will be positioned better than most.”

The major change from past Pre-Markets mandated by the new organizing group is that products must be in “market-ready” condition, which is meant to make the trip to High Point for the event more worthwhile for buyers. The cost of Pre-Market is born by the participating manufacturers.