Thomas Russell
HIGH POINT — The number of international

visitors at the High Point Furniture Market may be at its highest in five years.

That includes buyers from the Middle East, some of whom appear to be coming back after skipping markets since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent U.S. tightening of visa regulations.

As of Oct. 13, there were 466 international buying organizations pre-registered for the market, according to figures from the International Home Furnishings Center. That’s higher than the 451 international groups that pre-registered for the market in April 2001, six months before the drop in international buyers that followed Sept. 11, 2001.

Figures were not immediately available for each of the subsequent markets, but officials believe the number of international visitors has been growing steadily in the past few years. In October 2004, for example, the IHFC reported there were just under 400 international buying organizations at market.

Figuring out how many visitors that pre-registrations represent is not an exact science. Market officials generally estimate roughly 3.5 individuals per buying organization. That would mean there are 1,631 international buyers at this market, up from an estimated 1,578 in April 2001 and about 1,400 in October 2004.

The largest number of international buying groups at this market are from China and Mexico, followed by the United Kingdom. Also important are buying groups from Ireland and India.

But perhaps the most significant change is in the number of buyers from the Middle East, many of whom have had trouble getting U.S. visas. In April 2001, there were 82 buying groups from Middle Eastern countries.

This market, the number is 52, a big jump from less than 20 in April 2012, the latest market figures available at press time.

“That surprises me,” said IHFC Executive Director Tom Lindh, of the increase in international visitors from 2001. He also was pleased with the increase from the Middle East.

“It’s not as dark a scenario as I anticipated from the Middle East,” he said. “Those groups are big spenders at this show. There is a lot of business from there, so (those numbers) would be very positive.”

Ron Penney, export manager at Canadian upholstery maker Décor-Rest Furniture, said he has heard there are more Middle Eastern buyers at this market. But as of Wednesday morning, he hadn’t seen many of them. He expects them later in the market, perhaps between today and Saturday.

Penney also believes that more would have come if it were not for the observance of the Muslim period of Ramadan, which ends Oct. 23. For that reason, he believes the groups that are here are smaller players versus the majors, with whom his sales representatives will be in touch next week or soon after.

Some buyers from the Middle East and other countries previously have told Furniture|Today they have been avoiding High Point because of the cumbersome and lengthy visa application process. To avoid that hassle, some have attended markets in the Far East and elsewhere.

The IHFC’s Lindh and others say the buyers who come year after year don’t face as difficult a task in obtaining the necessary clearance to enter the United States.

In some cases, Lindh said he would write a letter of invitation for an individual or buying group if asked, which helps speed the process. He said he has gotten only four or five such requests in the past two years.
“In those cases, we look at them and see if they have a history (of attending market) and provide that to the authorities,” he said. “If they don’t, we say we don’t know them and ask the Department of Commerce to handle it and see if they can help them.”

High Point Market Authority President Brian Casey said his group also will write letters of invitation for individuals or groups that he knows have legitimate business to conduct at the market. The most recent example was a letter he sent to a group of Chinese manufacturers seeking joint-venture opportunities in the United States.

“With those kinds of things, we will do all we can to expedite (visas),” Casey said. “It’s a global marketplace, and the High Point Market is the international home furnishings fair. We just can’t call ourselves international. We have to do something about it.”

He said the Market Authority also works directly with U.S. Department of Commerce officials around the world that are assigned to help out with invitation letters and to expedite visas to events like the furniture market.

At market itself, officials are taking steps to make the market experience more accommodating to international visitors. That includes the opening of a new international buyer center on the fifth floor of Showplace. In addition to computers, copiers and fax machines, it has a travel and concierge service and a prayer and meditation room. It also serves coffee in the mornings and a buffet lunch around noon.

Jorge Iannini, director of a high-end store in Bogotá, Columbia, was enjoying a lunch break in the space on Tuesday. He said he first visited High Point 17 years ago and comes about every two to three years. Along with wood furniture, he shops for accents and accessories.

Unlike some international buyers, Iannini said he hasn’t had trouble getting a visa. “When people are in the business, getting a visa is not a problem,” he said, adding he still likes the High Point Market.
“High Point is the Mecca for furniture,” he said.

Lee Allen, owner of Archdale, N.C.-based Travel Quest, has contracted with the Market Authority for the past several years to perform various travel and concierge services for market visitors. Today, he helps manage the new international buyer center and is glad to see folks like Iannini use its services.

Allen said he noticed a decrease in international buyers after 9/11, but has seen it gradually increase in the past few years, particularly from the Middle East. He attributed that to better screening and the fact that more people are becoming less fearful of international travel.

“Americans are starting to travel abroad more now, and people also are starting to come back to the United States,” he said. “It’s very positive. I think with the world the way it is, it’s a global economy and we rely on our international visitors as much as our domestic visitors.”