By: Furniture World Magazine\u00c2\u00a0
\nTom Lindh, banker turned CEO of High Point\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original and largest showroom building, is convinced the
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\n biggest challenge facing the High Point Market isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the Las Vegas World Market Center \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you know, the one shimmering on the edge of the Vegas Strip and craving everything High Point has (except the humidity).<\/p>\n
Nor is it the economic double whammy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c rapid migration of manufacturing to Asian factories and widespread industry consolidation that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s driving many venerable companies out of business.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenge, he says, is for 188 showroom buildings \u00e2\u20ac\u201c stretching across 20 miles, covering 12 million square feet and showcasing new products from 2,600 manufacturers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to embrace the High Point Market Authority\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new slogan \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153One Market\/One Vision.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I sure wish we worked together and communicated more clearly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Lindh, who is wrapping up his first year at the helm of the International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC). \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We need to speak with one voice and share one goal. But we all run different businesses \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and in some cases very different businesses.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
IHFC, for example, opened in 1921 as the market\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first building with the 250,000-square-foot Main Wing and over 85 years has expanded to 3.5 million square feet \u00e2\u20ac\u201c home to 650 of the leading manufacturers, including 13 of the top 20. While there are other major, multi-tenant players \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Merchandise Mart Properties, Showplace and 220 Elm\/C&D, most notably \u00e2\u20ac\u201c many of the 188 buildings are occupied by one tenant and most by fewer than five.<\/p>\n
Lindh, however, is increasingly optimistic, giving the Market Authority team \u00e2\u20ac\u201c most notably Brian Casey, the new CEO \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a lot of credit for pulling the High Point Market closer together. He applauds efforts to establish comprehensive ground transportation, including the state-of-the-art Mendenhall Transportation Center; and to unify opening and closing dates. Together, he says, these improvements will speak volumes to the industry about our commitment to make this market easier to shop and more productive for buyers.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good start \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting things done,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I do think we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all realizing that we need to work together for the betterment of High Point, and we understand that such cooperation requires some sacrifices. We all must understand that High Point doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a hold on the industry like it once had. We have to work on relationships. We have to work on making High Point a compelling place to sell home furnishings.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
A Miami native, Lindh was Bank of America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s city executive for High Point, Winston-Salem and Thomasville in 1999 when he was recruited to be IHFC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s next CEO. He learned the business as Bruce Miller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s understudy, was named president and chief operating officer in 2002 and then CEO on Dec. 31, 2012 when Miller retired.<\/p>\n
The opportunity to build relationships with IHFC exhibitors, to learn their businesses and explore ways IHFC can help facilitate their growth is what most appealed to Lindh as he considered moving from banking to the showroom business. The direct relationship he has with exhibitors remains his favorite part of the business.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I was a commercial lender,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I try to use some of the same disciplines here. \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell Hooker or Stanley how to run their businesses, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just ask them to sign leases either. The relationship we have with exhibitors is far more than just landlords. We help them promote their businesses. We help them with special showroom needs.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Lindh is overseeing a multi-million-dollar renovation to IHFC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s main entrance, the Commerce Wing lobby, scheduled for completion by the March 2014 market. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Piece by piece, we will transform the whole building so that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s new, fresh,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153After all, we are in the fashion business. We can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ask exhibitors to make these investments if we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. We have to walk the walk, and we will.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By: Furniture World Magazine\u00c2\u00a0 Tom Lindh, banker turned CEO of High Point\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original and largest showroom building, is convinced the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-furniture-world-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indonesia-furniture.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}