Market Authority survey: Should H.P. dates change?
Jay McIntosh -- Furniture Today, October 10, 2005
High Point — The International Home Furnishings Market Authority is surveying exhibitors and buyers on whether the dates of High Point's markets should be changed to September and March.
IHFMA President Judy Mendenhall said building owners and market participants have talked for years about whether the current October and April dates were the best.
The group decided to send out the survey last week to get others' opinions. "We want this market to be user-friendly," she said.
The survey letter said IHFMA is considering the change to "help insure that product is available for retailers and designers when it is most needed for their customers."
In addition to asking about a switch to September and March — or other months — the survey also asked whether a Sunday to Sunday market was preferable, rather than the current official dates of Thursday to Wednesday.
One advantage to changing the months, Mendenhall said, could be more stable timing. Currently, markets shift around during April and October, mainly to avoid conflicts with religious holidays.
She said she didn't know how a shift in timing might affect premarket, an informal event in September and March when some exhibitors open their showrooms for major buyers to give a preview of market introductions.
Because the survey just went out, she said she had not yet tallied responses.
