H.P. market aims to enforce Monday opening
By Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, July 31, 2006
High Point — The High Point furniture market's new opening day — a Monday — will be a true opening day if members of the Market Authority's board of directors have their way.
Board members last week urged exhibitors to adhere to the official fall market dates of Monday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 22. Several showroom building owners on the board pledged to enforce the new dates.
"We are trying to bring some excitement back to opening day," said board Chairman Paul Toms. "And we want to keep the end of market as important as the beginning."
Toms, also chairman and CEO of manufacturer Hooker, said the longstanding practice of some showrooms welcoming buyers before the official opening puts a strain on transportation and other local services. He said many of the same showrooms have been closing before the market officially ends.
Toms said Hooker, which shows in the International Home Furnishings Center, would strictly adhere to the official opening and closing, a sentiment echoed by other board members.
"We're going for it," said Joanna Easter, chief operating officer of Showplace. "We need to put up a strong front on this."
Board member John Bray, CEO of Vanguard Furniture, acknowledged that enforcement may be difficult, but said his company is committed to the Monday-through-Sunday format.
In recent years, the market has officially opened on a Thursday and run through the following Wednesday. Many buyers, however, have arrived on the Monday before the official opening.
"We've never had a seven-day market before. It will be a real challenge to condense it," Bray said.
Toms said, "People have told us they want the market to have a defined opening day, and we are depending on everyone working together."
Beginning in 2007, the spring market will begin in late March and the fall event will take place in late September or early October. Next year's market dates are March 26–April 1 and Oct. 1–7.
The board elected Bray as its new chairman. Toms, who has chaired the group for two years, will remain a board member.
The board added a non-voting member to its ranks, veteran sales representative Rick Gillispie, who is first vice president of the International Home Furnishings Representatives Assn. and the first sales rep on the board.
"This fills a glaring vacancy," Toms said.
