High Point Market registrations down 7.2% from last spring
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, May 2, 2011
HIGH POINT — High Point Market officials said last week that 72,121 home furnishings professionals registered for the April 2-7 event, down 7.2% from the registration number reported for the spring market last year.
More than half of the registrants - 43,141 - were buyers. That number was down 6.4% from a year ago.
While High Point Market Authority officials disclosed registrations, they did not report actual attendance.
Brian Casey, president and CEO of the Market Authority, said those who attended this April's market expressed a new cautious optimism for an improving economy.
"In many cases, retail inventories have been depleted, so we saw that the appetite for buying was stronger than we've seen in recent markets," he said. "We also noticed a significant change in attitude. People are seeing signs of improvement in the economy and they are more upbeat in their outlook, both about their businesses and the market itself."
He also said that almost 9,000 registrants were first-time visitors to High Point. "We have worked hard to attract new buyers to market week, and our marketing efforts truly paid off at the April market," he said.
More than 3,000 international buyers representing 1,215 buying organizations registered for the spring market, as did close to 13,000 interior designers, he said.
The fall market is scheduled for Oct. 22-27 and registration will open in July.
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