Market designs targeted appeals

Ray Allegrezza Editor in Chief

Attention ASID members: If you have never attended the High Point furniture market, Judy Mendenhall, president of the International Home Furnishings Market Authority, is taking aim at you.

But not to worry. You don’t have to duck. Simply take in your mail and open and read the special mailer that the Market Authority designed just for you.

Recently, Judy and I had lunch, in part to catch up on what the Market Authority has been up to. Trust me, folks, they’ve been busy. The mailer, which has been sent to some 6,000 members of ASID who have never come to High Point, is just the tip of the iceberg.

Judy explained that, in addition to the ASID brochure, the Market Authority generates other mailings that go out to a variety of targeted buying groups and segments. Judy’s team also routinely picks up the phone and makes personal calls to various buying segments just to offer any assistance that might be needed.

In the brochure sent to the designers, the Market Authority gives that group a number of reasons why they need to be at market. Heading the list: By coming to High Point, the designers have access to the most important designer resources — and the largest assortment of design-related products anywhere on the planet.

That depth and breadth of product also gives designers a great opportunity to discover exclusive items and looks — two things that are essential to this group.

However, as marketgoers know, High Point is not just about product. It’s also about education. The brochure notes that at market workshops, presentations and CEU-accredited seminars, designers can “learn from the best and brightest the industry has to offer.”  (for public comments click on "Add your Comment" below, or to email Ray directly click here.)