‘Business as usual’ climate dominates market despite threat of tariffs

Home News Now offers this and other early observations about the April High Point Market

HIGH POINT — For many larger dealers, the High Point Market ended on opening day, April 26, if not sooner, as they got into town earlier in the week and finished up their showroom visits by Friday or Saturday.

Of course, another group followed, arriving in town closer to opening day and staying through the weekend and even early this week. Indeed, many will still be here as this is published and even through noon tomorrow.

That said, many have pointed out that traffic has felt light, which of course is normal given attendance patterns as noted above. Thus, traffic in one part of the market may seem higher at some points than others, particularly given the schedules of retailers and designers alike, not to mention the spread-out nature of market.

Some parts of market felt extremely dead because of empty, or unoccupied, showrooms. Yet if you went to the Bernhardt party on Saturday to celebrate the opening of its beautiful new showroom in the Hamilton design district, you might think this was one of the more well attended and dynamic markets in memory. And seeing crowded showrooms at Ashley, American Leather, Elements International, Currey & Company and Rowe, it felt like traffic was up significantly at least during some points of the market. Again, this depended on who was in town when.

But if traffic was down in certain showrooms, as we expect it was, there’s probably good reason: Because of tariffs, many retailers are probably not in a buying mood, and this undoubtedly prevented some smaller ones from coming to market.

Yet, despite the uncertainty, many exhibitors told Home News Now that tariffs didn’t come up much in discussion among those who were in town, the message being that many retailers didn’t let something they can’t control ruin their time in town. This of course makes sense and explained why some showrooms we visited seemed busy and vibrant even if others felt void of visitors.

Hence, the quote of the market? A tie between “It’s business as usual” and “Nobody’s really talking about it,” meaning tariffs.

The other quote of market? “They’re lying to you.”

Of course, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle as people were in town for the same reason they are always here, which is to see new product and make buying decisions for their floor. And as always, there was plenty to see in categories ranging from bedroom and dining to upholstery, both motion and stationary.

Yet to put this market in context, many exhibitors we spoke with in the early days of market also said that some buyers were focusing more on goods from last market that are arriving now or are already in stock, than goods facing an unknown rate by early July. In most cases, goods available now are tariff-free as they arrived before this month, which puts them in the high-value bucket. Not only is pricing known: Retailers also can get it shipped to their stores quickly, in the coming days and weeks. Even goods that arrived a little later in the month mostly face a manageable 10% tariff, which many are splitting down the middle with their customers.

New product remains an important factor as well, particularly for consumers seeking look, price and innovation, which also is part of the value story. And there was plenty of innovation to be seen, ranging from refrigerated storage in the consoles of motion sectionals and nightstands to built-in BlueTooth speakers in seating and headboards and lighting in the bases of beds and case goods, for example.

Beautiful designs and use of mixed-media elements also continue to wow retailers and designers alike, ranging from Barclay Butera’s Montecito collection at Lexington Home Brands and the new Mark Sikes collection at Chaddock to the high design and artistry seen in dining, occasional and accent pieces at the aptly named Artistica, to name just a few.

Another overarching theme at market is that these and plenty of products across price points are indeed important for the fact that people will always need new furniture. Obviously, this is true, particularly for new homeowners that place furniture at the top of their spending lists for the first year in their new homes. For more on this and what consumers are looking to purchase in the next several months, don’t miss out on our latest Consumer News Now research.

But if the theme of this market seemed to be “business as usual” as the industry lifts each other up in these uncertain times, there’s another thing to watch in the realm of tariffs and that’s consumer confidence. The latest on this published late last month by the Conference Board showed confidence fell by 7.2 points in March to 92.9, while consumer expectations for income, business and labor market conditions feel by 9.6 points to 65.2, its lowest level in 12 years and below the threshold of 80 that the board said usually signals a recession.

The survey said that write-in responses showed that “inflation is still a major concern for consumers and that worries about the impact of trade policies and tariffs in particular are on the rise. There were also more references than usual to economic and policy uncertainty.”

So while the industry remains calm and hopeful amid tariffs, the consumer will be the deciding factor on the success of the industry in the months ahead. They’re paying attention as they should and may soon even be asking more questions about where goods are made. It’s something that retailers, despite their optimism and apparent lack of concern over tariffs this market, will start asking more about too if they haven’t already.