by Numbers are based on registrations among retailers, designers and international visitors
HIGH POINT — Attendance at the April High Point Market was estimated to be down about 1.3% from the October market, the High Point Market Authority told its board here during its post-market meeting on Wednesday morning.
The estimates were based on registrations among market attendees including retailers, designers and international visitors.
International attendance took the hardest hit, down 14% from October. Designer traffic, which represents a significant percentage of market attendance, was down 6.6%.
The number of stocking dealers, however, was up .4%, helping offset the declines from October.
Other figures based on registrations shared with the board at market:
+ The overall number of buyer companies here was estimated to be down 3.9%.
+ Buyer contacts, a figure that includes individuals, was just .2% down.
+ The number of new buyer companies here in town was 10 short from last market, although data being tabulated Wednesday could reduce this number.
“That is the overall picture in terms of where we are with registrations,” said Tammy Covington, president and chief executive officer of the High Point Market Authority, which tracks the numbers each market. “We feel pretty good with those numbers.”
Other staff reports cited market highlights such as the Sister Sledge and Gabby Barrett concerts over the weekend to the Market-at-Market popup in the Center Stage area between IHFC and Showplace.
Terry Venable, Market Authority vice president of operations and finance, also noted that the Red and Green Line buses transported 5,200 people on Sunday of market, the highest daily peak since Covid. Go Anywhere and Call and Ride shuttles also transported thousands of marketgoers.
Thus, while industry challenges such as tariffs likely kept some buyers away, market officials felt extremely positive about what might have otherwise turned into a challenging event for exhibitors and customers alike. Board members, including a number of those associated with companies showing here at market, were also extremely positive about the event based on reaction from buyers.
“I think based on the comments we heard today, people were really excited about what they saw in their showrooms,” Covington told Home News Now. “I think that the exhibitors were really the ones that knocked it out of the park. They figured out how to handle this. From everything we heard here today, I think we produced a product that we can be proud of, and the exhibitors should feel the same way.”
