U.S. Department of Commerce to Undertake Worldwide Promotion of High Point Market

Furniture World Magazine

The High Point Market has been designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce as a U.S. Commercial Service International Buyer Program (IBP) event. Through an extensive application process, trade shows of significant size and industry representation are selected for the International Buyer Program, which connects U.S. companies with foreign customers, based on the export potential of the show in overseas markets. By awarding the IBP designation to the High Point Market, the U.S. Department of Commerce has agreed to undertake worldwide promotion of the High Point Market through its Commercial Service offices around the globe. “With a global reputation as the most productive business event in the home furnishings industry, the High Point Market has been held twice each year in High Point, North Carolina for nearly a century,” relates Brian D. Casey, president and chief executive of the High Point Market Authority. “With more than 2,600 exhibitors representing more than 100 countries around the world, the Market encompasses some 12 million square feet of showroom space and offers thousands of new product introductions each season—more than all other markets combined. As the largest home furnishings show in the world, we have more export potential than any other home furnishings market. And, as the oldest show in the industry, we are currently in the midst of a renaissance, with many innovations and positive changes designed to ensure the Market’s vibrancy in the years to come. “For many reasons,” Casey says, “the time was appropriate for the High Point Market to be awarded the IBP designation. There is tremendous opportunity here both for U.S. companies seeking to do business overseas and for companies around the globe interested in doing business in the American marketplace. With this significant recognition, we are further validated as the world’s home for home furnishings. Simply put, we are the biggest and we will continue to work to be the best. Less than one year on the job, I am very proud to be a part of this substantive leap forward for our Market, and by extension, a major contribution to our industry.” About the High Point Market Authority: The High Point Market Authority is the official sponsor of the High Point Market: The World’s Home for Home Furnishings. Featuring more than 2600 exhibitors and attracting tens of thousands of visitors from more than 110 countries, the High Point Market is the driving force of the home furnishings industry.