Today I write a love letter to the High Point Market and what potential the spring can bring to the outlook of our retail futures. Some deep thoughts, some sarcasm and some wit help make this a fun little market adventure.

In High Point, where furniture reigns supreme,

A market like no other, a designer’s dream,

New styles, new values, opportunities galore,

But occasionally some absurdity lurks behind each showroom door.

Overpaying for a budget hotel room,

Where the decor screams impending doom,

Visiting a downtown empty for fifty weeks, so desolate,

Yet bursts to life for two weeks when designers, retailers and suppliers congregate.

After a long day back at the hotel perhaps waiting hours for a salad bar feast?

At Ruby Tuesday’s, oh how bleak!

Begrudgingly visiting overselling manufacturers we don’t want to see,

Just to savor a free meal, after we just hiked all the way from the other side of main to Green to the Hamilton wing.

Despite the quirks and the craziness seen,

High Point’s Furniture Market remains serene,

A place where creativity and commerce collide,

And in the occasional absurdity we all encounter, we find a way to make the bring back from market the next great thing for our stores to encounter.

The different styles that are explored,

Along with the price points that we can offer give us a new hope that the next big success is about to come back with us in time for autumn.

After 25+ markets in the early Sandhills of North Carolina I have realized that the Ruby Tuesday Salad is worth it when I know the next wave of sales growth is about to happen.

Hope everyone enjoys (or enjoyed) their market experience. I know we will.