If your retail store sells furniture, and you haven’t been to the “Furniture Capital of the World,” now’s your chance.
The Spring 2025 High Point Market (HPMKT) runs from April 26-30 in High Point, North Carolina, otherwise known as the “Furniture Capital” since 1977. Yet, its origins as a premier furniture market destination began in 1909 with the first bi-annual Southern Furniture Market.
Today, High Point Market draws around 75,000 attendees per five-day event, and the small, historic town comes alive with retailers and buyers, designers, vendors representatives, press, and even celebrities and influencers in the home furnishings space. As a retailer, if you’ve ever wondered if High Point is worth the hype, here are five solid reasons why the answer is YES.
5 Reasons to Attend High Point Market
- Discover cutting-edge trends
- Network with industry experts and peers
- Gain market insights and educational resources
- Explore business service opportunities
- Inspiration and creative recharge
LEARN MORE about these top reasons to attend.
Experiencing High Point Market
This might sound dramatic, but HPMKT is a bit like Hallmark movie meets HGTV in the best way possible, with charming storefronts housing the latest home interior trends and designer-led panels and sessions that might just empower you to feel like a celebrity TV host yourself.
High Point truly is unlike any furniture market you’ve ever attended. Rather than one massive market center that keeps you completely indoors for the better part of a day — or days — the showrooms at High Point are spread out across the town, both in larger buildings housing multiple vendors and smaller storefronts right off the street.
For example, the 11-floor International Home Furnishings Center (IHFC) houses hundreds of showrooms and nearby Showplace hosts vendors on five floors. Other multi-showroom buildings include the Furniture Plaza on Main Street and several on N. Hamilton.
While that might sound like a lot of ground to cover, it only adds to the adventure.
REGISTER for High Point Market here.
8 Tips to Navigate High Point Market
Whether you’re brand new to High Point or need help with your plan of attack, read NMG’s best tips for a successful Market experience.
- Don’t go without a plan. The best way to avoid overwhelm is to show up knowing where you want to go, who you want to see and how you’re going to get there.
- Organize your schedule by neighborhood or building. As you can see on the High Point map, the Market is organized by neighborhoods. If you can, hit all the showrooms on your list in one building or neighborhood before heading to the next. This is a major time saver and also helps keep you on time for appointments you might have with specific vendors.
- Add extra time between showroom visits. Walking from place to place, even in the same building, could take more time than you anticipate. Waiting for the elevator or at a crosswalk can easily eat away a few minutes of your transit time.
- Take advantage of the shuttles. Speaking of transit time, High Point offers several free shuttle options, including “go anywhere” options within the town, hotel shuttle service and a park & ride shuttle that picks you up from a nearby mall.
- Attend panels and sessions that interest you. High Point is more than showrooms. It’s a chance to learn directly from industry experts who have a pulse on consumer insights, current trends and even trend predictions.
- Pay attention to the details. Yes, High Point has its own team of Style Spotters, and you can certainly learn about the trends by attending designer-led sessions. Still, it doesn’t hurt to watch for repetition in what you see, from colors, patterns and textures to materials, shapes and even technologies used. And you know your customers better than anyone, so look for things that might be of special interest to shoppers in your region of the U.S.
- Use the High Point app. This app gives you access to maps and schedules and allows you to create a personal Market plan with saved showrooms, sessions and events.
- Have fun! Beyond the browsing and buying, be sure to pop into a vendor-hosted meet and greet or happy hour for complimentary food, drinks and more. You can even filter the HPMKT schedule by social events to see what might interest you.
Want to meet with the NMG Furniture & Bedding team while at High Point? Email david.niedzielski@nationwidegroup.org to schedule a time.
