April High Point Market will run Saturday to Thursday

Six-day run will start earlier and be one day shorter

-- Home Accents Today, 6/11/2008 1:31:00 PM

HIGH POINT — The High Point Market Authority board voted unanimously today to shift next April’s market to a Saturday to Thursday schedule, April 25-30, in a move aimed at better serving retailers and designers.

That will mark a change from the Monday-through-Sunday schedule that has been in place for several markets, and the six-day run will be one day shorter. Previously, the spring 2009 market was set to open on April 28.

Kevin O’Connor, chairman of the Market Authority board and president of Samson Marketing, said the board had heard complaints from some marketgoers that showrooms were closed or lacking key personnel late in the market cycle. Designers in particular want to be able to shop on weekends, he said.

“I think it’s important for the market to have a vibrant weekend,” said O’Connor.

The six-day schedule was a compromise between some board members who wanted to shorten the show to five days and others who wanted to leave it at seven, he said.

While the Market Authority did not formally survey retailers and designers about the dates, board members said they had gotten complaints, especially from designers, that some showrooms were already closed the last two or three days of market.

This fall’s market dates were not changed. It will still run Monday through Sunday, Oct. 20-26.

In other business, the board tentatively approved a $6.4 million budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The Market Authority is seeking additional funds from the state of North Carolina, so the final budget could be higher, said Brian Casey, Market Authority president and CEO.