HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point Market Authority announced Thursday the cancellation of the Spring 2020 High Point Market due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The next High Point Market is scheduled for October 17 – 21, 2020.
Originally set for April, the Market Authority previously announced market’s postponement until June, allowing for the possibility that conditions would improve in time for the show to happen.
“While our hope was that restrictions enacted in March would improve the situation enough to allow for a June show, it is clear now that such is not the case,” commented Dudley Moore, Jr., chairman of the High Point Market Authority’s board of directors and president of Otto & Moore.
High Point Mayor Jay Wagner said this will have drastic impacts on the city and Guilford County economies. He said businesses will be hit first but governments will be hit too.
"The loss of sales tax for restaurants, people coming here spending money. It's the Super Bowl twice a year. You're looking at 75-80,000 people coming here and spending money," said Wagner.
Wagner said economic estimates place the loss to the state's economy at $6.7 billion. The Triad will lose more than $3 billion of that.
Residents are feeling the hit too. A spring furniture market hasn't been cancelled since 1942 in the wake of Pearl Harbor. People like Elesha Thrasher are figuring out what this means for their wallets.
She and her husband bought a camper to stay in so they could rent out their Kernersville home to people coming for the spring market.
"We were changing our lifestyle, like I said buying the camper and stuff like that for many more years," said Thrasher.
Last year they used the money from renting out their home to pay off a car. She said they were planning to pay for the camper this year.
She said she worries about friends who rely on the market as a source of income.
"There are a lot of people who work market or rent out their homes for market that depend on that extra cash flow to help them get through," said Thrasher.
"If we're not able to get back to work and get the economy moving again to be able to make up the ground that we've lost it's gonna require some tough decisions and we may have to cut back on some things," said Wagner.
“It was an incredibly difficult decision, but cancellation is the most prudent course of action given the current circumstances and was unanimously approved by our executive committee,” commented Tom Conley, president and CEO of the High Point Market Authority. “We now set our sights towards Fall Market with excitement and anticipation to fully welcome the industry back to High Point.”
Market Authority officials will continue with their plans to promote spring product introductions through a variety of digital channels, including a special website section, articles, e-newsletters, social media posts, and webinars. They are additionally working with industry partners to develop creative programs and resources to assist in ongoing information sharing.
Major buildings and individual showrooms who are positioned to welcome buyers during non-Market times will likely open for appointments at some point over the summer, once government regulations ease to allow the buildings to reopen.