Furniture show makes plea for more state funds to support marketing efforts

27th February | exhibitions | The organisers of US furniture trade fair High Point are looking to secure in excess of $1m from local Government to help promote the biannual event.

High Point in North Carolina is home to a cluster of US furniture manufacturers and was for many years the undisputed location for the leading international furniture show in the Americas and perhaps even the world.

However, its dominance has been severely challenged in recent years by the success of other events such as the Las Vegas Market, which is also held on an biannual basis.

The High Point Market Authority is seeking to retain state funding to help the marketing of the event. Last year it received more than $2.5m from state legislators, of which $1.36m was reported to have been spent on promotion. There are fears locally that the fund could be viewed as a target for cost cutting, in order to reduce a budget deficit.