A recent Duke University study has found that the regional economic impact generated by the High Point Market is nearly 3 ½ times greater than previous estimates. The study, commissioned by the High Point Market Authority, values the annual impact of the market at $5.39 billion. Previous estimates placed the value of the market to the region at $1.5 billion annually.
The difference is due mostly to a broadening of the market’s circle of influence beyond the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina to cover 22 North Carolina counties and eight Virginia counties, falling within a 75-mile radius of High Point. Widening the geographic impact of the market pulled in the sales of a number of large and small furniture manufacturers that are based in the region.
Lukas Brun, the study’s senior research analyst, told the Winston-Salem Journal that the goal was to determine “what amount of economic activity would not have occurred ‘but for’ the market.”
The study examined spending by visitors, the market authority and vendors, as well as showroom space rents and furniture sales confirmed within 90 days of the shows.
