HIGH POINT, N.C. (Sept. 26, 2005) – The world’s largest home furnishings market continues to grow as showrooms expand their spaces in order to deliver even more products to the thousands of attendees that will visit High Point, N.C., Oct. 20-26, 2005, for the fall International Home Furnishings Market.®
“These expansions are evidence of High Point’s ongoing growth; the largest showrooms with the most product at the world’s largest market,” said Tom Mitchell, senior vice president, High Point, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI). “You can see it all in High Point.”
Golden Chair (National Furniture Mart, Suite 802) has nearly doubled the size of its showroom, and Asian importer HTL International (Furniture Plaza, Suite 611) expanded its showroom for the third time this year.
Boca Rattan, Inc. (Furniture Plaza, Suite 400) now has a 2,600-square-foot showroom. The rattan seating and dining manufacturer that has been at High Point since 2002 will introduce its new Bermuda Bay collection as well as a variety of new fabrics.
“We are excited to join the showrooms in Furniture Plaza,” said Boca Rattan president Rod Parfitt. “This is a building known for its fine upholstery manufacturers and our high-fashion rattan will be an excellent fit.”
Reflective Art, Inc. (Market Suites, Suite 42), a resident of High Point for five years, has expanded to nearly 1,000 square feet. Carrying fine art from well-known artists, Reflective Art, Inc. can now offer original work from approximately 50 new artists, as well as a new seashore collection, with the larger space.
Rooms of Elegance (Market Square, Suite 253), specializing in leather furniture and European antique replica pieces, is now just less than 2,000 square feet. With a competitively priced leather line that has a unique antique appearance due to a seven-step process where the raw material is stripped and aged giving the leather a fantastic seldom-seen look, Rooms of Elegance is always popular with attendees.
Shadow Mountain, Inc. (Market Suites, Suite 315) increases its showroom to nearly 3,000 square feet. The furniture manufacturer is showing bedroom, dining, occasional and accent furniture as well as interior lighting. With its new size, Shadow Mountain can now show all the new formal dining additions as well as more bedroom items and even have a section dedicated to lighting.
“We are really pleased with how Market Square and Shadow Mountain complement each other. We would never be able to duplicate the look we have in any other venue or building,” said Chad M. Turney, president and CEO of Shadow Mountain, Inc.
Vintage Verandah, Inc. (Market Square, G19) will be displaying 120 products never before shown in its newly expanded 6,000-square-foot space in High Point. The fashion lighting and home decor company has been at High Point for 10 years and president Jimmy Pike is thrilled about the increase of showroom space at High Point, which he says attracts a great mix of customers.
The International Home Furnishings Market encompasses 188 buildings and 12 million square feet of show space with more than 2,500 exhibitors. Today, High Point is 14 times its original size, and more than 80,000 buyers seeking the absolute best in home furnishings attend its bi-annual International Home Furnishings Market.
For more information regarding High Point, please visit www.merchandisemart.com or call 800.677.MART (6278).
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI) is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.
MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart, 350 West Mart Center, and 33 North Dearborn in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building and 7 W New York in New York; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; and the Washington Design Center and Washington Office Center in Washington D.C.
Vornado Realty Trust, owner of MMPI, based in New York City, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust. Vornado’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and are traded under the symbol VNO.
The International Home Furnishings Market is a registered trademark of the International Home Furnishings Market Authority.
MEDIA CONTACT ONLY:
Jackie Paulsen, Director of Public Relations
Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.
Phone: 312-527-7555
E-mail: jpaulsen@mmart.com
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