5 + 2 takeaways from the recent High Point Market | Bill McLoughlin

In the lead up to the recent High Point Market I identified 5 developments that were likely to shape the then-upcoming market. If you’re reading this online, you can find that column here. If not, here’s a quick recap.

1. Tariffs: While there were tariff discussions at Market they are now being treated as an everyday condition of business rather than a reason to hit the pause button on decisions, as they were in April. That said, they will result in price increases and/or surcharges, but widely enough that most companies (key word “most”) feel the playing field is level enough that consumers will be able to accommodate them.
2. Traffic: Said it before and I’ll say it again, don’t count the bodies, count the sales. Market creep has resulted in spreading foot traffic out to the week before market opens, with many majors departing before Saturday’s official opening day. A better metric is energy and engagement, which was high this time around. Retailers were looking to buy and manufacturers have turned product development on high, particularly in the motion category. The result was an active market. If that was not your experience, you might need to start thinking about rethinking your positioning and product mix.
3. Time to market: There was a massive amount of new product, new licenses and innovative development, enough that stores will be buzzing as things begin rolling out in a few months, unless there is a major economic correction.
4. Technology: We are square amid an AI bubble, with myriad presentations, panels and discussions about the rapidly evolving technology popping up all over market. The impact of this rapidly developing technology is going to reshape the business in ways we have not seen since the advent of the Internet.
5. Trust: Coming into market I wrote this thinking about the difficult tariff conversations about to take place. Coming out of market it’s clear that the more difficult conversations going forward will be about who is keeping their existing slots on retail floors and who is likely to lose some or all of them to competitors. There’s a market share war brewing. Stay tuned

Plus 2

There were two other important developments at Market that were still below the surface beforehand. Not anymore.

1. There is a race underway to acquire domestic upholstery capacity. The announcement at Market that Renegade Furniture had acquired upholstery maker Vision Contract Manufacturing made public an effort that’s been going on quietly for months. Expect to read about more such acquisitions in the weeks and months ahead. Likewise with GigaCloud’s acquisition of importer New Classic, which brings a major brick-and-mortar supplier into the technology and logistics specialists rapidly expanding universe. The promotional segment of the business continues to be under intense pressure from tariffs and the cost of tying up dollars to pay them. This is likely only the first domino.
2. Chapter 11s incoming: The rumors of some major retail and manufacturer filings were everywhere at market, and in this case, where there is smoke, there is fire. Expect to see at least a couple announcements before the year is out and even more after the final 2025 numbers are in.

There is a sea change underway. The business will look very different in 2026. Stay tuned.