The Scout will research the product category you’re interested in and prepare a brief report for you featuring sources they have identified that they believe will most likely fulfill your needs. Upon your approval, the Scout will then prepare an itinerary that maps an efficient route between the showrooms featuring the products you’re seeking.

High Point Market Authority has joined forces with key High Point University educators in the Department of Home Furnishings & Design and the Earl N. Phillips School of Business to develop a new program designed to assist retail buyers during Market.

The “Market Scouts,” program trains High Point University (HPU) students interested in the home furnishings business to work as guides or “scouts” during Market. Market attendees can book time with a Market Scout to help them navigate the Market and/or identify new sources. There is no charge to the Market-goer for this new service.

According to Brian D. Casey, president and chief executive of the High Point Market Authority, explains, “Once we’ve ascertained what you’re looking for, we’ll assign a Market Scout to be your liaison here at Market. Prior to your arrival, the Scout will research the product category you’re interested in and prepare a brief report for you featuring sources they have identified that they believe will most likely fulfill your needs. Upon your approval, the Scout will then prepare an itinerary that maps an efficient route between the showrooms featuring the products you’re seeking.”

At a pre-arranged time, the buyer or interior designer will meet the Market Scout who will guide their Market guest along the showroom route they’ve prepared, personally accompanying them from showroom to showroom.

Comments Dr. Richard R. Bennington, chair of the High Point University Home Furnishings and Design Department, “We hope that the Market Scout Program will be a win-win situation for Market visitors and our students. It will be a valuable experience for our students, in addition to helping Market visitors better organize their time in High Point.”

Dr. Elizabeth Dull, Associate Professor of Interior Design at the University, adds, “Our students are looking forward to being Market Scouts because it will help them put to work what they have learned in the classroom. They have already been sourcing products for projects in a number of interior design and home furnishings classes. This experience will be a great opportunity for them to add to their knowledge.”

Notes Casey, “We’re excited about the opportunity the students will enjoy and we expect this program to help make Market more manageable for buyers and designers new to High Point. With some 12 million square feet of showroom space, we know that the sheer size of Market can be daunting for many attendees. Like the Insider’s Guide Market directory that we launched at Market last Fall—which was created to help first-time visitors, small independents and interior designers more quickly identify the showrooms where they are most welcome—the Market Scouts program is designed to help Market attendees make the most efficient use of their time here.”

Along with achieving its goal of becoming ever-more customer-centric, Casey expects the new program to offer very real benefits beyond Market-times to the industry as a whole. “The students participating in the Market Scouts program will be part of a unique, ongoing, elite real-world education experience that can only enhance their marketability with prospective employers in the home furnishings industry when the time comes to graduate and seek employment,” he says.