It began at noon with lunch. I carefully recorded that historic first meal: a sub sandwich, a piece of chicken, a cup of cole slaw, a slice of creamy cheese, a bunch of red grapes, a brownie, and a cute little bottle of Inglenook Navalle Chablis with a crisp, fruity flavor, in case you need a quick wine refresher on that long-forgotten offering. And there was business talk, too.
It was October 1982 and an up-and-coming reporter was getting his first taste—quite literally—of what was then called the Southern Furniture Market. The air was thick with buzzwords like “confidence,” “quality” and “value.”
That reporter’s first market dispatch was a column headlined “Market Lunch Has Bite of Everything.” It appeared in The High Point Enterprise.
Well, time flies, and that same reporter, yes, yours truly, just wrapped up his 85th High Point Market. This time, my market lunches included short rib sliders and the excellent salad bar at the String & Splinter Club, the comfy Market Square restaurant where I have dined in fine style for decades. And, yes, there was more talk about confidence, quality and value. Some things never change.
There was also plenty of talk about mattresses, a category gaining ground in the Furniture Capital of the World. We will dig into some of those conversations as we document our latest journeys across the vast High Point Market, which dates back to 1909 and sprawls across some 180 buildings.
High Point has been my home for almost half a century and for most of that time pilgrimages to the Holy Home of Home Furnishings have been a regular fixture on my calendar. Market punctuates the seasons for High Pointers, with the April show ushering in the blooms of spring and the October show saluting the colorful arrival of fall.
No matter how many times you’ve been to High Point, every High Point Market offers something fresh and exciting – new exhibitors, new insights, a new restaurant to explore. Have you heard about Earl’s Landing at Congdon Yards? That’s a good place to land for a market dinner.
High Point always serves up a nice surprise of some sort. This market I was treated to a “Moby-Dick” sighting at a pop-up bookstore. Details to come!
But first, let’s set the stage for the April market.
The mattress industry is solidly entrenched at the Las Vegas Market, as I noted in my March 8, 2026 Bedding News Now feature titled “Midnight in the Garden of Mattresses and Optimism.” There I talked about the optimism sweeping through the mattress industry as leading bedding execs gathered at the January Las Vegas Market to launch new products.
Things can change rapidly in business, and that’s been the case this year. A war in the Middle East has sent gas prices soaring and consumer confidence plunging. The retail mattress business has been challenging in recent months, but bedding executives are nothing if not optimistic, and hopes for better mattress sales continue to percolate through the market.
One new thing I heard in High Point was the concern from some bedding leaders that the industry’s growth hopes may have to be pushed into 2027. That could be the case, but I think we need to get into the mattress industry’s key summer selling season before we can really tell how the year will shake out.
At some point the bedding industry will resume its growing ways. I don’t know exactly when that will be. Time, as that famous saying goes, will tell.
But I do know that the bedding category has quietly established a surprisingly strong presence in High Point, which is known more for case goods, upholstery and home accents than it is for mattresses.
The bedding lineup in High Point is more robust than you might realize. In getting ready for the April market, I sat down with the Fall Market Pocket Guide from October 2025 and came up with some three dozen mattress and sleep accessory companies and brands. Three new exhibitors joining the April 2026 market, Molecule, Symphony Sleep and Jamison Bedding (returning after a two-year absence), push that total to about 40.
That’s well below the more than 100 mattress and sleep accessory companies and brands represented at the Las Vegas Market, but it’s still a solid group of bedding players, enough to meet almost any retailer’s mattress needs.
Tammy Covington, CEO of the High Point Market Authority, which organizes the High Point Market, says the growing mattress presence in High Point reflects current retail buying trends.
“The growth we’re seeing in the bedding and mattress category is a natural reflection of what High Point Market has become,” she told Bedding News Now. “Today’s buyers aren’t coming to see just one category — they’re coming to source an entire home. From upholstery and case goods to lighting, antiques, rugs, accessories, and sleep, High Point is where the whole home industry comes together twice a year. Bedding manufacturers are smart to be here, because their retail and design customers are already here.”
Therapedic Worldwide CEO Gerry Borreggine, the longest-serving leader of a major bedding brand (he’s headed Therapedic for 22 years), has been coming to the High Point Market since the 1980s and sees High Point gaining more mattress firepower in the years to come.
“High Point is making a mattress comeback,” he said when I told him there are about 40 mattress and sleep accessory companies and brands at the High Point Market nowadays. “That is the biggest representation of mattress manufacturers in High Point in 25 years.”
Therapedic, which had its own High Point showroom for years, now shows with Soundstage USA in the Atrium, home to several bedding companies, including Diamond Mattress, Sleeptone, Jamison, and Dreamstar.
Jamison President Dennis Straily said his company was pleased to be back in High Point. “It feels like more retailers are coming back,” he said. “Furniture store buyers are here. Furniture stores are a real strength for Jamison.”
Symphony Sleep made its High Point debut in the Hamilton Building in the Centers of High Point complex. “I like it a lot,” President John Schulte said of his first impressions of the High Point Market. “It’s so comfortable.”
He said High Point will help Symphony Sleep grow its business with East Coast retailers who don’t attend the Las Vegas Market.
Also showing in the Center Point complex, sharing a space with FD Home, was Heritage Sleep. It is the Rome, Georgia-based manufacturer’s third year in High Point.
“High Point is a furniture market first and foremost, so we don’t typically see as many bedding specialty or mattress-only retailers,” said Jordan Beck, president. “What that does create, though, is a really valuable opportunity for us to spend quality time with brick-and-mortar furniture retailers who are actively looking to improve their bedding galleries, strengthen their metrics, and elevate their overall sleep offering heading into the year.”
Beck described the High Point Market as “a breath of fresh air. It’s more spread out than Las Vegas, but it allows for more intentional conversations. We also view it as a critical market for the East Coast. It is arguably the most important market for building and maintaining relationships in that region.”
Digitally native mattress brand Molecule made its High Point debut in the International Home Furnishings Center’s Hamilton wing. Mike Juoni, vice president of sales, said it was a successful launch.
“Our first High Point Market was productive for our team,” he told me. “We spent time with several independents as well as larger regional retailers, secured some immediate placements directly at market, and moved other important partnership discussions further down the path.
“Beyond the commercial opportunities,” he continued, “market remains valuable because it allows us to compress what would otherwise take multiple trips, sample reviews, and follow-up meetings into a few focused days together.”
He also noted the importance of market meet ups.
“It was also great to spend time with vendor partners and industry peers,” Juoni said. “Those conversations are always helpful in understanding the broader pulse of the category and where the market is heading.” Well said, Mike.
I had dozens of great market conversations. Despite the challenges that currently confront the home furnishings industry, I found that bedding exhibitors were staying positive. “Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm,” one bedding exec said, enthusiastically.
I was enthusiastic when I found The Bookhouse, a Winston-Salem bookstore, open for business in the pop-up hub in the Center Stage arena next to the Transportation Terminal. The High Point Market Authority thoughtfully curates a selection of pop-up booths to give marketgoers a chance to do a little local shopping.
High Point is currently berift of a general-interest bookstore, having lost Barnes & Noble early in 2020 and Sunrise Books in the summer of 2023, two hammer blows that still rankle our literary sensibilities. The Bookhouse is a neat bookstore in trendy Reynolda Village. Dare we dream it might open a High Point outpost someday?
Hey, I’ll settle for brief appearance at market. Co-owner Tara Grotzke showed me the selection of North Carolina books, home furnishings books, and classic novels that she brought to the market. There, nestled among the classics, I found “Moby-Dick,” the great American novel that long ago swept me up in its mysterious spell. That was my first Moby-Dick market sighting in 44 years of visits. Call me excited.
I was excited, too, to see more of my mattress friends assembling in High Point. Let’s meet again here in October, maybe with a few more mattress newcomers joining the party. Look for me at the salad bar at the String & Splinter.
