HIGH POINT — The spring High Point Market marked the first time Agio International, a leading outdoor furniture manufacturer, exhibited here. It won't be the last.
Today, Agio-USA officials announced the company's plan to return to High Point for the October market, this time in a larger space in the Showplace building. With the lease signing, Agio will exhibit in a space which is almost 3,000 square feet and will then expand to almost 5,000 square feet next April. By the time the spring 2013 market rolls around, Agio will have more than doubled the showroom size from its debut this past April.
"Our experience this spring far exceeded our goals," said Bob Gaylord, President of Agio-USA. "Based on that response, I'm happy to confirm that not only will we be showing at High Point again but that we are expanding our space to be better able to show our vast assortment of outdoor furniture there."
"We came to High Point knowing that a certain number of traditional retailers were ready to get into the outdoor casual category," Gaylord said. "Not until this show did we realize how many retailers were ready to commit to the outdoor category. And now, we have committed to coming back to High Point this fall."
Company officials negotiated for a more prominent showroom space that accommodates more collections, greater design possibilities and better visitor flow.
Agio will continue to sponsor breakfasts and cocktail hours throughout the week and will also furnish some of its leading outdoor collections for buyers and guests to enjoy on the building's third-floor balcony, "Sunset on 3."
"We saw so many new faces in High Point, people that we don't see in our permanent showroom for the Casual Outdoor Show in Chicago," said Doug Peppler, VP, sales and marketing, Agio-USA. "It's clear to us that these traditional furniture retailers will continue to be an important segment for us in the future. So we need to be there."
Andy Sokol, Agio-USA VP, sales/furniture stores, explained, "The warm welcome Agio received and the buyer traffic that we saw this spring clearly demonstrated that continuing to exhibit at High Point just makes sense for us."
Gaylord, Peppler and Sokol credited increasing numbers of traditional furniture retailers who have recognized the benefit of adding outdoor collections to their product mix as the motivation behind the Agio's entry into the High Point marketplace.
According to Sokol, several furniture stores called to thank Agio for exhibiting at the spring market and expressed how much easier it makes shopping the category. "We want to provide furniture store buyers easy access to our company, our sales team and our line," Sokol said. "When they are ready to discuss opportunities in outdoor, we want to be there."
Agio's primary U.S. showroom will remain in Chicago's Merchandise Mart and the company will maintain its presence in both annual shows geared specifically for the outdoor category, the casual Preview Show in July and the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market in September.
