House Bill Two (HB2)

LETTER FROM THE CEO

 

During market, there was quite a bit of conversation about House Bill 2 (HB2), and as that dialogue has continued, I wanted to reiterate International Market Centers’ position on this controversial bill. We remain vehemently opposed to this legislation and plan to continue to do our part to push for repeal.

Some of you have asked about the impact this potentially had on buyer attendance. You may have seen the High Point Market Authority’s recent statement http://www.furnituretoday.com/article/531862-high-point-market-authority-reports-1-attendance-decline-april-market indicating that the number of registered buyers at the Spring 2016 High Point Market was down one percent compared to the Spring 2015 Market. I wanted to let you know that, despite isolated incidents of buyers who chose not to attend, scan data from our buildings showed a one percent increase in buyer traffic compared to last April. Interior designer attendance was up modestly as well.

Buyers who come to High Point Market are serious buyers, and this market is critical to their business – there is no substitute for the business that is done in High Point. Looking ahead, we have no reason to believe HB2 will have an impact on October Market.Regardless of the lack of impact on market attendance, we remain strongly opposed to HB2 and will continue to put pressure on our legislators in Raleigh to repeal this bill.

As always, we remain committed to building and maintaining the most effective, efficient and compelling markets for the home furnishings industry, and inclusiveness plays an important role in achieving this goal. Thank you for your support.

Bob Maricich

 

NC Legislature Contacts

Senate: http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/leadershipList.pl?sChamber=Senate

House of Represenatives : http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/members/leadershipList.pl?sChamber=house

Committee Assignments and additional contact information: http://www.ncleg.net/

IMC Opposition to HB2


Charlotte Observer: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article72407477.html

 

Join our Opposition

If you share our position on this, we would like to invite you to join us in signing a letter to North Carolina legislators emphasizing opposition to this bill from the home furnishings industry. You can review and sign this letter here.  We feel our collective voice will carry more weight, but if you prefer to send a letter on your own or in addition to this joint letter, we have included on this web page information on how to contact appropriate legislators.

Read House Bill Two [PDF]

Key Contacts

To speak with an IMC staff member about HB2, please call: (336) 888-3700