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Attendance Dips At Spring High Point Furniture Market

Roughly 1,000 fewer people attended the Spring 2016 High Point Furniture Market than attended the previous year. (Courtesy: High Point Market Authority)

Fewer people attended the High Point Furniture Market this spring compared to a year ago, according to new numbers released Friday.

The High Point Market Authority, which oversees the twice-yearly event, says 79,376 people registered for the Spring Market.

But a year ago, the number hit 80,300. That includes buyers, exhibitors, media and others.

While the organizers did not give a reason for the drop in Friday's report, they had previously warned that the state's controversial House Bill 2 would hurt business.

In late March, the Market Authority said it had already heard from dozens of customers who had cancelled their plans to attend the April event because of HB2.

The twice-a-year furniture show has been cited as the largest economic event in North Carolina. According to a Duke University study, the market's annual impact exceeds $5 billion.

The next market takes place in late October.

Sean Bueter joined WFDD in August 2015 as a reporter covering issues across the Piedmont Triad and beyond.Previously, Sean was a reporter, host and news director at WBOI in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a few hours from where he grew up. He also sorted Steve Inskeep's mail as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.Sean has experience on a variety of beats, including race, wealth and poverty, economic development, and more. His work has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and APM's Marketplace.In his spare time, Sean plays tennis (reasonably well), golf (reasonably poorly), and scours local haunts for pinball machines to conquer.

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