High Point Reinvents with Clusters

Today I toured High Point, NC a town of about 90,000 (too big to be an agurb®, but still an interesting story) that is famous for being the furniture capital of the world. They have two shows/year when they have 80,000 buyers from around the world into the town for a full week.

It is estimated to bring in over $1.1 billion and is the largest economic development event in the state each year. In addition to having a furniture cluster in High Point, they also have a fabric cluster and even a photography cluster. They have 14 photo studios and have more studio sf than ANY other city in the USA.

High Point has had to reinvent itself over time. They used to have 15 hosiery mills, employing many thousands. Today they have only 2 mills left. However, High Point decided to diversify their base 17 years ago with the development of a new 1100 acre business park 3 miles north of town. Today, this diversified park hosts numerous companies (60 international ones) with a strong emphasis in the burgeoning bio-tech industry.

High Point is another great example of a community that has had to reinvent themselves, did so, and became a better town.