news-record.com

HIGH POINT (MCT) — The Forbidden City furniture show will bid farewell to High Point next year, organizers said Tuesday.

Lifestyles Enterprises Inc. will move the invitation-only furniture event, which has been held in January in High Point since 2006, to Beijing at an undetermined date in 2010, according to company officials.

The company still is searching for a venue in Beijing, but it said the show will span about four days and could be larger and more exciting when held in China.

''It's something that has been up in the air for the last couple of years," said James Riddle, president and CEO of the case goods and upholstery resource. "We have so many major accounts in the U.S. that go to China on a regular basis. We just felt that if we were going to have the show, we would have it there rather than here."

Riddle said the company had downsized the show in High Point, which brought 600 attendees to the city in January 2009 with an economic impact of $234,000, according to the High Point Convention and Visitor's Bureau. He said the show's focus had shifted to the company's top 100 accounts.

Lifestyles Enterprises Inc. also pays some expenses for guests who attend the event, such as airfare. The company will continue to focus on major accounts and accommodate guests when the show takes place in Beijing, he said.

''There's no question it would be cheaper to fly guests to High Point. But there's an excitement about going to China that doesn't exist with going to High Point," Riddle said.

He said the company, headquartered in High Point, still is dedicated to the High Point Market and has plans to expand its showroom at 320 E. Commerce Ave, where the Forbidden City show took place.