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U.S. NEWSSaturday 16 April 2016
Market boycott due to LGBT law could hurt state’s economyÂ
EMERY P. DALESIO Richard Fritz, left, and Jessica Weisner, right, of Painted Plate Ca- traditional furniture city of impact.
AP Business Writer tering stock a cooler with beverages at the High Point Market in 100,000 every six months for
HIGH POINT, N.C. (AP) — High Point, N.C. a five-day spend-a-thon. But an extended boycott
Furniture retailer Ron Wer- This year, however, the High
ner usually spends $2 million (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) Point Market’s organizers could “whittle away the
a year at North Carolina’s are warning that thousands
gargantuan, semiannual do we jump on a plane dition of commerce that of attendees could skip competitiveness of the
furniture market, but he’s and go to North Carolina? brings an estimated $5 bil- the event, which starts Sat- built-up advantage that
skipping this week’s event. They put up a sign that says, lion a year in economic urday. Among those who High Point has,†Lester said.
Werner knows not attend- ‘Gay? Stay away.’ “ activity to North Carolina. won’t be attending are Lester noted that furniture
ing the High Point Market Some fear that Werner’s About 75,000 buyers and buyers for Williams-Sonoma purchased from manufac-
will mean missing an early decision might start a wave sellers from around the Inc. retail outlets, including turers within 75 miles of the
look at new trends that that could damage a tra- world usually cram into this Pottery Barn and West Elm, city accounts for about half
could get hot later on, spokesman Pat Connolly of the market’s $5 billion
translating to big sales for said Friday. economic impact. A 5 per-
his own business. But he The High Point Market re- cent drop in market sales
said the state left him little mains vibrant after 107 could translate into a loss
choice when it passed a years because it’s still less of more than $100 million
law last month that critics expensive for exhibitors for North Carolina furniture
say discriminates against than shows in Las Vegas, manufacturers, which em-
lesbian, gay, bisexual and Dallas or Milan, said T. Wil- ploy about 14,000 workers.
transgender people. liam Lester, a city and re- “These are jobs that are re-
“The state just came out gional planning professor ally difficult to grow at new
with this nasty and mean- at the University of North companies and we want to
spirited law that provides Carolina at Chapel Hill who hold onto these manufac-
for state-sanctioned dis- co-authored a 2013 study turing jobs as much as pos-
crimination,†he said. “How on the market’s economic sible,†he said. “These are
solid, middle-income jobs
for people who don’t have
an advanced degree.â€
The state’s tourism industry
also stands to suffer.
Werner said he canceled
a five-day reservation of
a four-bedroom private
home he’d rented for his
five-person team — at a
cost of $2,700 — and adds
he won’t be entertaining at
the High Point restaurant he
has frequented for years.
If only 2,000 of the estimat-
ed 58,000 out-of-town mar-
ket visitors like Werner stay
away from High Point, it
could mean a loss of about
$15 million in lodging, food
and other tourism-related
spending, Lester said.
The boycott is one of a
number of protests spurred
by the new North Carolina
law enacted last month,
which directs transgen-
der people to use public
toilets corresponding to
the sex listed on their birth
certificate. The law also ex-
cludes LGBT people from
state anti-discrimination
protections, blocks local
governments from expand-
ing LGBT protections, and
bars all types of workplace
discrimination lawsuits from
state courts.q
