The High Point Premarket got off to a good start Monday.

Many showrooms reported either an uptick in traffic compared with past events, or said that appointments with important clients took place as planned.

“We’ve had very good traffic,” said Tonya Davis, assistant vice president of visual presentation at Bassett Mirror. “We’ve seen more than we normally get,” she said, adding that more visits by interior designers contributed to the increase.

Nathan Cressman, president of Magnussen Home, said: “We’re seeing who is here and who we want to see.”

Hooker Furniture President Mike Delgatti reported seeing 65 dealers — which puts the company on a pace to see more than the 100 dealers that, on average, would normally stop by its showroom over Premarket’s two-day run.

“The response has been very good across all business,” he said.

Sources at Premarket seemed buoyed by a growing confidence among dealers who saw business pick up during the summer and really take off over Labor Day weekend. And several sources seemed encouraged by the response to their introductions: Some dealers either made informal commitments to buy or placed orders ahead of this year’s fall High Point Market, which opens Oct. 18.

“The mood is the best it’s been in a long time,” said Dan Kennedy, director of case goods at Flexsteel Inds.

Premarket takes place about a month before each High Point Market and gives manufacturers and suppliers a chance to show new product prototypes in advance of the main shows. A key part of that arrangement is a dialogue in which sources get invaluable feedback from dealers on a range of issues, from ways to improve a product to suggestions for merchandising furniture more effectively in a showroom.

For these reasons, Premarket is “probably the best return on an investment that our company gets at any event,” said Vaughan-Bassett President Doug Bassett.

For complete coverage of Premarket, see the Sept. 22 print issue of Furniture/Today.