Bob Page
By Kim Weaver Spurr

For a former auditor, the numbers have to be pretty satisfying. In 1981, when Bob Page (BSBA ’68) left his state job to found Replacements Ltd., he brought in about $100,000 in sales. Today, at the business which “replaces the irreplaceable,” annual sales are around $70 million.

Based in Greensboro, Replacements Ltd. is the world’s largest supplier of old and new china, crystal, silver and collectibles. The company’s 300,000 square foot facilities (the size of five football fields) house an inventory of 10 million pieces in more than 200,000 patterns. Page runs a business and a top tourist destination. Busloads of people tour the showroom and warehouse to see what Rand McNally dubbed as one of the top 25 free attractions in the United States. One of the highlights is the “Great Wall of China,” a huge cabinet displaying top china patterns.

Page grew up on a tobacco farm in Rockingham County and was the first one in his family to go to college. In the 1970s, he began collecting china and crystal from flea markets as a weekend hobby while working as a state auditor.

“I initially worked out of my attic. I had a card table in my bedroom and packed orders on the kitchen floor,” Page said. “I finally got up enough nerve to quit my job. I didn’t have a business plan, but I had a feeling there was a demand out there that was not being met.”

His accounting background has served him well on more than one occasion. The Walter Drake Company agreed to sell Page its customer mailing list of 143,000 names for 10 cents a name in 1993. Page sent an overnight check for $14,300. To date, that mailing list alone has generated $15 million in sales.

“In the beginning, I set up my own books and did payroll and sales tax returns. It was an incredible benefit to me to have a business and accounting background,” he said.

He has won his share of entrepreneurial honors, including being named Entrepreneur of the Year by the state of North Carolina. Replacements was chosen by Internet Retailer magazine to be a “Top 25 Retail Web site.” The company’s products now are also available on Amazon.com.

The company has received multiple awards for being one of the best places to work. Its 625 employees come from more than 40 countries.

A sign on the door of the Replacements showroom says, “Well-Behaved Pets Welcome.” Page’s two miniature black dachshunds, Toby Lee and Trudy Mae, come to work with him every day and have a cozy bed in his office. Employees’ dogs doze next to tables of breakable crystal in the warehouse inspection area. In addition to stories on NBC News and CNNfn, Page can count time on Animal Planet as one of his company’s media successes.

Replacements also is a place that values work-life balance. When Page and longtime partner, Dale Frederiksen, adopted twin boys from Vietnam in 2000, they set up a nursery down the hall from Page’s office.

“Owen and Ryan have been the joy of our lives,” Page said of his sons, who are now 5.

These days, Page counts himself lucky to be doing a job that he doesn’t consider “work.”

“No matter how much money you make, if you don’t do something you enjoy, it’s not worth it.”