Replacements, Ltd. continues climb in rankings among Top 500 U.S. Internet Retailers

GREENSBORO, N.C., May 13, 2008 – At a time when many businesses are fighting for their share of  shrinking American retail sales, Replacements, Ltd. continues to show impressive growth in the highly competitive online marketplace.  This week Internet Retailer magazine listed Replacements at number 166 on the magazine’s annual ‘Top 500 Guide’ for 2008, which ranks the United States’ largest e-retailers based on annual Web-driven sales. This marks the second consecutive year Replacements, Ltd., the world’s largest supplier of old and new china, crystal, silver and collectibles has appeared on the list, jumping eight positions from the previous year.  The company is ranked 16th in the Housewares/Home Furnishings category. 

“Considering the economic climate of the past year, the fact we’ve seen an increase in online sales is a strong affirmation of our strategies,” says Chairman and CEO Bob Page, who founded the company in the attic of his home 27 years ago. “What differentiates our numbers from a lot of other companies is the fact we’re not selling mass merchandise which has a high degree of repeat purchases.  We’re really a niche within a niche, which makes our continued growth in this area even more incredible to us.”

Sales driven by the company’s Web site, www.replacements.com, accounted for nearly three quarters of the company’s $85 million in business for 2007. Internet sales rose 19 percent above the previous year.

“I think one of the biggest reasons Replacements continues to gain ground in e-retailing while many companies struggle lies in our extensive evaluation and testing of innovative online marketing, CRM and technical initiatives,” says Jack Whitley, senior vice president of e-commerce.  “For example, during the past year we scaled our core online advertising campaigns to more than four million paid advertisements which in turn have generated half a billion ad impressions.  Those impressions also achieved an 89 percent reach of all Web surfers and not only drove transactional and customer acquisition growth for us, but generated significant branding activity as well.”

Research shows 81 percent of Replacements’ new customers in 2007 came through the Web.  Whitley credits the company’s push to build on customer acquisition with strong customer relationship management as another key factor to the company’s online success.  Replacements sent out more than 114 million requested emails to customers last year, including product quotes and newsletters sharing company information and interesting product stories, including histories and applied art trends.

About Replacements, Ltd.

Founded by Bob Page in 1981, Replacements, Ltd. carries the world’s largest selection of old and new china, crystal, silver, and collectibles. Their 415,000 square foot facilities house an inventory of more than 286,000 patterns. Headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., Replacements, Ltd. serves nearly ten million customers worldwide.

Media Contact:
Lisa Conklin, Public Relations Manager
(800) 737-5223 ext. 2552
(336) 209-0951 mobile
lisa.conklin@replacements.com

Internet Retailer’s definitive ranking and analysis of America's 500 largest e-retailers is based on annual 2007 Internet sales, researched by Internet Retailer and confirmed by retailers. This report includes company financial, operational and performance data, as well as vendors in 18 key categories.

About Internet Retailer
Published by Chicago-based Vertical Web Media LLC, Internet Retailer is a monthly national business magazine, web site, conference and directory that serve the retailing community.