In the months leading up to North Carolina’s vote this month to ban gay marriage, most of the state’s business leaders were conspicuously silent. While some executives spoke out against it as individuals, not one Fortune 500 company based in North Carolina, including Bank of America, Duke Energy, VF Corporation and Lowe’s, opposed it.The response was swift and ugly. Phone calls and emails poured in from people saying they would never do business with the company again. The numbers of responses in support of the company's efforts against the bill were much smaller.
But one company did: Replacements Limited, which sells silver, china and glassware, and is based in Greensboro. Its founder and chairman, Bob Page, is gay. The company lobbied legislators, contributed money to causes supporting gay marriage, rented a billboard along the interstate near its headquarters, and sold T-shirts at its showroom. Its experience may explain why no other for-profit company followed its example.
Andrew Spainhour, general counsel for the company, who spearheaded the opposition to the ban on gay marriage, said he is concerned for Bob Page's safety.
“Bob has been absolutely fearless in the face of that,” Mr. Spainhour said. “It’s a North Carolina that exists but that I don’t recognize. There are two North Carolinas: the progressive cities and college towns, and places where there are no openly gay people.”Over the years, I'd purchased a good many missing pieces of china and flatware from Replacements, and their merchandize and service was first rate. I hope the company will quickly gain far more customers than they've lost.
....
Mr. Page, 67, said he didn’t like politics and wasn’t “extreme,” or “in your face” about being gay. But, he added: “I just refuse to hide. I did that way too many years and it’s just not healthy.”At the same time, he said: “I’m always concerned I will hurt our business. I know we have lost business. But I don’t have a board or shareholders I have to answer to. My life is not about money.”
Read the rest of Bob Page's bittersweet story.
I read this story soon after it went up on the NYT website, and there were already HUNDREDS of comments, nearly all of them sympathetic to Mr. Page. Typical comments: "Oh, dear! I just broke a glass. Time to go order a new one from Replacements." "Hmmm, I think I need a few more soup bowls for that upcoming dinner party. Better phone Replacements Ltd." "I don't need a darn thing in the china, silver or crystal department, but I am going to order something from Replacements anyway." There were a few "Christian" commenters who warned that "God has judged Sodom and Gomorrah and you people are asking for the same kind of judgment", etc. but they were totally outnumbered (and out-argued) by the positive commenters. My favorite remark was something to the effect that "God loves ALL His children! What he hates is mismatched china and silverware." I have always maintained that as an article of faith and lived by it to the extent that my budget would allow.
ReplyDeleteThe upshot is that I bet Mr. Page is going to get a whole lot of new business as a result of this Times piece. And not only because readers are sympathetic to his personal story and inspired by his taking a stand on this issue. There is also the fact that this is a family business that reportedly takes good care of its staff and values customer relationships. It has the freedom to put those relationships first because it doesn't have to answer to stockholders.
"God loves ALL His children! What he hates is mismatched china and silverware."
ReplyDeleteI love it! I'm so pleased to hear about all the positive comments at the NYT. I admire Page and his co-workers for taking on the fight despite knowing that the business could suffer as a result.