Rent-to-own News - RimTyme opens Plano store with salute to Iraq Veteran

Former U.S. Marine and Iraq War Veteran Adam Earls (center) with RimTyme Plano Store Manager Cain Maxwell (left) and RimTyme VP of Operations Tim Hogan (right).

It takes vision, intelligence and a healthy dose of moxie to succeed in the highly competitive wheel and tire game.

This Saturday, RimTyme Custom Wheels and Tires  will show it has all that and plenty of heart as well.

That's when the company will celebrate opening its 19th RimTyme location -- 12 franchise plus seven corporate stores -- in Plano, Texas, taking advantage of a key demographic area and using the occasion to honor local Marine Adam Earls, 26, a two tour Iraq War Veteran.

RimTyme will present Earls -- who served in both the initial 2003 Iraq invasion and the battle of Fallujah -- with a full set of 20-inch chrome wheels and Nitto tires during ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremonies that will officially launch the new 5,600 square foot store.

Earls was selected for the prize by the Collin County Veterans Services office, and Earls said the new treads couldn't have come along at a better time.

A week before he was notified of the gift, his wife, Nichole, had a blowout in the family's 2006 Chevy Trailblazer. The vehicle was due for new wheels, and the Earls were due for a major expense.

"When I first got this car I thought a set of rims would really make it," Earls said. "I'm extremely grateful for this gift from RimTyme, especially this year when Iraq is going successfully yet it’s disappeared from the news. When someone goes out of their way to recognize a veteran, it means a lot, it truly does."

In addition to his Iraq service, Earls also served in humanitarian-assistance and civilian-evacuation missions during the Liberian Civil War.  He's received numerous military awards including the Combat Action Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal and National Defense Medal.

Earls left the Marine Corps in 2005 and has served as a police officer with the Dallas and Plano Police Departments. He plans to return to college and continue his career in law enforcement.

He is the father of three children; son, Bryce, 6, and daughters, Caelyn, 2, and Addison, 6 months. He looks forward to retelling the story of how he got his new wheels during his various holiday travels when he plans to show them off to relatives.

The new RimTyme location is ideal, said Tim Hogan, vice president of operations for RimTyme during the recent "RimTyme Rally"  at the company's corporate headquarters, also in Plano.

Hogan said the opportunity to give back to the community in conjunction with the new store opening was one RimTyme could not pass up.

"We have a quarter of a million people in a five-mile radius that fit our target demographic here in Plano," Hogan said. "At the same time you have to remember that we're very much a neighborhood business. We're now a part of this community. What better person to pay tribute to than to honor a local veteran who has put his life on the line for our country."

Hogan said the current economic downturn has not directly impacted business, though RimTyme does anticipate growth in sales of smaller wheel lines as well as in the “monster” 24 inch size.

The new Plano RimTyme store stocks more than 300 tires in sizes from 16- to 24-inches and carries 120 styles of rims ready for mounting. Major brands include ATD, Wheel Pros, American Eagle, TNT and Custom Wheels Unlimited.

Plano RimTyme store manager Cain Maxwell said that RimTyme will prove even more valuable to consumers as the economy continues to stagger and the retail chains of Firestone, Discount Tire, Goodyear and National Tire and Battery become stingier with their financing.

With no credit check, 90-days-same-as-cash and other flexible payment options, RimTyme is poised to offer an alternative financing tool for consumers who want high-quality wheels and tires.

"People do not always have all the money up-front or a credit score high enough to just say ‘charge it.’ RimTyme gives them another option," Maxwell said.

Maxwell said he's receiving positive feedback from the community and is hoping to fill up the parking lot at the grand opening this weekend, which will feature a cookout and a high-end car show, merchandise drawings and other events.

RimTyme currently has locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Oklahoma and Kentucky. Two additional stores are under construction and will open in Houston by year's end.

RimTyme is the custom wheel and tire brand of ColorTyme. Both companies are independently subsidiaries of the world's largest rent-to-own company, Rent-A-Center.

mevans@rtohq.org