Rent-to-own News

Rent-to-own News - ColorTyme names Kohut VP of Operations

November 21, 2008

Albert Kohut, ColorTyme's new vice president of operations.

ColorTyme, America’s oldest rent-to-own franchising company, today named RTO industry veteran Albert A. Kohut vice president of operations.

Kohut replaces Tim Hogan, who moved from the ColorTyme operations VP position in September to become the Vice President of Operations for ColorTyme’s custom-wheels-and-tires brand, RimTyme.

Kohut was most recently Vice President of W.S. Badcock Corporation, Mulberry, Florida, the largest retail furniture company in the Southeast.  During his 10-year tenure with Badcock, Kohut was responsible for new business development, store design and construction and corporate retail operations.

Prior to Badcock Corporation, Kohut spent eight years with Thorn Americas, PLC that was, at that time, the number-one RTO company in the U.S.  At Thorn Americas he served as Vice President of Operations, and vice president of administration and franchise development.

“At this important stage in ColorTyme’s growth, there is no person in the industry more qualified to serve as Vice President of Operations than Albert Kohut,“ said ColorTyme President and CEO Bob Bloom.  “Albert will be a key member of our management team as ColorTyme enters its fourth decade of leading the RTO franchising industry.  Albert is a highly respected professional in rent-to-own, so he’ll be able to ‘hit the ground running.’”

“I am excited to be joining ColorTyme, which I consider to be the most consumer-oriented and progressive rent-to-own company in America,” Kohut said.  “I have known and respected ColorTyme’s executives for years, and I am proud to join them as Vice President of Operations.”

Kohut is an alumnus of Cleveland State University and is a Vietnam veteran.

ColorTyme, Inc., founded in 1979, is America’s oldest franchisor of independently owned-and-operated rent-to-own stores.  Currently, ColorTyme franchisees operate 214 rent-to-own/rental-purchase stores in 34 states. ColorTyme is headquartered in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, and is an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of the largest RTO company in the world, Rent-A-Center.
 

About APRO
The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations is the official voice of the rent-to-own industry and the most accurate and trustworthy source of rent-to-own news in the industry. Founded in 1980, APRO is the national, nonprofit trade association advocating and representing the rent-to-own industry before the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, courts, media and the public.

For more information, visit www.rtohq.org.




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RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here.
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Complete issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine | November-December 2009
Download the entire November - December 2009 issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine by clicking on the link above (PDF).

 

Legislation Happens
Rent-to-own dealers, employees and vendors will unite on Capitol Hill February 23–25 to tell the rent-to-own story to members of Congress and their staff. We encourage you to be a part of this lawmaking process, because—-with or without you—-legislation happens.

 

Uniting the States of Rent-to-Own
by Kristen Card
State rental dealer associations play a vital role in maintaining the health of the rent-to-own industry. In this issue, we profile a handful of these groups—in Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania—and chart the expanding array of services they provide to members.

 

Crapshoot in the Courthouse: RTO in State Supreme Courts
by Ed Winn III
Justice is supposed to be blind, unbiased, impartial—-but we know better. Take, for example, the decisions of state supreme courts when the primary rent-to-own issue-—lease vs. sale-—has been presented to them. The message from these cases is clear: the courthouse can be a dangerous place for RTO dealers.

 

Economic Forecast 2010: Ready for a Rebound?
by Phillip M. Perry
Maybe 2009 was tough, but as a business survivor, you can congratulate yourself on your hardiness and take steps to capitalize on a rebound.

 

Vendor Spotlight: Ashley’s Ron Wanek
by Tiffany Hamburger
Ron Wanek’s Midwestern roots and work ethic, combined with abundant artistic talent, have helped assure that Ashley is seated at the top of the furniture industry.

 

Cover illustration by Barry Fitzgerald

 

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