Reg relief passes without RTO | Detrimental bill in NY legislature | Aaron's weekend a dream for fans, guests | Rent World's Keeling passes away | Buddy's holds a cliff "hangar" of an event | RentDirect to host Member2Member Summit | Louisiana dealer converts to ColorTyme | Upcoming meetings | The bad news is... | RTO in the news | Contact APRO

Reg relief passes without RTO
++U.S. Senate Bill 603, the consumer rental-purchase agreement act, was not included in the Regulatory Relief Act of 2006 when the bill passed out of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on May 4. The bill is now being referred to the full Senate. The House version passed earlier in the session.
++APRO submitted written testimony to the committee supporting the inclusion of the rent-to-own federal legislation on June 21, 2005, and has supported its inclusion through grassroots communications and meetings for the past three sessions. APRO members residing in banking committee member states actively communicated their support for the bill’s inclusion and passage into the Regulatory Relief Act this week.
++The Senate Banking Committee considered the bill’s inclusion into the Regulatory Relief Act but decided against it in order to keep the bill less controversial. Several Democratic Senators opposed rent-to-own’s inclusion as well as other controversial items. S. 603 by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has 19 Senate co-sponsors, 11 Republicans and eight Democrats. Of the 19 co-sponsors, five of the co-sponsors serve on the banking committee, including the chair.
++The rent-to-own transaction is currently undefined at the federal level. The industry has supported the passage of the consumer rental-purchase agreement act to define the rent-to-own transaction as a lease and provide meaningful consumer disclosures.



Detrimental bill in NY legislature
++New York Assembly Judiciary Committee members passed rent-to-own state legislation on April 25 that would place heavy restrictions on the New York rent-to-own industry. Assembly Bill 592 was then referred to the full Assembly for an advanced reading on the floor on April 27. On May 2, the Assembly "starred the bill" which puts the legislation on hold until further notice. APRO will continue to monitor the bill for any further action.
++The New York legislative session is scheduled to adjourn on June 22. If you live or conduct business in New York, please contact Richard May at 800/204-2776, ext. 104 or by e-mail for legislative contact information and to assist in the reorganization of the New York Rental Dealers Association.

Aaron’s weekend a dream for fans, guests
++Aaron's Dream Weekend in Talladega, Alabama, was full of surprises, not the least of which was the inclement weather on Sunday that caused speedway officials to reschedule the Aaron's 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race for Monday. The Aaron's 312 Busch Series race ran under clear skies as scheduled on Saturday.  
++Several guests participated in Aaron's Dream Weekend. "Miracle Miner" Randal McCloy Jr. and seven members of his family traveled from West Virginia to attend their first NASCAR event. All eight family members participated in the driver/crew chief meeting and several drivers spoke with McCloy one-on-one to express how inspiring his story was to them and their families. McCloy and his wife Anna were on stage during driver introductions before both the Aaron's 312 and the Aaron's 499. They were able to shake the hands of each driver and visit with race Grand Marshal Will Ferrell, one of McCloy's favorite actors.
++Another special guest was six-year-old Benee Calderon who won the nationwide Color Your Way to Talladega Sweepstakes. Benne and his family won an all-expense-paid trip to watch Michael Waltrip take the wheel of the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine in a paint scheme designed by Bennee.
++The Talladega race was a close one with seventeen cars finishing within one second of Jimmie Johnson's winning time. Aaron's Vice President of Marketing Mark Rudnick presented the trophy to Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane.
++"Being in Victory Lane to present the Aaron's 499 trophy was the perfect way to top off our most successful Talladega Dream Weekend yet," says Rudnick. "It'll be hard to top this next year, but we're already working on Talladega 2007!"
++During the weekend’s festivities, the winner of the fourth annual Product Tech Rodeo was crowned. Johnny Brinson of Bloomington, Illinois, took the coveted PT Rodeo Winners Cup Trophy. Twenty product techs competed in six different events including a cube truck driving test, a driving simulation and a test on vehicle maintenance. Brinson received a 61" DLP television set, his name painted on the side of his delivery truck, an all-expense-paid trip to Aaron’s National Manager Meeting and a return trip next year to Talladega for the Aaron’s Dream Weekend.



Rent World's Keeling passes away
++Rent World Chief Operating Officer and TRIB member David W. Keeling passed away on May 2.
++ Keeling, a 20-year resident of Athens, Georgia, spent 18 years as an owner/operator for ten rent-to-own stores in North Carolina and South Carolina. After the sale of these stores, he spent two years operating a management consulting business before he was appointed Chief Operating Officer for Rent World in Memphis, Tennessee.
++Keeling began his career in the RTO industry as a lender during the early days of the industry. Over the course of his career, he worked as a front line supervisor in developing markets, business development plans and supervising existing assets and operations.
Keeling was a member of four state rental dealer associations. At the time of his death, Keeling was a nominee for the TRIB board of directors.

Buddy's holds a cliff 'hangar' of an event
++In conjunction with Take Your Child to Work Day on April 27, the Tampa International Airport hosted a child fingerprinting event sponsored by APRO member company, Buddy’s Home Furnishings. More than 600 children were fingerprinted in one of the hangars at the airport.
++Buddy's charitable involvement with Child Protection Education of America to aid law enforcement with missing and abducted children has resulted in fingerprinting events at each of its stores throughout Florida since 2002. The event at the Tampa International Airport was the first event outside of a Buddy’s Home Furnishings store. Along with the employees of the Tampa International airport, more than 15 airline and airline service companies participated in the event.
++"Evidently the word is getting out," says Jody Katz. “We were invited to have one of our events where they needed an entire hangar to accommodate the event."



RentDirect to host Member2Member Summit
++RentDirect Nationwide members will convene at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas, June 12 -13 for the inaugural RentDirect Member2Member Summit.
++According to RentDirect Executive Director James MacAlpine the idea for the event came from member suggestions at February's PrimeTime! "Members suggested that it would be beneficial to get together each year to share ideas, discuss industry trends and learn about best practices," says MacAlpine. "The Member2Member Summit is about what our members think, what they want and how we plan to work together even more effectively. This meeting of the minds will focus on ideas, issues and implementation of new programs that will keep our RTO businesses on-target for the very best year ever."
++RentDirect’s Member2Member Summit will include member panels and roundtables, plus guest speakers from key industry resources. “Our dedication to the rent-to-own channel has led us to create a wide range of vendor programs and member services, and the RentDirect Member2Member Summit is just our most recent initiative,” says Nationwide Marketing Group President Ed Kelly. “Rooms, facilities and content for this event are being provided at no charge to members, courtesy of RentDirect Nationwide. We look forward to broad member participation and a constructive, informative event.”
++Included as part of the event will be an election of members for the newly formed RentDirect Nationwide Advisory Board.
++For more information on RentDirect Nationwide or the RentDirect Member2Member Summit, contact MacAlpine at 336/714-8802 or by e-mail.

Louisiana dealer converts to ColorTyme
++When Raceland, Louisiana, native Jan Labat began researching ColorTyme’s franchise program and considered turning his independent rent-to-own store into Raceland’s first ColorTyme location, his customers’ needs were his primary concern. After converting last fall, Labat moved his store to a new location and has seen a sales increase of approximately 30 percent.
++For most of his life, Labat worked in his family’s retail furniture and appliance business, giving him first-hand knowledge of the products available and customers’ desires. Since opening his own rent-to-own store in 1995, Labat has made customer service his top priority, personally meeting each customer and helping customers with any problem they may have.
++"Being born and raised here and working in my family’s business has given me so many friendships and customer relationships that I truly value," says Labat. "Converting to ColorTyme has really given me the opportunity to step up on the product side without sacrificing my customer service. That will always be what drives us everyday."

• Cal-APRO Spring General Meeting and Election, May 17, Irvine, California
• TRIB Group 2006 Convention, May 17-20, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Tennessee Rental Dealers Association Spring Conference, June 8-9, Nashville, Tennessee
• RentDirect Nationwide Member2Member Summit, June 12-13, Grapevine, Texas
• Missouri Rental Dealers Association Second Annual Heartland of America Regional Trade Show, June 19-21, Lake Ozark, Missouri
  
• Click here to view a one-page industry calendar of events

The bad news is…
by Richard May
++Negative news coverage of the rent-to-own industry was nearly twice as prevalent as positive news coverage according to one year's documentation of rent-to-own news through Web search engines.
++Of the 293 total articles collected over one year, 76 were negative or reported on negative criticisms of rent-to-own. The 76 stories reflect 23 percent of total media coverage, a number that is twice the amount of positive news stories. An average of six negative rent-to-own news stories were released per month and 1.5 negative news stories were released per week. The three predominant negative news categories were stories’ regarding alleged bad financial choice rent-to-own provides consumers, op-eds critical of RTO legislation and news items featuring RTO stores.
++"While the amount of negative coverage is significantly better than the years of active Public Interest Research Group press conferences, the high occurrence of negative news coverage still needs to be addressed," says APRO Executive Director Bill Keese.
++Fifty-eight percent of negative news focused on RTO pricing. This finding underscores the industry’s continuing need to educate the public and media on the value of rent-to-own in the marketplace. Less than one percent of all articles focused on the positive financial aspects, such as being the most flexible transaction for consumers or helping consumers build a credit history through regular payments.
++Thirty-seven percent of negative news reported legal and legislative issues. The articles were predominantly critical of legislation in New Jersey and Wisconsin, demonstrating importance of executing a media and public relations campaign in conjunction with a legislative campaign. Five percent of negative news were consumer complaint stories. Coverage of alleged bad customer treatment or consumer complaints can be dangerous as these stories have historically pushed rent-to-own companies into the courts and forced legislation on the rent-to-own industry.
++The RTO in the News Report is a part of APRO’s new Advertising, Public Relations and Media Relations manual that will soon be available for APRO members.

Visit the APRO Web site or call the APRO office at 800/204-2776.