 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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Rent-to-own franchises - Aaron's
Greg Tanner, Aarons' national director of franchise development 309 East Paces Ferry Rd., N.E. Atlanta, GA 30305 678/402-3445; fax 404/240-6584 www.aaronsfranchise.com
Type of rent-to-own business: Furniture, electronics, appliances, computers
Company-owned stores: 1010
Franchise-owned stores: 506
Expansion plans: Approximately 285 stores in the pipeline to open in the next three years.
Type of franchise owner they’re looking for: Someone with a history of success in business.
Why they’re different: This is a major-sized operation. It’s arguably what every small competitor eventually aims to be. As Aaron’s COO Ken Butler says, stressing that he’s not trying to sound arrogant, one of the benefits of an independent changing their operation into an Aaron’s is that “you keep one less competitor out—and you have a lot of name brand recognition.”
What they’ll do for you: “We think we bring a lot to the party,” says Butler. “Our system is tight. Ten years ago, when we got into franchising, I would have said that I could tell the difference between a franchised store and a company store. Now, I can’t.”
License master franchise rights: No
Selling primary multiple store location agreements: Yes
Selling franchise agreements for just one store: Yes
Active franchisee advisory board: Yes. It’s called the Aaron’s Management Team in which select franchisees participate.
Net worth of candidate: Minimum $450,000 of which $350,000 must be liquid.
Franchise fees: $15,000 - $50,000, depending on the market population.
Royalties: Six percent
Advertising co-op: No. But we have a Partners in Profit program with our vendors.
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Aaron’s Sales and Lease Ownership |
2012 APRO Dave Egan
Legislative Conference
April 17-19, Washington, D.C.
Mark your calendars!
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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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CLICK HERE FOR OUR DIGITAL RTOHQ: THE MAGAZINE
RTOHQ: The Magazine’s upgraded digital format APRO's new, mobile-ready magazine is now available in addition to our print edition. The digital format provides the same informative content as our printed magazine, but also offers tools to make the reading experience more enriching. Access the table of contents page with one click or tap. Get additional information from advertisers by clicking on the links in their ads. The interface is easy to navigate and requires no special app—read our magazine on your computer, digital table or smartphone. Click here to access the digital version of RTOHQ: The Magazine November-December 2011.
Marketing Matters This year marks the launch of a marketing campaign initiated by APRO to build the rent-to-own customer base. It will be a multi-year endeavor employing multiple strategies. In this and upcoming issues of our magazine, we will address the many facets of marketing that affect our industry.
Striving for an A with the BBB by William E. Freeland Consumers often refer to the Better Business Bureau's ratings to help them make rental and purchasing decisions. National Rent-to-Own's human resource manager outlines the steps every RTO company should pursue to help earn an A+ from the BBB.
Creating an Extraordinary Customer Experience by Bill Keese Apple does it. Southwest Airlines does it. Can the rent-to-own industry also garner a national reputation for exceptional service and, in the process, attract new customers?
BB and BBQ on Beale Street Memphis' reputation for tremendous food, groundbreaking music and Southern charm is well deserved. It's not too early to start planning your trip there next July for APRO's 2012 Rent-to-Own Convention and Trade Show.
Card Talk by Ed Winn III Credit and debit card payments are on the rise in rent-to-own. So are the risks in keeping such transactions secure.
Rent-to-Own Families, Part VI by Kristen Card No, you're not seeing double, or are you? Our latest profiles of kindred colleagues include two sets of twins-the Botkins and the Kimbles. And in Kansas, a son and daughter help their dad keep business running Strong.
Future issues of APRO's magazine will be available in this same new format. Click here to access past issues that are not yet archived in the new interface.
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Association of Progressive Rental Organizations 1504 Robin Hood Trail Austin, Texas 78703 800/204-2776, ext. 103 Fax 512/794-0097 |