Rent-to-own News

Rent-to-own News - APRO General Session focuses on the industry's past, present and future

September 25, 2007

APRO Convention and Buying Show opened the morning meeting to a crowded room of rent to own industry professionals.The 2007 General Session at the APRO Convention and Buying Show highlighted the past, the present and the future. APRO Executive Director Bill Keese opened the morning meeting September 25 to a crowded room of industry professionals. After thanking the show’s generous sponsors--whose support exceeded all previous years--Keese opened the floor to APRO President Larry Carrico. Carrico recapped what has been a tumultuous year in regards to neative press attacks as well as fighting off potentially harmful legislation.

 

He cited the unity and strength of not only the national association, but also the state associations, as the reasons why the industry has prevailed in most scenarios. He also focused on good news from the past year, including: flat-screen TVs have boosted yields-per-unit in most stores, Rent-A-Center and RentWay rejoined APRO, new RTO concepts like Rent-n-Roll and Premier gained strength and offered former rent-to-own employees the chance to own a family-run business, new state associations were reorganized in Louisiana, New York State, Pennsylvania, the Northwest and West Virginia; and, finally, the industry enjoyed its largest attendance ever at the 2007 Dave Egan Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The membership heard reports from the chairs of the following committees: membership, budget, government relations, state association coordination, public relations and nominating.

 

During the public relations committee report, the members met the 2007 Rent-to-Own Employee of the Year, Jonathan Brown of Bestway Rent-To-Own in Tappahannock, Virginia. He’s a customer service manager who is an exemplary employee who is also active in Upward Bound, a charitable group that serves students from low-income families by helping them succeed academically. During “Tiger” John Cleek’s report on state associations, he announced and presented the 2007 Most-Improved State Association of the Year award to New York Rental Dealers Association President Dave Edwards. Once the general session adjourned, Carrico introduced keynote speaker Lowell Catlett, world-renowned economist and raconteur. Catlett regaled the membership with an optimistic picture of economic trends of the past, present and future. One of his themes was that when the market delivers what you want, when you want it and where you want it, price is not an issue.

 

Also, “people afford what they want.” He drew distinctions between the various generations, baby boomers, X Generation, Y Generation and the World War II generation and how each of those groups behaves in the marketplace. Catlett made his points about economic trends with humorous anecdotes from his life as an insightful baby boomer. He was met with a standing ovation from the audience. Then, to close out the meeting, APRO’s Keese and Carrico performed the ritual ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the buying show at the convention center to attendees. Click here to view photos from the event. APRO would like to thank GE Consumer and Industrial for its generous sponsorship of the 2007 General Session.

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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From the 2009 APRO Legislative Conference, April 21-23 Album
2009 APRO Legislative Conference, April 21-23

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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.
Click the links below to download each article as a PDF

Complete issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine | January-February 2010
Download the entire January - February 2010 issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine by clicking on the link above (PDF).

 

The Year of the Tiger
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According to Chinese astrology, the Year of the Tiger begins in February 2010. Tiger John Cleek is making the most of it as he winds down his two-year term as APRO’s president. He reflects on personal and industry-wide accomplishments and the love of family that sustains him.

 

Following the Leaders

In the 30-year history of the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations, 17 rental dealers have served as president. To mark APRO’s special anniversary, 15 of these leaders share their experiences in helping to shape the rent-to-own industry.

 

The Keep Rate Conundrum
by Ed Winn III

Calculating keep rate does not seem to improve the rent-to-own business in any discernible way—and yet this calculation, beyond all the others, has had enormous legal and political implications for rent-to-own almost since its inception.

 

Vendor Spotlight: What's in a Name?
by Neil Ferguson

These three departed rent-to-own vendors--Joe Eason, Tom Kitchens and Norm Smith--live on, their names indelibly linked to key industry events and honors.

 

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