 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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Rent-to-own franchises - ColorTyme Rent-To-Own
Michael Landry 972/403-4905; fax 972/403-4938 Type of rent-to-own business: Furniture, appliances, electronics
Company-owned stores: 0
Franchise-owned stores: 194
Expansion plans: "We are expanding nationally right now," says Michael Landry, Vice President of Franchise Sales. "We have areas of opportunity and room for expansion in nearly all states." And yet, ColorTyme is represented in 3 states and climbing. As Landry says, "We can offer development opportunities in areas where our franchisees are comfortable operating."
Type of franchise owner they’re looking for: Small business operating experience is almost a necessity and RTO experience is highly regarded. Capitalization is critical and "that’s why we offer franchisor backed financing," Landry stated. Ideally, the right candidate will have at least $80,000 in cash availability with a net worth of at least $350,000. "The franchisees’ initial cash position coupled with our financing produces a winning combination."
Why they’re different: Flexibility and support. ColorTyme provides the "room" for the franchisees to operate, as their sign says, a "Hometown ColorTyme Store." That, combined with a 100% franchisee support focus from the headquarters provides ColorTyme franchisees with the greatest potential for success.
What they’ll do for you: "A lot", according to Landry, citing things that the company can help with, such as purchasing, accounting, payroll processing, legal assistance and human resources. They’ll help out with 100 percent inventory financing and store opening assistance, including the installation of everything. Training for the franchisee and their managers is state-of-the-art. ColorTyme has huge buying power. "We provide our franchisees with pricing they simply could not achieve on their own or through the buying groups. We have a complete franchise program," says Landry.
License master franchise rights: No, but will offer Multi-unit store development areas.
Selling primary multiple store location agreements: Yes
Selling franchise agreements for just one store: Yes
Active franchisee advisory board: Yes. It has 10 members; with franchise members that have from one to 40 stores. The FAC also acts as the approval body for advertising fund expenditures. Members are elected for two-year cycles, with about half of the council rotating in/out every year.
Net worth of candidate: At least $350,000.
Franchise fees: $20,000 for the first store, $15,000 for the second store and third through fifth stores are $7,500. Conversions of existing RTO stores receive a 50 percent discount on franchise fees. A big plus is the franchisee does not have to contract up-front for the multiple units to get the discounts.
Royalties: 4 percent
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ColorTyme Rent-To-Own
2012 APRO Convention and Trade Show July 24-26, Memphis, TN
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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 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 March-April 2012.
A New Rent-to-Own Experience by Neil Ferguson Here’s the lowdown on APRO’s 2012 Convention and Trade Show, July 24-26 in Memphis. The RTO industry’s big event will offer many valuable experiences, including insights on how to turn your stores into “experiences”–the good kind for consumers
Who Is Your Competition? by Bill Keese In order to expand your customer base, you can learn a lot by observing your competitors. But first, you need to figure out just who they are. If you think your only competition is the rent-to-own store down the street, you’re not considering the bigger picture. APRO’s executive director offers a big-picture perspective.
A Review of Online Customer Complaints by Ed Winn III While rent-to-own companies have not cornered the market on negative reviews posted on consumer complaint websites, it’s no surprise that there are cyberspace beefs against RTO. APRO’s general counsel reviews some of them in search of a pattern and he considers appropriate response to online complaints.
Rent-to-Own Families, Part VIII by Kristen Card Our series of family-run rent-to-own businesses continues with profiles of the Homeiers in Kansas and two Texas-based sets of kindred colleagues, the Spangles and the Weisblatts.
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 |