 APRO: The Official Voice of the Rent to Own Industry
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Rent-to-own franchises - easyhome
Bud Gates (wegatesrac@aol.com) 8100 E. 22nd St. N., Building 2100-3 Wichita, KS 67226 316/685-3893 www.easyhome.ca
Type of rent-to-own business: Furniture
Company-owned stores: 195
Franchise-owned stores: 1
Expansion plans: The sky is really the limit. The company, based in Toronto, opened 28 new corporate stores across Canada in 2006 and is planning on adding 21 - 24 corporate stores as well as an undetermined number of franchise locations in both Canada and the United States in 2007. Total corporate expansion in 2008 is anticipated to be 20 - 25 new locations.
Type of franchise owner they’re looking for: “Someone who has RTO experience would be welcome and definitely someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit,” says President and CEO David Ingram. Ingram is looking for franchise owners ready to build a multi-store territory as opposed to building it one location at a time.
Why they’re different: Ingram’s company is loaded with experience, but it’s new at the franchising game and he likes that. “When you’re younger and not the biggest company; you can have the sense of urgency and speed to try to be as big as the biggest. I think you can be more nimble and adapt and change without it being a huge expense,” says Ingram. But while the franchising part is new, Ingram stresses, “We are going to be bringing the marketing expertise and creativity, retail background, a rent-to-own background and we have a management team with a history of bringing in double-digit revenue growth and disciplined P&L management.” In addition, the company’s master franchisor in the United States, Bud Gates, has an extensive background both as the former CEO of Rent-A-Center and THORN Americas and as a RTO franchisee. This provides potential franchisees with a wealth of experience to draw upon as well as a potential source of financing.
What they’ll do for you: Training, training and training—in Toronto. And then support, support, support. “We’re really looking for them to execute the business we’ve already built,” says Ingram. “They’ll use our IT system, our HR system, supplier base, marketing tools—we’ll give them pretty much everything to open and be on track from day one.”
License master franchise rights: Yes, Bud Gates has these in the United States
Selling primary multiple store location agreements: Yes
Selling franchise agreements for just one store: No, but they will
Active franchisee advisory board: No, but they will
Net worth of candidate: As we are doing territorial franchises, we will look for a reasonable combined net worth of any group, but the amount will depend on the size and location of the market as well as the development schedule to build out the market. By the time someone nears completion of their development, their first stores will be providing substantial cash flow to help fund development.
Franchise fees: $30,000
Royalties: 3 percent of gross revenue in year one and 5 percent of gross revenue thereafter
Advertising co-op: To be set up
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easyhome | Gates Enterprises |
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 |