Rent-to-own franchises – Aaron’s
Aaron’s Sales and Lease Ownership
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.