Rent-to-Own

Most Americans have felt the pinch of a tough economy, but for young adults, these unstable times mean long-lasting, life-altering changes, a Pew Research Center survey suggests today.

Kettering University students make plans to talk with representatives of companies they would like to work during the Kettering job fair. Overall, Pew found that 41% believe young adults, rather than the middle-aged or older, are having the toughest time because of the economy.

Kettering University students make plans to talk with representatives of companies they would like to work during the Kettering job fair. Overall, Pew found that 41% believe young adults, rather than the middle-aged or older, are having the toughest time because of the economy.

Kettering University students make plans to talk with representatives of companies they would like to work during the Kettering job fair. Overall, Pew found that 41% believe young adults, rather than the middle-aged or older, are having the toughest time because of the economy.

Pew’s survey spells out just how much 18- to 34-year-olds have had to adjust. Almost half have taken a job just to pay the bills; almost a quarter have worked without pay to get experience; and more than a third went back to school because they couldn’t find employment.

But the job front is just the beginning. The survey also finds that the poor economy is leaving a mark on young people’s personal lives that is changing their futures. Almost one-third say they’ve delayed marriage or a baby because of the weak economy, and almost a quarter moved back home with their parents.

The Pew survey also found that just 30% of those ages 18-34 who have a job consider it a career. Among all ages surveyed, most believe young adults today have a harder time than their parents did:

•82% say it’s harder to find a job.

•75% say it’s harder to save for the future.

•71% say it’s harder to pay for college.

•69% say it’s harder to buy a home.

Two additional RTO industry scholarship checks are headed to APRO Scholarship recipients, Tyler Heck and Robert Sonnenfelt who finished the fall semester with a 3.0 grade point average or better.

College bound rental industry family members were awarded $30,000 from the APRO Education Foundation last year. Recipients earned half of their scholarships immediately with the second half pending on their academic performance in the fall semester.

About the winners:

Tyler Heck, Clinton, NY
Union College: Schenectady, NY
APRO Sponsor: Greg Heck, Great Rentals, Utica, NY

$2,000 Scholarship Winner

Heck spent his life working at his father’s Great Rentals rent-to-own stores in Utica and Rome, NY. He has seen firsthand the power of rent-to-own to give American consumers “the opportunity to make the unaffordable affordable”. He maintains a 3.95 GPA while starting for the Division III College Baseball team.

Robert Sonnenfelt, Valmeyer, IL
St. Louis University: St. Louis, MO
APRO Sponsor: Paul Sonnenfelt, Aaron’s, Afton, MO.

$1,500 Scholarship Winner

Sonnenfelt is a sophomore at St. Louis University pursuing a degree in Political Science. He spent his High School years as a member of the Model United Nations, varsity soccer and the National Honor Society. He continues his political involvement at SLU as an active member of the College Republicans and the Student Conduct Board.

High Touch Technologies and Asset Protection Products, LLC today announced a joint venture that will be called  Product Assurance Management (PAM).

PAM was formed to address the urgent need of operators and franchisees in the rent-to-own market to track, geo-locate, disable, restore, and update computing devices of all types, including smart phones, tablets, net books, laptops, and desktops running a variety of operating systems including Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, Android, and iOS.

The application features point & click administration of assets, and the backup and restore functionality reduces time spent on support and redeployment of assets.

The initial product launch by Product Asset Management is scheduled for February 26, 2012. PAM will also be providing software demonstrations in booth #1703 at the 2012 annual TRIB Group Convention in Orlando, Florida Feb. 27-29, 2012.

The joint venture brings together the initial application development by Asset Protection Products, with the power of distribution and support provided by High Touch.

"We took the development of the product as far as we could as a start-up," said Sal Moccia, Managing Member of Asset Protection Products. "We need the experience of the leader in the RTO Software industry to take this to the next level," he added.

“We are pleased to partner with APP and continue the development and support of a quality product. PC Intelligence is a meaningful broad software application to protect valuable assets, not only in the RTO market but other markets as well," said Wayne Chambers, Chief Executive Officer of High Touch, Inc.

High Touch Technologies is an employee-owned company that provides technology solutions to small and mid-size businesses. Based in Wichita, Kan., with offices in Dallas, Denver, Kansas City and Corpus Christi, High Touch serves business clients with hardware and software services, website and Internet services, and network security solutions.

For more High Touch information, visit www.hightouchinc.com.
 

Aaron’s will hold a conference call this Friday to discuss the company’s Q4 2011 annual report at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

There will be opening remarks and then questions and answers with Chairman Charlie Loudermilk, interim President/CEO Ron Allen, COO Ken Butler, and Executive Vice President/CFO Gil Danielson.

Dial 1-800-357-0498 a few minutes before the scheduled time of 10:00 a.m. EST and provide the following conference ID number: 23831.  For international participants the number is 1-850-429-1388.

If you cannot join in on February 10th, a replay will be available that day until Saturday, March 3rd.  For a replay, dial 1-866-415-9491 and enter the conference ID number 23831 or access the replay in the investor relations section on our website at www.aaronsinc.com.

Serta is pleased to announce the launch of the Nickelodeon mattress collection designed for kids to the Rent to Own Industry. All Serta mattresses sold in America are Made in America in Serta plants across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

Nickelodeon and Serta have teamed up to create mattresses that will make going to bed fun for kids while providing advanced comfort and support features, designed especially for growing bodies and active minds.

This exciting new Nickelodeon Mattress Collection for Kids is available in both twin and full bed sizes.  Serta offers both traditional innerspring mattresses and Memory Foam mattresses, with the quality you expect from bedding brand leader, Serta. 

Choose a kids mattress with a fun, colorful cover featuring the likenesses of Nickelodeon’s most popular cartoon characters- Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go! and SpongeBob SquarePants. Now kids will want to fall asleep – and stay asleep – in his or her own bed every night thanks to these beloved characters.

"We are excited to be able to offer the Nickelodeon Collection to our Serta Rent to Own dealers," said Serta’s Jamee Thompson. "The Nickelodeon Collection has been a success with Serta’s national retailers and we expect it to be a big hit with Rent to Own."

Contact Jamee Thompson at 405/348-2825 for more details.
 

Michael Landry, new ColorTyme VP of franchise sales.

Chain adds new VP-level position as part of aggressive growth plan
 
Michael Landry has joined the ColorTyme organization as vice president of franchise sales. During the 2012 ColorTyme National Convention last week, CEO Cathy Skula announced an aggressive new growth plan and the company’s search to fill a brand new VP-level position, strategic to the plan’s execution.

“I am happy to say that the search is over. Mr. Landry has the perfect background and track record for this new position,” said Skula. ”He shares our vision for growth and has the necessary experience to make it happen. We are happy to welcome him to the ColorTyme family.”
 
Formerly the director of franchise development for CiCi’s Pizza and also having served Planet Beach Franchising in the same capacity, Landry brings over six years of franchise sales development to his new role at ColorTyme.
 
“With ColorTyme’s new lower franchise and royalty fees, combined with Rent-A-Center’s financial commitment to this growth plan, we have a winning formula for growth,” said Landry. “It’s an exciting proposition, and I am honored and challenged by my new position with ColorTyme.”
 
The oldest rent-to-own chain in America, ColorTyme has an aggressive short and long-term growth plan. For more information on owning a ColorTyme franchise, visit http://franchise.colortyme.com.

Wichita-based High Touch recently closed on the acquisitions of sister businesses in Dallas, UniComData and Dallas Data Center. That followed the Jan. 1 purchase of NewBase LLC, a small web-development company in Wichita.

The acquisitions help High Touch further expand its regional presence and its services.

In 2011, High Touch bought Attain Technologies LLC in Denver. That followed a 2010 purchase of Kansas City-based IT Pros Corp, according to the Wichita Business Journal.

High Touch now has offices in Wichita, Kansas City, Denver, Dallas and Corpus Christi, Texas.

High Touch President Wayne Chambers says by buying UniComData and Dallas Data Center, High Touch is able to offer more data-center management services, such as off-site server storage. The deal, he says, also gives High Touch a larger presence in the Dallas market to serve an existing client base as well as reach new customers among small- and medium-sized businesses.

High Touch also plans to incorporate more web-development services with its purchase of NewBase.

With the deals, High Touch has added 21 employees. The company now has 185 full-time employees and 20 to 25 contractors.

Chambers says High Touch is in the process of fully assimilating employees from the acquired businesses into its operations. UniComData owner Tim Freeze becomes the division vice president for High touch’s Dallas operations with the close of the purchase.

In UniComData, High Touch gets an established company that has been in business in the Dallas area for 22 years and has three data centers there.

Freeze says he saw opportunities to provide complementary services by aligning with High Touch.

High Touch’s purchases are not the only recent example of a technology company expanding its services through acquisition.

On Tuesday, Cybertron International Inc. in Wichita purchased another local company, The Bill Guy Technology Solutions, to expand its managed-services division, CybertronIT.

Bill Guy owner Bill Ramsey, who is now a part owner of Cybertron and its chief technology officer, says technology companies use mergers and acquisitions to quickly expand their presence, often nationally, rather than growing organically.

He says joining with Cybertron allowed him to substantially expand his company’s book of business with national clients, something that could have otherwise taken years to do.

Nathaniel Giannandrea

For a third year in a row, Providence ColorTyme franchisee Al Coelho is partnering with a patient at Children’s Hospital Boston to raise money and awareness for the hospital.
 
Going the extra mile on April 16, Coelho will dedicate his 26-mile run of the Boston Marathon to the family of Nathaniel Giannandrea, a patient of Children’s Hospital Boston since the age of nine days old.

“There are many mutations of CF, so there are many people like Nathaniel who will suffer and require constant care for many years,” said Coelho. “Please support us in helping Children’s Hospital Boston in treating Nathaniel and the thousands of children they treat each year that have chronic illnesses.”

Coelho is hoping to raise $20,000 this year for the hospital.

Nathaniel’s mom, Lia, learned that her son had cystic fibrosis when he was seven days old. Now two and a half years old, Nathaniel is no stranger to Children’s Hospital Boston, as it has played an enormous role in his care, says Lia.
 
“Children’s has always been fantastic to us,” said Giannandrea. “We live more than two hours away and they always schedule all his doctor appointments on the same day, back to back, so we don’t have to make so many trips. They are wonderful, and we want to do whatever we can to help and give back to them.”
 
CF is a recessive genetic disease affecting the lungs most critically, as well as the pancreas, liver, and intestine. It is characterized by abnormal transport of chloride and sodium across epithelium, which leads to thick, viscous secretions. There are approximately 1000 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year.

Technically a rare disease, cystic fibrosis is ranked as one of the most widespread life-shortening genetic diseases. In 1959, the median age of survival of children with cystic fibrosis in the U.S. was six months; now, with constant care and treatment it is 37.4 years. The Vertex company is working on a cure, however it is not a cure for the CF mutation that Nathaniel carries, Coelho said.
 
To support his cause and donate to Children’s Hospital Boston, please visit http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/page/Albert-Coelho.htm.

Computer and consumer electronics distributor D&H Distributing would like to remind its rent-to-own store owners and dealers to take advantage of upcoming sporting events to gain incremental rental sales.

D&H’s RTO customers can market big ticket items such as large-screen, Internet-connected televisions with supporting merchandise such as 1,000-watt surround sound home theaters and gaming consoles.

As millions of Americans get ready for the Super Bowl on February 5, enthusiasts might like to literally gear-up their living rooms in time for the ultimate Game Day.  The decision to upgrade their home entertainment systems to accommodate the championships could potentially inspire consumers to opt for longer-term rentals.

Wide-screen, high definition and Internet-connected TVs could be an in-demand element for the perfect Super Bowl event, delivering a crisp, high-fidelity picture that’s the next best thing to being on the field — with no weather or travel restrictions.  Similar sales strategies can be applied during March Madness season, when sports fans tend to gather in media rooms across the country for big-screen bashes.

D&H offers LCD, LED and plasma displays with screens anywhere up to 65 inches from Toshiba, Samsung, Panasonic, JVC and other leaders in the field.  Internet-connected displays (or “Smart TVs”) let the consumer surf the web between quarters to dig up stats, search for real-time reviews of the action, find footage from past games, check their email and more.

Dealers can offer popular party items such as sophisticated wine refrigerators; theatre-style popcorn makers; or “Kegerator” beer taps as part of a game-day bundle along with an HDTV.  Or to get fans up and moving before the event, dealers can offer a Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect gaming system, letting arm-chair quarterbacks blow-off some pre-game steam with titles like Kinect Sports Season Two Xbox 360 or MotionSports Adrenaline.

“We try to keep our RTO store owners aware of opportunities to make extra sales,” said John Alifano, director of D&H’s Consumer Products Division.  “With a little clever marketing, they can create a package that might get their consumers leaning toward an upgrade of their electronics and appliances in a way they might not have considered otherwise.  Big sports championships are a way to put those ideas into customers’ heads.  That’s potential new business which might turn into a longer-term contract.”

About D&H Distributing
As the nation’s leading technology distributor, D&H provides a wealth of resources to empower the retail and rent to own dealer, delivering a broad selection of categories, products and applications. 
With an impressive 94-year history, the company prides itself on creating business partnerships with an astute focus on ease-of-doing-business, relationships, value, performance and service.  D&H ships out of five separate locations in North America, including its US headquarters in Harrisburg and its Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario.  Additional US warehouses are in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; and Fresno, CA. Call D&H toll-free at 800/340-1007 or visit www.dandh.com/rto.
 

The Texas Association of Rental Agencies (TARA) today announced it launched a new member communication system – TARA UPDATE. This new system uses the latest server-based technology to provide a powerful email information service designed to keep members continuously updated on the latest association and industry news.

Through this new system, the association can now forward important news and information to all members in a more stable email format, which allows graphics and images to be transmitted faster and easier.

The association will use this new format to send members immediate information on the Texas Legislature, state agencies governing RTO operations such as the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, association meetings and functions, TARA Board actions, and much more. If it affects TARA members, the new TARA UPDATE will send the facts – in a professional format – straight to your inbox.

This is a free service to all persons employed by an association member, so please make certain everyone in your company who wants to receive this new e-communication has their current email address on file with TARA. To do that, just click on Add Additional Subscribers Here.

In the email that follows, please provide the name of the person wishing to subscribe and their email address.

Also, to receive these transmissions properly, we urge all members to make certain your email software is updated to the latest version and your spam filter is set to accept "TARA UPDATE" from "news@taraontheweb.com".

Should you have any difficulty viewing the UPDATE in your inbox, just click on the link at the top of the UPDATE that allows you to view its contents in your web browser. We hope you enjoy this new member service.