Rent-to-Own

By APRO Executive Director Bill Keese,

APRO’s 30th anniversary party in Louisville is behind us. For all of you who were there, I know you learned a lot, enjoyed the venue and are now back home with a renewed excitement about rent-to-own.

Our seminars at the event were packed and attendees were inspired. The exhibit hall offered many new and enticing products and more than $12 million in purchases were made in a day and a half. The parties provided a chance to renew longtime friendships and meet new rental dealers. And the Louisville show was a reunion, where former rental dealers and industry leaders came to celebrate 30 years of success for the rent-to-own industry. Thanks to all who attended.

For those who weren’t able to attend, I hope you get a sense of the festivities in this issue of RTOHQ: The Magazine. The host city for APRO’s 2011 Rent-to-Own Convention and Trade Show is Little Rock, Arkansas, and the host hotel is the famed Peabody. We’ll see you there! Remember, APRO’s convention is the only opportunity in our industry where everyone can unite to enhance all aspects of rent-to-own.

In addition to recapping the celebration in Louisville, this issue also features a profile of the APRO staff. Last fall, your board of directors asked that we highlight the nine tenured professionals—with a combined 153 years experience—who work together on your behalf in Austin, Texas. Some of us were more willing than others to divulge rather personal information to Kristen Card, who wrote the staff profiles. You might not know it, but there are some shy people at APRO’s HQ. Kristen was able to get at least a morsel of information out of each staffer and I hope you learn something new upon reading the article.

Also in this issue, we honor both the 2010 Rent-to-Own Customer of the Year and the Rent-to-Own Employee of the Year. Let us never forget that the most important people in our industry are our customers. We better serve them when all rent-to-own professionals excel with outstanding service in our stores and our communities. During the next 12 months leading up to APRO’s 2011 Convention and Trade Show, please make a point of letting us know about your special customers and rent-to-own employees.

I want to thank Tiger John Cleek, his wife, Ann, and son and daughter-in-law, Johnny and Heather, for their service. Over the past two years, Tiger served with honor and great distinction as your president. As many of you know, he is a wonderful family man. I thank his entire family because Ann, Johnny and Heather attended almost as many meetings and rent-to-own get-togethers as did Tiger during his tenure as president.

It’s also remarkable that, for the first time in APRO’s history, a father/son combination served as president of the national association and a state association—the Missouri Rental Dealers Association—simultaneously. Thank you both for your service to our industry.

According to a recent Associated Press article, the EPA issued a warning regarding the use of certain chemicals to fight the increasing bedbug problem in America. Bedbug infestations have not been this high since the 1950s.

Many states where the bedbug infestations have become serious problems have petitioned the EPA to approve the indoor use of Propoxur pesticide. But the EPA rejected its use because the agency considers the pesticide to be a carcinogen and was banned for indoor use in 2007. Authorities also have blamed outdoor chemicals such as Propoxur as causing house fires.

Curt Banigan (Whirlpool) with Frantz Coulanges, Aubre sadler and Dan Singh of Dial Rent to Own.

Day two of the popular TRIB Group ‘Meeting of the Minds’ wrapped Tuesday with a focus on leadership, training and recruiting followed by a full blown buying show co-located with retail buying group BrandSource at Bally’s Las Vegas.

This year’s ‘Meeting of the Minds’ was TRIB’s largest ever, attracting some 200 attendees representing 73 rental companies — a 60 percent member company increase and a 90 percent attendee increase over last year’s attendance figures.

See photos.

Dealers flooded the buying show floor and 62 TRIB approved vendors later in the afternoon and TRIB Group President Lyn Leach said the buy show brought the "Meeting of the Minds’ event to a new level of visibility to its members.

"The timing of this show is absolutely perfect because people are coming in with strong needs," Leach said. "Vendors are reporting excellent sales traffic. There are no tire kickers here; people are buying. The show has exposed a lot of people to the ‘Meeting of the Minds’ who haven’t made it before."

Prior to the opening of the buying show, Trent Agin, David Keen and Mark Williams of Rent One led a provocative discussion of leadership, training, mentorship and recruiting with a special emphasis on managerial assessments.

"You hire someone for their skills, experience and aptitude, but you fire someone for their behaviors," said Rent One President Trent Agin. "So it really counts to take behavioral assessments into account."

The TRIB Group Hotshow, Monday, tallied upwards of $5 million in under two hours.

Bringing together adoptive families, caregivers and members from across the panhandle, the Foster Adoptive Parent Association recently concluded its annual conference in Destin, Fla. ColorTyme Franchisee Richard Pannell showed his support for the organization by donating a laptop computer for the event’s raffle giveaway.

“The Foster Adoptive Parent Association encourages parents to be there for their kids,” said Pannell.  “The organization’s commitment to children, their safety and well-being truly inspires me, so I’m happy to help in any way I can.”

The 2010 conference gathered regional FAPA associations from three circuits that comprise the North West Foster Adoptive Parent Association. Together, these groups strengthen foster and adoptive families through support, training and advocacy. 

Curtis Byrd, president of the North Okaloosa Walton Foster Adoptive Parent Association, was pleased with the conference turnout and grateful for Pannell’s donation.

“This is the third year that we’ve held the conference, and our meeting was a huge success,” said Byrd. “I think everyone had fun with the raffle, and it brought in extra funds for our mission. Donations like Mr. Pannell’s make it possible for us to continue our work and give back to those who support us.”

The winner of the donated laptop was Kimberly Hernandez, president of the Florida State Foster Adoptive Parent Association.

In challenging economic times when many companies are reducing or curtailing community service initiatives, Rent-A-Center (RAC) is donating $250,000 to food banks across the country in September, national Hunger Action Month. This is part of the national Rent-A-Center Soup to Nuts campaign, designed to help food pantries across the nation continue to meet the increasing demand for their services.

Regional food banks receiving $20,000 donations are located in major cities including Atlanta, Lexington, Ky., Kansas City, Mo., Pittsburgh, Shoreline, Wash., (near Seattle), Phoenix, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C. The North Texas Food Bank, located near Rent-A-Center headquarters, received $50,000.

Also during the RAC Soup to Nuts campaign, all 3,000 stores will act as collection points for cans of soup, jars of peanut butter and other canned goods to help local food relief partners such as senior centers, homeless shelters, daycare centers and/or churches.

Food insecurity is defined as a family being uncertain of having, or being unable to acquire, enough food for all household members because they have insufficient money and other resources for food.

According to the latest available statistics from the USDA, 49.1 million people live in food-insecure households, including 16.7 million children. Some other staggering statistics include:

    •    98% have worried that their food would run out before they got money to buy more.
    •    96% report that the food they bought just did not last and they did not have money to get more.
    •    97% say an adult cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there was not enough money for food.
    •    66% of respondents report that they had been hungry but did not eat because they could not afford enough food.

"In the midst of this economic downturn, it is critical that we continue our commitment to supporting the communities where our co-workers and customers live through the outstanding work of food banks," said Mitch Fadel, president and COO of Rent-A-Center. "This effort enables our co-workers to be engaged in a meaningful and important way in supporting our neighbors and our community."

Through national and local partnerships, hunger relief has been an area of involvement for Rent-A-Center since 2002.

Rent-n-Roll Custom Wheels and Tires out of Pascagoula, MS was named Inc. 5000’s list of growing businesses according to GulfLive.com. The business is part of the Baber’s Rent to Own chain owned by Shannon and Cynthia Baber-Strunk. The Rent-n-Roll franchise stores which span the southeast were named amongst eight other MS companies. According to Inc., the Pascagoula-based Rent-n-Roll franchise saw revenue grow from $1.2 million in 2006 to $4.8 million in 2009, a rise of 281 percent and has grown from four to 10 stores in the last two years.

TRIB Boardmember Shannon Strunk (l) takes an order from Premier dealer Wally Landmesser (#28) while Tony Battaglia of Blue Ribbon Rentals looks on at TRIB’s Hotshow auction Monday.

Close to 200 rent to own operators are in Las Vegas this week for TRIB Group’s annual ‘Meeting of the Minds’ — a one of a kind RTO brainstorming and educational event –  that kicked off today at Bally’s Las Vegas with a day long series of dealer-led information and training sessions that have become staples for today’s independent RTO operator.

The event is co-located with Brand’s Source’s National Convention at the Paris/Bally’s Resorts in Las Vegas August 29 – Sept. 1.

TRIB Group Executive Director Dennis Shields reported attendance at the ‘Meeting of the Minds’ is up significantly over last year with close to 200 registered attendees representing 73 member companies. That represents a 60 percent member company increase and a 90 percent attendee increase.

Mike Tissot of Countryside Rent to Own opened ‘Meeting of the MInds 2010′  to a packed house leading a two hour discussion dedicated to renting and collecting including promos, contests, pricing, calling, hard accounts, and legal issues.

The second roundtable focused on generating new business including online sales, fee collection, new products and pakaging led by Seth Weisblatt of Sam’s Appliace and Furniture.

Other topics included "cutting costs and improving gross margins" led by Terry Beville of Buddy’s Home Furnishings and "human resources" led by Trent Agin of Rent One.

The day rounded out with the TRIB Group Hotshow which generated just over $4 million in sales of specially priced items offered by participating TRIB Group member vendors.

Al Benson of Central File Marketing — a first year participant in the Hotshow — said the fast paced rent to own micro-show was a great opportunity to build name recognition among rental dealers. Benson and Central File sold 100,000 direct mail promo packages in under a minute at the show.

"It’s fun to be able to sell our services here, but its really more important to show our support for the show and for TRIB," Benson said. "We generated a lot of interest here and hope that spills over onto the show floor tomorrow." The TRIB Buy show opens Tuesday at 12:30 at Bally’s and runs through Wednesday.

Brownie Calvin, who operates three Option Rentals stores, said the excitement was especially evident at the Hotshow.

"People get really worked up and you can feel the excitement," Calvin said. "It’s fun to get caught up in it and the vendors who really brought out there best deals you can tell because they sold out. Those who didn’t didn’t. But it’s all part of the show and part of building vendor dealer relationships and that’s something TRIB is really good at."

See photo gallery.

APRO Executive Director Bill Keese leads an RTO industry update Tuesday Aug. 31.

Online news magazine, the Daily Beast recently published its list of America’s top 10 "Most Bedbug Infested Cities" with Ohio cities claiming three spots on the list.

The list is as follows:

1. Cincinati, Ohio:

"David Ralph Hoffman, owner of Merlin’s Pest Control, says if you don’t know someone who has had a bedbug problem, you don’t live in Cincinnati," the Daily Beast reports. "At Merlin’s they rate their horror stories on a scale of 1 to 10. The worst was an apartment occupied by someone who bragged about the last time he’d had a bath (not recently). The apartment was also occupied by about 100,000 bedbugs, Hoffman says, kept in check only by an equal number of German cockroaches.

2. Columbus, Ohio

3. Chicago, Illinois

4. Denver, Colorado

5. Detroit, Michigan

6. Washington, D.C.

William McCrae, APRO (Association of Progressive Renal Organizations) board-member and president of Buzz’s Lease Purchase and Sales, received Beltone’s prestigious President’s Cup Award at the company’s annual convention in Chicago this summer.

Chicago-based Beltone is one of the largest manufacturers of hearing aids. McCrae has been a Beltone hearing care practitioner since 1989, and operates nine audiology and hearing aid clinics in South Central Texas.

The Beltone President’s Cup is awarded annually to hearing care practitioners who demonstrate exceptional patient care, community involvement and professional business practices.

"I’m proud to receive the President’s Cup Award and appreciate that Beltone recognizes the value we place in our patients and the integrity of our practice," McCrae said. "We got lucky enough to be recognized for working hard. It’s been a lot of fun."

McCrae currently serves as president of the Texas Association of Rental Agencies, a nationally lauded rent to own state trade group and, nationally, is a member of the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations. He also serves as president of the Texas Hearing Aid Association and is a member of the International Hearing Society.

"This award recognizes those practitioners whose professionalism and care go well beyond their office and into the community," said Beltone President Todd Murray in a press release. "William’s leadership and dedication to local hearing care associations and community organizations are great examples of his efforts to support the community."

McCrae was previously awarded the Texas Hearing Aid Association’s Texas Dispenser of the Year in 2009 and is a two-time recipient of the Beltone Southwest Regional Excellence Award. He is active in his community as a supporter of the San Antonio Symphony and the San Antonio Senior Olympics.

He is a third generation Beltone dispenser.

McCrae and his partners started Buzz’s Lease Purchase and Sales in 2001. He has stores in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Louisiana.

TRIB Group’s signature Meeting of the Minds event begins next week and promises cutting edge dealer-led information and training sessions sure to resonate with today’s independent RTO operator.

The event will be co-located with Brand’s Source’s National Convention at the Paris/Bally’s Resorts in Las Vegas August 29 – Sept. 1.

The tentative schedule begins with two hours dedicated to renting and collecting including promos, contests, pricing, calling, hard accounts, and legal issues led by Mike Tissot of Countryside Rent to Own.

The second roundtable focuses on New Business including online sales, fee collection, new products and pakaging led by Seth Weisblatt of Sam’s Appliace and Furniture.

Other topics include "cutting costs and improving gross margins" led by Terry Beville of Buddy’s Home Furnishings and "human resources" led by Trent Agin of Rent One.

David Huerta leads a discussion on the impact of the Health Care Bill on small business.

APRO Executive Director Bill Keese leads an RTO industry update Tuesday Aug. 31.

Currently, 69 member companies and three guest companies are slated to attend the event, with over 190 total attendees. A full, downloadable copy of the event agenda and schedule of topics can be found at www.tribgroup.com.