Rent-to-Own

By Murlin Evans

Not many rental dealer associations can boast of doubling their representation area in less than a year.

But most aren’t like the Northwest Rental Dealers Association.

Between 25 and 30 rent-to-own dealers, employees and vendors representing four states are expected to turn out for the first annual Northwest Rental Dealers Association membership meeting February 7 in Kennewick, Washington.

Joe Recla, NW Rental Dealers Association President, and James MacAlpine of RentDirect Nationwide,  join an expected 30 attendees at the association’s first annual membership meeting February 7.

Formed originally as a merger between the Oregon Rental Dealers Association and the Washington Rental Dealers Association last summer, Idaho joined shortly thereafter with Montana requesting membership as the fourth state in October 2007.

Political activism will be the primary focus of the meeting, according to association president, Joe Recla, who is also co-owner of five Your Rental-Purchase Stores, one corporate rental and one Rent-n-Roll store.

"We will begin talking about hiring a lobbyist from each of the states to keep an eye on the legislature in those states," Recla said. "We’re going finish up our re-organization, decide on bylaws and dues and just keep moving and keep talking."

Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., attendees will hear an update on the APRO Dave Egan Legislative conference scheduled February 11-13, presentations on lobbying cost options and a customer service training titled "Running With Scissors" lead by Dr. Larry Helms.

James MacAlpine of RentDirect Nationwide will also speak on the benefits of membership in the RentDirect buying group. RentDirect Nationwide was a generous sponsor of this year’s membership meeting.

For more information on the Northwest Rental Dealers Association, call Recla at 208/739/3410.

By Murlin Evans
 

127 dealers, employees and vendors turned out for the annual Missouri Rental Dealers Association (MRDA) annual membership meeting February 6 in Columbia, Missouri, making this year’s meeting the largest in the association’s history.

Store level professionalism, personal growth and legislative issues dominated the meeting which kicked off with opening remarks from

Salesman Bryan Dodge pitched goal setting as a means to personal growth at the recent annual MRDA membership meeting.

MRDA President John Cleek Jr. Cleek displayed a plaque awarded by the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO) naming MRDA the state association of the year in 2007. Cleek also urged members to contribute to the association’s political action committee.

APRO Executive Director Bill Keese stressed the important role played by store level personnel in shaping the public image of the rent-to-own industry. Keese said the professionalism displayed in store level interactions would translate into a more positive perception of the industry at both the state and federal level.

"The efforts of store personnel to help millions of customers achieve the American Dream is a message we will take to the U.S. Congress," Keese said.

Keese also updated MRDA members on the upcoming APRO legislative conference February 11-13 in which 126 rent-to-own industry members have signed up to attend. The rent-to-own bills currently active are S 1012 in the Senate—sponsored by Senator Mary Landrieu—and HR 1767 in the House of Representatives—sponsored by William Lacy Clay.

Salesman Bryan Dodge closed out the morning portion of the program with a pitch for personal growth centered on goal setting and getting outside of oneself. Dodge told the audience the top two reasons people do not set goals are both the fear of failure and the fear of success.

The MRDA annual business meeting will round out the seminar ending at 3:15 p.m. followed by a meeting of the board in which all MRDA members are welcome to attend.
 

Boosting membership and participation in the state’s annual trade show top MRDA President John Cleek Jr.’s list of goals he plans to share with fellow rent-to-own dealers at MRDA’s annual membership meeting.

The meeting is scheduled to begin with a vendors-only breakfast at 7:45 a.m. February 6 at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri.

So far, around 130 dealers, employees and vendors are registered for the event, which represents a portion of MRDA’s 19 members-companies. MRDA members operate 182 stores in the Missouri area.

Despite hosting a record breaking regional tradeshow last June that drew over 171 dealers, 52 vendor companies and over $600,000 worth of purchase orders, Cleek is convinced MRSA can draw more dealers next year.

Cleek, who co-owns Cleek’s Lease or Own with his father, John “Tiger” Cleek, also hopes to boost membership to 30 companies.

“The main thing we need to improve on is we’ve got to get more companies to these shows,” Cleek Jr. says. “My goal as president is I want every rent-to-own dealer in Missouri to be a member of MRDA, then we want to get them active.”

Cleek will open the general meeting at 9 a.m. followed by Association of Progressive Rental    Organizations Executive Director Bill Keese, who will present a legislative update on the future of rent-to-own.

Author and motivational speaker Bryan Dodge will present the keynote address on “Taking Ownership of Leadership of Your Own Life” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. An update from lobbyist  Jim Durham and the MRDA annual business meeting will round out the seminar ending at 3:15 p.m.

All Missouri rent-to-own dealers are invited to attend the meeting regardless of membership in MRDA. Non-members will be charged $50 for the seminar, which can be applied toward annual membership fees.

“We compete but we’re very open about our strategies, we try to help each other,” Cleek says. “We’re in a unique business, we work hard, we play hard and have a lot of fun with it.”

For more information or to register, call 573/442-2963.
 

By Richard May

Aaron’s franchisee Charles Smithgall embraced the holiday spirit by donating a house full of home furnishings to the company’s most deserving customer among its 61 SEI/Aaron’s franchise stores. Aracelis Liciaga and her family of five were the lucky recipients after Aaron’s poured through the many nominations for the charitable gift. Two other families were also recipients of Aaron’s holiday spirit—one received a free computer and the other a sofa and love seat. But it was the Liciaga family of Hartford, Connecticut, who received the grand donation of a house full of furnishings.

“It was the right thing to do,” says SEI Operations Director Dave Edwards. “We wanted to help one of our customers who not only deserved it, but needed it.”

The Liciaga family was recently devastated by smoke damage from an electrical fire that destroyed all of their home furnishings. Until Christmas Eve, they had an empty house with a few donations of clothing and kitchen items donated by friends. But the empty house quickly filled when Aaron’s delivered a holiday miracle that the Liciagas had no idea was coming. The story caught the attention of the Hartford Fox News affiliate, which featured the story on Christmas Eve, showing the family’s excitement and gratitude for such a charitable gift. Edwards and Aaron’s were featured prominently in the lengthy television news story.

While Smithgall and Edwards plan on donating annually because “it’s the right thing to do,” they and many other RTO dealers like them may not know that such donations are also significant in improving the rent-to-own image. Studies show that 42 percent of potential rent-to-own customers are more likely to consider rent-to-own if they know the company is involved in a local charity or donates to a charitable cause.

The Texas Legislature broadened its scope of what type of businesses would be subject to its new "margin tax" (formerly known as the franchise tax) in 2008, which may cause smaller rent-to-own dealers financial hardship, says Aaron’s owner Robert Briley of Abilene, Texas. In early 2007, the Texas Legislature increased the state’s "franchise" tax in order to procure lower property taxes for homeowners. In addition to broadening the scope of the businesses that are to be taxed next year, the Legislature also changed its calculations on how it would tax these businesses, says Briley. "We’re predicting that our tax rate is going to go from $2,000 to $40,000," he says.

"The tax used to be based on your retained earnings, but now it is calculated on your revenues." Briley says that the additional tax may make it a little less profitable to stay in business. "One thing that it could do is cause smaller dealers who are not highly profitable to sell out by making it a little less profitable to stay in business," he says. Briley and the Texas Association of Rental Agencies have been working with Texas legislators on a depreciation exception to the tax. Read more about the tax and how it is calculated here.

Chris Bolin of Bolin Rental Purchase is calling all Kentucky rent-to-own dealers to attend a state rental dealer reorganization meeting on January 16, 2008, in Louisville. GE Consumer & Industrial and TRIB are generously sponsoring this reorganization gathering. The meeting will be held at the luxurious 21C Museum Hotel and the room rate for Kentucky rental dealers is only $139. The deadline to reserve a room is December 26, 2007, so call the 21C Museum Hotel at 877/217-6400 or 502/217-6300. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. and KRDA officers will be nominated. After lunch, attendees will discuss dues structure, a date for the next meeting and, most importantly, attendees will provide the new board directions and ideas. For more information, please contact Chris Bolin via e-mail or by phone at 931/647-1136.

Representative Tim Holden of Pennsylvania signed on as the 62nd co-sponsor to the industry’s House bill, H.R. 1767, the Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act, on December 6. A "blue dog conservative Democrat," Holden serves Pennsylvania’s 17th congressional district and has served his constituents for eight terms. Holden has been a member of the Agriculture Committee since 1993 and was recently appointed Vice Chairman of the House Agriculture committee in the 110th Congress.

He was also selected to serve as the Chairman of the Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research, and continues to serve on the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee.In the 105th Congress, Holden was appointed to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Holden also serves on the Transportation Subcommittees on Highways and Transit and Aviation.

High Touch, a Wichita, Kansas-based provider of technology solutions, finalized a lease today to move its 100-plus person staff in its Wichita corporate headquarters to a 10-story building located at 110 S. Main in downtown Wichita. High Touch CEO Wayne Chambers says preparations will begin immediately as renovations begin and the company prepares to relocate from its current offices. “Our decision to relocate downtown is a vote of confidence for Wichita’s core,” said Chambers. “With the ongoing development of the Waterwalk, Old Town, Delano and the Arena, we believe downtown Wichita is on its way to becoming a vital and progressive environment for business, culture and living.”

Renovations will begin in December and a spring relocation is anticipated, according to High Touch Director of Corporate Technology and Facilities Kevin Colborn. Colborn says the company will move from 30,000 square feet into approximately 35,000 square feet on four floors. As the anchor tenant, High Touch will have naming rights on the building. “It is our expectation that downtown Wichita will evolve dramatically over the next several years and once again be a great place to work, live, shop and experience the culture of our city. As a homegrown Wichita business, we are proud to make this commitment to downtown growth,” says Chambers.

Members of the Oklahoma Rental Dealers Association held their annual meeting November 13 in Tulsa to elect new officers and share information. ORDA President Randy Braucher of Stanley’s Get It Today reports that rental dealers in the state face few obstacles in doing business, which was verified by ORDA Lobbyist Steve Kelly and Department of Consumer Credit Examiner Curt Daniels. "In Oklahoma, rent-to-own stores are required to undergo an annual audit by the Department of Consumer Credit—along with other industries such as pawnshops, mortgage brokers, etc.—and Curt Daniels reported that rent-to-own stores have by far the least numbers of issues or complaints than the other industries they audit," says Braucher.

And ORDA Lobbyist Steve Kelly reported that there weren’t any negative issues facing the state rent-to-own industry floating around the state legislature these days, either. "Overall, it was a great meeting," says Braucher. "What our members enjoy the most is the open discussion time where we all share information about issues we face in our day-to-day operations. Some of the things that came up were the audits, the new flammability bedding law, operating issues and bed bugs." ORDA re-elected Braucher to serve as president, Rob Lewis of Rent-A-Center as vice president, Dale Frederick of Bargain Center as secretary and Craig Stanley of Stanley’s Get It Today as treasurer. Five vendors were on hand for brief presentations after lunch, including High Touch, DSI, C&L Supply, Alamo EHP and RentDirect Nationwide. Nationwide generously sponsored the meeting.

U.S. Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), a member of the House Financial Services Committee and the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, visited the new Aaron’s franchise location in Abilene, Texas, owned by Robert O. Briley on November 10. Neugebauer is a co-sponsor to the industry supported federal legislation, H.R. 1767. Congressman Neugebauer was interested in learning more about leasing appliances, computers, electronics and furniture. Briley explained to Neugebauer about all of the advantages of the many options offered by the rental/lease transaction.

Briley gave an example of a customer leasing a laptop computer for $99 a month for a term of 12 months. The first option the customer has is only committing to the initial term of one month and returning it if he or she decides not to renew the agreement without penalty. Secondly, the customer has a 90-day-same-as-cash option inside the agreement. Third, the customer who returns the merchandise qualifies for the Aaron’s Lifetime Reinstatement program. So, if the customer leases for five months and returns the computer, he can reinstate the agreement with a similar laptop and only pay seven more monthly payments to acquire ownership. The congressman enjoyed his visit and he was excited about his better understanding of our industry.