Rent-to-Own

Bryce Jewelry rings in the new decade with an innovative bridal program that is a marriage of service and success.

The Bridal Plus package is the latest of Bryce’s creative marketing concepts designed to create a larger customer base with a lower investment. This compact program allows RTO dealers to benefit from a consistent and proven market – the wedding industry – with a lower initial investment than traditional jewelry rental programs.

“The bridal category has great potential and is the most consistent category in the jewelry business. It’s the biggest area for growth in RTO jewelry,” says Bryce Jewelry President Bryan Collins.  “Consider that there are over 40,000 weddings a week in the United States.”

For dealers who have never incorporated jewelry in their business, the ‘Bridal Plus’ program is a great place to start. Bridal Plus offers significant return on the investment. As with all of Bryce programs the dealer gets a turn-key program with exceptional customer service and ongoing sales training from your Bryce Representative.

Due to the continued ability to refurbish jewelry, these products have significantly longer lives than most rental merchandise increasing their earning potential above other RTO items. Bryce offers free refurbishing on jewelry, which allows items to hold their value indefinitely.

A year in the making, the ‘Bridal Plus’ program refines jewelry selections to include Bridal, Trio, Anniversary and Engagement rings and some additional staple pieces to round out the program. In today’s economy Bryce is concentrating on what will rent every day. Rental stores already have a built in cliental of about 40 customers that are married but don’t have wedding rings.

This alone could bring in substantial revenue. There is also a new group of bridal customers that can’t go to the jewelry chain stores and get credit anymore. This program will fit their needs. Unlike many luxury items, bridal rings continue to be in demand year round regardless of economic trends and they never go out of style. The greatest benefit of this jewelry program is that it is easy to incorporate into a daily sales routine, and while bridal rings draw in new customers, they provide a new opportunity for return customers. 

Because customer service is a Bryce company tradition, a representative will assist dealers in making ‘Bridal Plus’ a part of everyday sales strategy for the best results.

Bryce Jewelry staff know that success comes from service, and each dealer and market area is given individual attention. Bryce is the most experienced vendor in RTO jewelry and has earned that position by standing behind their products and offering dealers the training necessary to be successful with jewelry merchandise. As with all Bryce Jewelry programs, Bridal Plus comes with marketing material, ongoing representative support and a customized inventory.  

The ‘Bridal Plus’ package is a lasting marriage of service and success. Make a perfect match in 2010 with Bryce Jewelry.  Call 800/880-9434 to learn more.

DSI Systems’ 2010 electronics expo tour will cover three states and again offer dealers their choice of four breakout sessions in addition to a general DSI presentation.

Toshiba, Mitsubishi, LG, Sharp, Monster, DIRECTV, and more will conduct the breakout sessions for small groups on specific products. Dealers will be able to ask questions directly to the vendors and receive hands on training.

The majority of DSI’s vendors will also participate on the trade show floor, offering one-on-one time for dealers to see new products and answer any questions. Aggressive show specials will be offered to participating DSI dealers, including “Expo Dinero” rewards for dealers making purchases at the show.
 
The keynote address at the Dallas Expo will be delivered by Noel Lee of Monster Cable Products. Monster Cable Products was founded in 1979 by Noel Lee, who was then a laser-fusion design engineer at Lawrence-Livermore Laboratory, as well as an audiophile and professional drummer.

Lee discovered that wires of different constructions produced varying degrees of audio performance when hooked up to loudspeakers. From this discovery, he developed a high performance speaker cable, named it Monster Cable, and literally created an industry.

Monster has since innovated and led multiple attachment categories including power, headphones, gaming, iPod, Pro M.I., computer, and much more. Noel Lee was awarded the entrepreneur of the year award in 1996 by Ernst & Young for his innovative “M5” customer focused attachment selling program.
 
This year’s events will be held:
 
Wednesday, April 7th
Dallas, TX
Embassy Suites
7600 John Q. Hammons Drive
Frisco, TX  75034
 
Wednesday, April 28th
Des Moines, IA
Iowa Events Center
730 Third St.
Des Moines, IA  50309
 
Wednesday, May 12th
Columbus, OH
Columbus Convention Center
400 N. High Street
Columbus, OH  43215
 
 
To attend visit the DSI registration site at www.dsisystemsinc.com/dsiexpo to register. Classes are filling up fast and space is limited so register online or contact yourlocal account manager today. This is an event that can’t be missed.
 
About DSI Systems
DSI Systems, the largest national distributor of LCD, Plasma and DLP TVs, satellite equipment and accessories, is dedicated to efficient customer service, strong product lines, one to two days shipping and dealer programs to assist retailers with their promotional and floor plans. To begin a working relationship with DSI’s dedicated team, retailers are invited to call 800/888-8876. Visit DSI on the web at www.dsisystemsinc.com. 
 
 

DSI Systems understands the challenges to a dealer’s cash flow and profitability created by the complicated manufacturer consumer instant rebate programs that more and more manufacturers are utilizing to drive sales.

In response to those challenges, DSI developed a rebate claim process in 2009 that allows dealers to make their rebate reimbursement claim through DSI. This process allows a dealer to receive the rebate reimbursement at the end of the rebate program instead of weeks or months after the program ends. 

“DSI continues to work with the manufacturers to expand participation in the program. Currently, several of DSI’s largest TV manufacturers participate," said Doug Robison, president of DSI Systems stated,  DSI Systems continually looks for ways to increase profitability and efficiency for our dealers so that they can spend their time selling to consumers. This is just one example of the value we bring to our customers.”

To utilize DSI Systems’ online rebate claim process, dealers need to only be authorized to sell the participating manufacturers’ lines, purchase eligible models from DSI, and have a log-in enabled for the DSI Systems website at www.dsisystemsinc.com. For more information, please call your local account manager at 800-888-8876.
 
About DSI Systems

DSI Systems, the largest national distributor of HD televisions, satellite equipment and accessories, is dedicated to superior customer service, strong product lines, efficient logistics, and dealer programs to assist retailers with their business planning. To begin a working relationship with DSI’s dedicated team, retailers are invited to call (800)888-8876. Visit DSI on the web at www.dsisystemsinc.com. 
 
 

March 9-10, Rent One Annual Meeting, Drury Lodge, Cape Girardeau, Missouri 
For more information, contact Larry Carrico at (618) 242-8448.

Rent One rolls out Harley, new store for 25th anniversary bash

Rent One is celebrating its 25th anniversary today at the company’s annual business meeting in Cape Girardeau, Missouri where more than 100 managers, their families and vendor partners are expected.

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Murray Beck, Trent Agin, Col. Chris Lawson, Larry Carrico and Mark Williams at Rent One’s 2010 managers meeting.

Rent One is celebrating its 25th anniversary today at the company’s annual business meeting in Cape Girardeau, Missouri where more than 100 managers, their families and vendor partners are expected.

To commemorate the historic achievement, Rent One will raffle off a Harley Davidson motorcycle to one lucky customer this July as part of its annual "Customer Appreciation Days" campaign. Rent One meeting attendees will get a sneak peak at the bike this afternoon at the annual company meeting where outstanding Rent One leaders — including manager and vendor of the year — will be honored at a special awards banquet Wednesday.

Rent One, which opened its first store in 1985 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, also announced plans to open its 50th store this April in Batesville, Arkansas. Rent One is one of the largest independent RTO companies in the industry.

"I didn’t really anticipate having 50 stores in 25 years," said Rent One owner and founder Larry Carrico. "But you grow as the people around you grow. We grow with our people and we’ve got great leadership in our company."

Carrico said he got the idea for the Harley raffle from fellow RTO dealer Dale Frederick. The promotion will also take place on Rent One’s newly launched Facebook page.

"We hope to use it to help launch our new Facebook page and build a solid Rent One social networking community with our customers," Carrico said.

Rent One managers will also take part in extensive operations updates on the company’s information systems, HR, health and wellness program updates in addition to educational breakout sessions on personal finance, hunting for new business and increasing sales.

The meeting will also feature guest speaker Colonel Chris Lawson, Chief of the Joint Staff for the Illinois National Guard. He is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and is the co-founder of the National Guard Operation Your Choice Youth Program, the National Center for Youth Professionals and Lawson Professional Dynamics and has trained over 3,000 teachers and intervention specialists over the past decade and  provided programs for over 10,000 youth.

APRO’s revised online rent to own training program is live.

The easier-to-use lower-cost APRO University online interface is currently offering APRO’s original five training courses: Introduction to Rent-to-Own, Rental Delivery and Safety, Customer Satisfaction in Rent to Own, Communication in the Rent to Own Workplace and Account Management in Rent to Own.

These industry specific courses were redesigned to offer more flexibility and to give RTO companies much more administrative control on the site.

Enter APRO University here.

Courses are now $10.

For questions regarding APRO’s new Rental Training Online, contact Shelley Martinek, APRO education director at smarktinek@rtohq.org, 800/204-2776, ext. 109.

D&H has Grown its portfolio of offerings for the rent-to-own marketplace, covering items ranging from best-selling notebooks to small appliances, HDTVs and gaming equipment.

D&H Distributing, the major North American computer products and consumer electronics distributor, announces it is offering an expanded line of manufacturers and products to rent-to-own store owners and dealers in time for the 2010 TRIB Show in March.  This includes manufacturer partners whose merchandise encompasses the computer, consumer electronics, home audio, small appliances, housewares, gaming and digital imaging categories.

Notebook computers continue to be the top-selling opportunity in the RTO space, with products such as Acer’s Aspire series, ASUS’ 52F-A1 model, and Lenovo’s ThinkPad family delivering sought-after portability and compact footprints.  Netbooks, all-in-one PCs and touch screen computers occupy a growing niche in the RTO business.

Flat-panel TVs have also shown success as rental items, exemplified by units like Panasonic’s VIERA series, featuring the latest HDTV technology and screens as wide as 65 inches. D&H’s ability to satisfy these in-demand tech trends, in addition to offering wares as diverse as refrigerators, HTIBs (home theater in-a-box), GPS devices, vacuums, gaming consoles and cameras, create a convenience for dealers who are looking to source a wide array of desirable stock from a single destination.

“As we build a more varied group of trusted manufacturers for the RTO dealer and store owner to choose from, business continues to be brisk at D&H,” said John Alifano, manager of D&H’s Home Entertainment Division.  For example, D&H recently added Yamaha’s home audio products to its RTO offering, including high-performance, wireless A/V equipment and a selection of musical instruments.  “The goal is to provide across-the-board breadth and value for our rental market customers.  As we get ready for the upcoming TRIB event, we’ve got a greater selection than ever, making us a more comprehensive one-stop shop.”   

BrightHouse, the U.K.’s leading rent to own chain, is continuing its expansion program with the opening of a new store in Gaolgate Place, Stafford. The new 3,400 sq ft store, which employs seven staff will have its Grand Opening on Saturday 6th March. To mark the occasion BrightHouse, will be hosting a family fun day to welcome the first customers and their families to the new store.

Craig Knight, Store Manager in Stafford has said: “We are very excited about joining the community in Stafford and welcome everyone to our store opening event on Saturday. BrightHouse offers the hottest flat screen TV’s from Philips and Samsung, cutting edge laptops from Acer, the latest washing machines from Whirlpool and up to the minute sofa designs to name but a few of the amazing product available on a affordable weekly payment basis.

We aim to add value to people’s lives every day. With us it’s personal, we like to keep on first name terms with customers so they feel comfortable with our service. When we open our doors on Saturday, pop in and say hi and we’ll be sure to remember your name next time you come in. That’s what makes us different.”

Stafford will be BrightHouse’s 194th store. A further four stores are set to open during March, these stores will be located in Cannock, Mexborough, Bromley and Maidstone.

About BrightHouse

BrightHouse is a national retail chain specialising in the sale of home electronic and domestic appliances, household furniture and related products, on a ‘rent to own’ affordable weekly payment basis. BrightHouse provide customers access to a choice of products, operating without the normal requirement of large deposits and credit ratings. With more than 2200 staff UK-wide, BrightHouse is a major employer in the local communities where its 194 stores are located.

BrightHouse supports NSPCC, the UK’s leading children’s charity that specialises in child protection and the prevention of cruelty to children.

BrightHouse is ranked 219th in the 2009 Sunday Times mid-market top track 250 companies

ColorTyme manger inspires work through play

ColorTyme Manager Jim Aldridge.

With the recent economic turndown leaving employee satisfaction at a record low, finding a cost-effective way to motivate the workforce can be a challenge. Fortunately, Jim Aldridge, manager of ColorTyme in Gaffney, South Carolina, discovered a creative approach to recognizing top performers that has sparked much interest and conversation:  The ColorTyme Route Manager’s Championship Belt.

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