Rent-to-Own

 

Buddy’s Home Furnishings
Todd Homberger, president of franchising
6608 Adamo Drive
Tampa, FL 33619
813/623-5461 office
972/890-4499 cell
thomberger@buddyrents.com

Type of RTO Business: Furniture, Electronics, Appliances, Computers.  Currently evaluating Autos

Company stores: 58

Franchise Stores: 34 license stores.  Expected to convert to the franchise agreement
Expansion Plans: Continued Growth from existing operators and new franchisees.  We open stores where great operators want to open stores.  Exceeding 100 stores in 2010 is a modest goal.

Type of Franchise owner they’re looking for: Currently looking for the cream of the crop.  We have no intentions of opening without a seasoned results minded operator.  We are not opposed to a non RTO operator with entrepreneurial experience, as we have the ability to pair owner with a seasoned operator. 

Why they’re different: Were new to franchising but not new to RTO.  Buddy’s has been in business since 1961 with most of the corporate stores in Florida which leaves most of the US open for expansion.  We are very involved in our business and we bring a wealth of experience to support our franchisees.  We provide a business model that works while still allowing a great operator the autonomy to conduct business as it works best for them …… and we listen!  Our territory negotiation is done to make sense not simply a radius around your location.

What they’ll do for you: All that we can! We know we’re new to franchising and we attempt to exceed expectations at all customer touch points. We have a great in house IT supporting staff, in house marketing and graphic designers, training is incredible, and other back office support functions such as real estate support, HR support, and in house general council. We attempt to give our franchisees more time to focus their attention on renting and collecting.

License master franchise rights: Yes

Selling primary multiple store location agreements:  Yes

Selling just one store: Yes

Active advisory board: Not currently

Net worth of candidate: Depends on the strategy.  If a single store owner/operator attempts to go the SBA route the net worth requirement can be very small and for traditional banking  $250K.  Ultimately is will depend on the size of the business venture and the banking environment we in.

Franchise fees: $25,000 for the first store with up to a $10,000 credit based on RTO experience.  All future locations $15,000.

Royalties: 4.5% for the calendar year revenues less than 1 million annually, reducing to 3.5% for revenues exceeding 1 million annually.  Additional services offered such as accounting, purchasing, payroll, IT, etc for addition fees up to 7% total.

Advertising Co-op: $250 per store per month per location