Association of Progressive Rental Organizations

HOME APPLIANCES UPDATE: Projections Positive Despite Continuing Challenges

Doug Wrede, Vice President of Home Appliances for Nationwide Marketing Group | Photo by: Nationwide Marketing Group

In the home appliances game, as we venture into 2021, there’s good news and not-as-good news, according to Doug Wrede, Vice President of Home Appliances for Nationwide Marketing Group.

The good news: It looks like this year will, in the end, turn out to be an overall prosperous one for the home appliance business in retail and rent-to-own alike. The not-as-good news? Some of the challenges that retail and rental dealers faced during 2020 will persist well into the new year.

Those challenges – courtesy of the coronavirus crisis – shadowed the American arrival of the pandemic last spring almost exactly. According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) weekly shipment results, Q1 of 2020 was normal – with shipments up 2.4% for the Top Six categories: refrigerators, freezers, freestanding cooking, built-in cooking, clothes care, and dishwashers. COVID-19 hit in mid-March, and the Q2 numbers showed it – bigtime.

“In Week 15, the core appliance business was down 19%, with dishwashers down 20%, and clothes care down 28%,” recalls Wrede. “The moment I saw those numbers and realized how badly the industry was faring – that was the moment I spit my coffee out.

“We hope to never see those numbers return, and there was some recovery in Q3,” he continues. “But much of the damage had been done by how shelter-in-place impacted everything: factory closures for all brands for weeks at a time; parts and service disruption; customers staying at home; spotty employment attendance; social distancing in manufacturing bringing yields down as low as 30%; price increases to cover freight, incentive pay, social distancing, and personal protective equipment; rolling order-blackout periods – it was a lot.”

Wrede applauds rent-to-own dealers for meeting the call for e-commerce transactions as it grew exponentially last year – overall up to 400% growth in traffic for businesses with online shopping capabilities.

Keven Dalke, Director of Nationwide RentDirect

“We also saw a vast adoption of chat,” notes Keven Dalke, Director of Nationwide RentDirect. “Hundreds of rental dealers flocking to enable chat on their websites so they could still engage with consumers and do so more safely – including shop-by-appointment, which became a pretty popular tactic that we deployed, and many RTO dealers leaned into. It’s indicative of the importance of the internet, being seen online, and having a website that’s up-to-date to reach customers today.”

By Q4, the pendulum was swinging wildly the other way – in week 36, appliance shipments were up 40% – which helped 2020 finish, despite its myriad difficulties, with an overall positive shipment rate of 6.4%.

“There’s still great need in the market,” says Wrede. “We’re not getting all the inventory we want, but it’s good to see some recovery in the appliance base.”

The recovery continues, as 2021 has begun well for home appliances – with unit shipments up 14.4%, revenue up 17.6%, and all top categories showing growth. Wrede says consumer demand remains strong, and with an assist from the reliable replacement cycle, the appliances business looks like it will continue growing for the next two years and beyond.

“The upside of the shelter-in-place lifestyle brought on by the pandemic is that customers are using their home appliances three to six times more than they typically do, so they’re needing new or better machines more often,” Wrede explains.

For 2021, Wrede forecasts continued recovery for the first half of the year, with the second half of the year seeing some stabilization for the home appliances market. Likewise, as demand remains high during the first six months of 2021, promotions and discounts will stay low.

“I also believe there will be a balance-of-share shift,” predicts Wrede. “Who you do business with might change going into the future. But industry projections show the appliances business up 3-4% this year overall, and that’s good news.”

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Mike Lewis

Mike Lewis is a Premier Rental Purchase franchisee with multiple stores and currently serves as Vice President of Operations. With 33 years of experience in the rent-to-own industry, he has spent the past 20 years working closely with franchisee owners and previously spent 12 years in Corporate RTO, gaining a strong foundation in the business.

For the past five years, Mike has been sharing his knowledge by teaching managers and franchisees at the company’s Training Center.

Outside of work, he enjoys time with his family, kids, and grandkids, and appreciates the simple things in life – especially riding his Harley Davidson with the sun on his face. If you know, you know!

Lauren Talicska

Arona Corporation dba Arona Home Essentials

Lauren Talicska is an experienced multi-channel marketing specialist and the Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Arona Home Essentials. She has found her home in the RTO community, supporting stores in branding, growth, and increasing traffic.

You may recognize Lauren as a former RTO vendor, including her time as a partner for Nationwide RentDirect, or her previous participation in the APRO Vendor Advisory Committee. Lauren calls Columbus, Ohio, home and spends her workday crafting and executing marketing promotions from inception to realization, all while supporting the branding and social media needs of all the Arona stores in 12 states (plus Puerto Rico!).

Charles Smitherman

APRO

Charles Smitherman, JD, PhD, CAE, became CEO of APRO in 2023, bringing years of legal and executive experience in the rent-to-own industry. 

Prior to joining the association, Charles served as COO, General Counsel, and Vice President of PTS Financial Services, where he played an active role in the rent-to-own industry by representing his company through PTS’s club program offering with APRO member dealers. Charles is an attorney with two decades of experience across a wide variety of areas, including RTO, consumer financial services, antitrust, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, franchise law, and privacy law. Following law school at the University of Georgia, Charles earned a Master of Legal Studies and PhD in Law from the University of Oxford in England.

Charles is credentialed as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with the American Society of Association Executives, a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) with the International Franchise Association, and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals. As APRO’s sixth CEO in its 45-year history, he brings a collaborative, member-focused approach to association leadership, emphasizing transparency, advocacy, and value creation. Outside of work, Charles is an active ultra runner and open water swimmer.

Mike Kays

Ashley Furniture Industries

As VP of Rental Sales for Ashley Furniture Industries, Mike thrives on building relationships with our RTO industry veterans, and helping businesses grow through new product, new marketing, and new supply chain options.

Mike works to leverage a wide breadth of relationships and influence, intimate knowledge of market trends, and unique knowledge of what RTO dealers need from a supplier to be successful.

The saying goes that a high tide raises all boats, and our goal is to leverage the world’s largest furniture manufacturer to drive the continued growth of the RTO industry and all the suppliers.

Mike Tissot

Countryside Rentals Inc., dba Rent-2-Own

Mike grew up in the rent-to-own industry under the guidance of his father, former APRO President and RTO legend Darrell Tissot. For nearly 25 years, Mike’s innovative leadership has helped expand the family business to more than 40 stores across Ohio and Kentucky while also shaping the industry as a whole.

He has served as President of the Ohio Rental Dealers Association, an APRO board member and Treasurer, and President and Treasurer of the TRIB Group. His contributions have earned him the APRO President’s Award of Excellence and the title of APRO Rental Dealer of the Year.

Outside of RTO, Mike enjoys time at the lake house or in Orange Beach, Alabama, with his girlfriend, Angela Strong McCool. A passionate Cincinnati Reds fan, he rarely misses a game, whether watching or listening alongside his parents. He also takes every opportunity to visit Arizona, where his daughter is currently attending Arizona State University.