APRO member Arona Corporation, dba Arona Home Essentials, has added nine new locations within the past six months – unprecedented growth for the company, which now operates 58 locations across America and in Puerto Rico.
Eight of the nine new locations are in three states – New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas – that are brand-new markets for Arona, so the company has had to introduce and establish its brand among communities with zero recognition or knowledge of Arona.
“We opened our first Texas store in Mineral Wells in December, and our second in Mesquite just last month,” says Mark Connelly, Arona Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions. “We gained six stores in New York and Pennsylvania in January through an acquisition. Our leadership team immediately identified untapped potential in these stores, and understood that Arona’s management structure and marketing and merchandising support would help these stores thrive at a whole new level. And sure enough, this region has consistently been one of our growth leaders in standard monthly revenue this year.”
Arona also opened the company’s second Puerto Rico store, in Fajardo, last month, with a third island location scheduled to open later this year.
“This sort of growth has always been a key part of Arona’s operational plans,” says James DeLaurentis, Vice President of Merchandising. “The Arona structure is a strong framework of departments designed to expand our support of multiple locations through economies of scale. Despite market fluctuations in product costs and availability, our team has harnessed our buying power as a multi-unit independent and generated a sustainable, profitable product lineup.”
“With every new market we enter, our marketing team must tell the Arona Home Essentials story in a way that gets customers excited to shop with us,” adds Director of Marketing Lauren Talicska. “We blend digital, social, traditional, and boots-on-the-ground media for an approach that is scalable and ready to launch efficiently and effectively. I get really excited to go into new markets and establish our identity.”
“We do expect this growth trend to continue for Arona,” Connelly concludes. “Our team is always exploring opportunities to open new stores or acquire existing rent-to-own operators who may be looking to exit the RTO business or join a rising team like Arona.”
