Greg Skinner, Leopard Mobility
Meet Greg Skinner, Chief Operating Officer with APRO associate member Leopard Mobility Inc. A naturalized Texan, Skinner holds an education degree, but ended up in rent-to-own – where one of his favorite things is, unsurprisingly, the open sharing of industry knowledge.
RTOHQ: The Magazine caught up with Skinner at home in Dallas, as he was celebrating a full decade of Leopard’s success – and embracing the fact that his RTO “spots” will likely never change.
APRO: Where did you grow up, and what was your growing-up experience like?
GS: I was born in Missouri, but moved to Dallas at the age of five. My parents were Baptist missionaries, so I went to two Christian academies, and was an athletic kid. I got a full-ride baseball scholarship and also played football at Emporia State University in Kansas, but I blew it; I flunked out, and my dad was like, “You’re on your own.” So I joined the Army for two years, and grew up a lot. I returned to college and graduated from the University of North Texas with an education degree, and a plan to be a teacher and coach.
APRO: So how did you get from highschool coach to rent-to-own?
GS: After the Army and during college, I began working for Talley Leasing Company, an appliance-leasing firm here in Dallas owned by industry pioneer Ernie Talley. When I graduated, I had a teaching job lined up, but Mike Talley offered me a lot more money to stay and work for him. So in 1994, I helped open and then served as the store manager for the first Talley Lease-to-Own store in Garland (a Dallas suburb). I was promoted to District Manager of two Colorado-based stores when they acquired Renter’s Choice. But then I might have punched a superior in the mouth in defense of an employee’s honor, and got fired for that (among other things).
APRO: Whoa!
GS: Yeah, I don’t recommend it. But almost immediately, I went to work as a Store Manager for Rentway in Springfield, Illinois, and took the location from 400 to about 2,000 agreements within a couple of years. Rentway was acquiring companies left and right, and I was involved in acquisitions, training, various operations positions, and multiunit management. When we bought Home Choice – about 400-450 stores – I helped lead the acquisition, returning to Texas from Erie, Pennsylvania. Then, in 2000, the company suffered some accounting irregularities, so I left and opened up my own RTO store here in Dallas – MS Computer Leasing. Chris Meadows was my partner, so the MS was for Meadows-Skinner; we did computer rent-to-own and repair only. We opened up three stores, sold them in 2008, and I declared myself done with RTO.
APRO: So how did you make your way back to rent-to-own?
GS: I sold franchises for Palm Beach Tan for a couple of years, which was owned by Brooks Reed, who was also the Chair of Bestway Rent-To-Own. Next, I worked with Bernie Beck to grow Flexi Compras, which were stores-within-stores at Best Buys and Fiesta groceries; we leased and sold consumer electronics, appliances, furniture, and household accessories. Then, I went to work for an electronics recycler that sold refurbished cell phones to Flexi Compras – there was high demand for cell phones in rentto- own – and that turned into Leopard Mobility.
APRO: And what does Leopard Mobility do?
GS: We let rental dealers focus in on renting and collecting cell phones, and we do the rest. For 18 months, we’ll send a replacement for phones with broken screens, water damage, whatever – they send it back to us, and we replace it. Cell phones weren’t traditionally a profitable category, but with our program, it sure can be. I’ve had clients tell me it grew their profitability on cell phones by 65 percent. The customers are happy, the dealers are more profitable, and last year – our tenth! – we had our best year ever.
APRO: Life is good! Tell me a little about the other part of your life – your family.
GS: My wife, Lynn, and I actually went to high school together, but didn’t date then. We reconnected later, and have been married 23 years. Her full name is actually Christine Lynn, and my first wife’s name was also Kristi Lin – which is weird and kind of funny. I’ve got a buddy who was like, “Man, how lazy are you?”
Anyway, Lynn is the Executive Assistant to the CEO of International Software Network, the world’s largest compliancy software company. We don’t have kids together, but I’ve got three from my first marriage – Kourtney who is 34, Kara who’s 32, and JT, he’s 30. Kourtney actually works in our accounting department at Leopard, JT owns a mechanical services company close by, and Kara is a fashion designer – she went to school in Paris (France, not Texas), and works for a big design house in Dallas. She actually did the costuming for Bruno Mars’ latest tour.
They all live here within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, are married, and we’ve got three grandchildren with a fourth one forthcoming!
APRO: How do you spend your free time?
GS: Well, aside from time spent with our kids and grandkids, our passion is travel. We’re building a vacation house down in Oaxaca, Mexico, close to Guatemala right now, and we’ve gotten to travel all over the world – 39 countries to date. Lynn is a detail person, so she plans it, I just show up, and we have a ton of fun!
I’m also a huge fan of the Dallas Mavericks, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Texas Rangers, and love to go to games. I like golf – I’m not too good at it, but I enjoy playing and do so as often as I can. And I collect, buy, and sell classic convertibles.
APRO: What are your final thoughts about your 30-plus years – and counting! – in rent-to-own?
GS: RTO has been very good to me, I love the people, and I try to give back as much as I can. Serving as a member of the APRO Vendor Advisory Committee was great; organizations like APRO help bring everyone together, and this is a tight industry anyway, which I like. I love the relationships, and we all have a common objective – to be in business and make money – but also to help people. And whether you’re a rental dealer or a vendor, there is a collaboration and camaraderie within this industry that’s just unlike any other I’ve ever encountered.
