New York-based Your Hometown Rent To Own Inc. dba Hometown Rent To Own recently acquired a former Blue Ocean Partners store in Warren, Pennsylvania – Hometown RTO’s second Pennsylvania location and fifth overall.
According to Co-Owner Jeff Smith, the store’s appeal was partly due to its strategic location – between the company’s Corry, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York, stores, making it easy for the three Hometown RTO locations to share resources. But it also held some history for both Smith and his co-owner, Matt Radecki.
“We both came up in the RTO industry with Randy Otander at House of Television, and I was the Store Manager of its Warren location for four years,” Smith said. “This is a market I know well, and it will bear fruit for us, but beyond that, it’s another chapter in the book of our company written in the manner of our mentor. When he retired, Randy had 12 locations, and we’re now in five of those towns. We’re honored and humbled by it all.”
Smith noted that communities like Warren often don’t have many “big box” options for appliances, electronics, or furniture, so they are happy to have a store like Hometown RTO around.
“We feel welcome here,” said Smith. “Our brand is well-known regionally, and of course, we’ll integrate ourselves into the community through the local Chamber of Commerce and other opportunities. We love giving back however we can, wherever we are.”
