Over 100 Rent to Own companies from across the country attended RentDirect Nationwide PrimeTime vendor show in New Orleans. The PrimeTime show was held on March 19th through March 21st at the Ernest Morial Convention Center.
Jeff Knock, Senior Executive Team, opened the meeting by thanking the dealers for attending. He recognized the importance of James MacAlpine and that he will be missed. Former Senior Vice President of Member Development James MacAlpine announced he was joining Waybeyond Rewards as their Chief Marketing Officer in January. He had joined Nationwide Marketing Group in 2005 and during his tenure he had also served as Vice President of Business Development and Rental.
The RentDirect member meeting was hosted by longtime Nationwide partner, Lauren Talicska. She referenced a Basketball Tournament when addressing members, “You can’t win if you don’t play and running your stores shouldn’t be any different,” said Talicska. “There are many tools and assets from marketing to member services that are all available to RentDirect members to help them get the win.”
Highlights of this year’s PrimeTime! show was a legal update presented by APRO General Counsel, Ed Winn III that covered legal issues with the e-commerce rent-to-own space, rent-to-own companies and state rent-to-own compliances. He also went over the recent CFPB ban on doorstep collections for creditors and other perennial rent-to-own legal issues like the TCPA, bedbugs and bankruptcy.
The Hot Show Auction included two new furniture vendors along with a mix of appliances, furniture and electronics. Rock bottom pricing on appliances made this Hot Show RentDirect’s most successful in recent years with 30% more sales than August 2016.
Click here to see more pictures from RentDirect Nationwide PrimeTime vendor show in New Orleans. 
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!
