Vaughan-Bassett Takes Showroom at World Market Center Las Vegas
"We attended the inaugural Las Vegas Market in July 2005 and we were very impressed with the large number of small and medium sized dealers who attended." - Doug Bassett, VP Sales, Vaughan-Bassett...more

ColorTyme 2006 Winter Operations Meeting Kicks Off In Dallas
343 ColorTyme franchisees, employees and suppliers began arriving in Dallas, Texas today for the company's 17th annual Winter Operations Meeting (WOM)...more

Rent-Way Webcast Scheduled
Rent-Way announced it will host a conference call in connection with the release of financial results for its first quarter ended December 31, 2005...more

Survey; High Definition Hyped, Consumers Remain Wary; HDTV Perceptions Positive, But Many Consumers Can’t Justify Replacing Their Current TVs
"Advertisers and marketers clearly have to take the initiative to expand the base of consumers who understand HDTV’s features and benefits, in order to convert them into buyers" - Todd Board, Ipsos Technology & Communications...more

New Issue Of RTO Magazine
Hot Electronics
Compare leading suppliers of the hottest rental products for 2006...more

Stanley’s Rent To Own Gets Makeover; Changes Name To Get It Today!
"I am absolutely sure [the name change] will achieve everything we want it to by broadening our corporate image, enhancing our curb appeal, and in turn expanding our client base" - Craig Stanley, Owner, Stanley's Get It Today!...more

ColorTyme Names Tim Hogan VP Operations; 20 Year Vet Helped Develop RTO Concept In Europe
After Comcoa was bought by Thorn America in 1997, Hogan accepted an offer with Crazy George’s, owned by Thorn United Kingdom, in Scotland to assist in the development of the rent-to-own concept overseas...more

Kelly Rentals Sweeps Top Spots In DPI Promo
"The change is in response to the January to March sales peak. During this time, new customer sales nearly double" - David Dorwart President and CEO of dPi Teleconnect...more

Guinness Book of Records Attempt Asks Americans to Send Messages to Troops Stationed Abroad on Valentine's Day
"Who would better deserve the largest Valentine's Day card than our troops abroad" - Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers' Angels and great grandniece of General George Patton...more

Rent-A-Center Q4 Conference Call Set For February 7
Rent-A-Center will broadcast its quarterly earnings conference call on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 at 10:45 AM ET over the Internet...more

2005 Sales Of Video Game Hardware Held Back By Consumer Anticipation; Analysts Expect Improvement In 06'
The console market did not fare as well, due in large part to hardware shortages, delays in the release of highly anticipated software titles and consumer anticipation of next-generation hardware...more

Rental Dealers Invited To Sandberg Mix-n-Mingle During Vegas Market
Sandberg Furniture, a leading supplier of furniture to the rent to own industry, will host Mix-n-Mingle for Rent to Own dealers  attending the upcoming Las Vegas Furniture Market...more

Rentcash Ranked Number One in Alberta Venture's 2006 Fast 50
"2005 was a remarkable year for Rentcash and I'm proud of what our team has been able to accomplish" - Gordon Reykdal, President and CEO, RentCash...more

Legislators Throw Wrench In Maytag Merger; Maytag Responds
"We are writing concerning the proposed acquisition of Maytag by Whirlpool. We are very troubled by this proposed arrangement which would greatly increase the market share of the combined company in certain areas." Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)...more

Rent One Matches $19,000 In Employee Contributions To United Way
Current pledges for the 2005 campaign total $362,110.00. United Way of South Central Illinois...more

Premier Rimz Adds 51-Fifty Rims To Lineup
"The trend in 2006 will be with the black finish rims and Premier Rimz carries 100’s of options to accommodate rental customers" - CheriLyn Korth, Vice President of Sales, Premier Rimz...more

Marketing Pre-Paid Services To Hispanics
"When writing English text to be translated into Spanish, it is important to note there are differences in the way some Spanish cultures say certain words and phrases." - By Anthony Jarrett, BGC Director of Business Development...more

Job Worries, Low Expectations Cause Drop In Consumer Confidence
"The economy has a decent amount of momentum coming into the New Year, but the weakness in expectations is consistent with our outlook for slower growth for the second half of the year" - Vincent Boberski, director of Fixed Income Research for RBC Dain Rauscher...more

Bassett Offsets Traditional Channel Losses With Furniture Direct
"Margins for the quarter and the year are up due to both increased retail sales largely attributable to the BFD acquisitions and an increased sales mix of imported products." - Bassett...more

Record Breaking 2006 International CES Reflects Strength of Consumer Technology Industry
"The 2006 International CES set several major show records including number of attendees at more than 150,000 and exhibit space at 1.67 million net square feet"...more

Father-Son Franchisees Celebrate Opening of Fourth ColorTyme Store
"Southwest Florida was home to our first store and we’re excited to expand our business to customers in the area who have made us such a success" - Mark Martin, ColorTyme...more

Wheel And Tire Rental Pioneer Joins Premier
"We now have an organization in place to give franchisees hands-on experience from the lowest to the highest level,” says Scott" - Scott Savell, co-founder, Premier Wheel Rentals...more

Survey; Why New Hires Fail
"The typical interview process fixates on ensuring that new hires are technically competent. But coachability, emotional intelligence, motivation and temperament are much more predictive of a new hires' success or failure" - Mark Murphy, CEO, Leadership IQ...more

"It's The Experience Stupid"; Consumer Electronics Not Just About Cool Products Anymore
"Consumers are being forced to assemble the different components of their digital lifestyle themselves, and they're not equipped to do it" - Ted Schadler, Vice President, Forrester Research...more

Prediction; Consumer Electronics Shipments Will Increase Eight Percent In 2006
"The numbers say it all - the consumer electronics industry is hot" - Gary Shapiro, CEA's president and CEO...more

Kathy Windsor Heads Drive To Donate 500 Beds For Needy Kids
Kathy Windsor, co-owner of National TV Sales & Rental, learned there were 506 children in the Lebanon, Missouri area that didn't have beds...more

ColorTyme Racing Donates Money to Kids Across America
"We came up with this idea to donate money every time the ColorTyme Grand Prix finished in the top five and the folks at ColorTyme headquarters wanted to be a part of it" - Daryl Rose, ColorTyme Franchisee...more

Premier Rental Names Mike Lewis VP Operations
"Premier dealers are all very experienced RTO operators and have achieved a level of success. My role is to be there for them as they tackle the new challenge of opening a store" - Mike Lewis, VP Operations, Premier Rental Purchase...more

2005 - Year In Review
2005 was a busy year for news affecting the rent to own industry. Based on traffic, the most popular story for 2005; Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Kick Off TRIB Show. Here are the most popular stories, by month, for the full year...more

'Twas The Night Before Christmas...
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the store, one account was past due, just one BOR...more

Premier Rimz Offers Wheel And Tire Rental Programs To RTO Industry
"We are excited to extend this new low investment, turn-key Wheel & Tire opportunity to the RTO business" - CheriLyn Korth, Vice President of Sales, Premier Rimz...more

North Carolina Orders Payday Lenders To Cease Operations; Companies To Appeal
"Regrettably, the Commissioner's ruling will eliminate one of the few short term financial options North Carolina consumers have available to them" - Kenneth E. Compton, President and CEO, Advance America...more

Maytag Stockholders Approve Whirlpool Merger; Antitrust Last Hurdle
The proposed merger is currently being reviewed by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice...more

Rent-N-Roll Partners With Alberta LTD To Open Up Great White North
Strachan and Kreplin will be developing their own franchised stores in Ontario and British Columbia while taking on the role of official RENT-n-ROLL Franchisor for the rest of Canada...more

Frank Barton Scholarship Goes To Wichita Senior
The late Rent-A-Center Chairman Emeritus W. Frank Barton established the scholarship as a memorial to his son who died in 1988 at age 20...more

Rent-A-Center Implements Manager Assessment Tool
"Leadership development is extremely important to our continuing success" - Becky Crawford, senior director of Human Resources, Rent-A-Center...more

Help-Wanted Ads Decline Sharply In November
"This seasonal November decline typically reflects the Thanksgiving holiday and a slowdown in recruitments after a seasonal upturn in the late summer/early fall" - Ken Goldstein, labor economist, The Conference Board...more

Indiana Man Wins Aaron’s 50th Anniversary Sweepstakes; Takes Home ’55 Chevy
"We are honored to celebrate such a remarkable milestone in our Company’s history" - Mark Rudnick, Vice President of Marketing, Aaron Rents...more

CareerWomen.com Named Finalist in 2005 Stevie Awards
"Women helping women has always been top of mind at CareerWomen.com. As a 100% women-owned business, we are uniquely qualified to understand the issues women face" - JillXan Donnelly, president, CareerWomen.com...more

Survey; Santa's Snoozing With Only Six More Shopping Days To Go
The number of shoppers buying something for themselves is the lowest since Christmas 2002, a year impacted by 911. This year only 38.5% have bought something for themselves compared to 48.0% last year and 44.7% in December 2003...more

Prentice Capital Buys Bankrupt Levitz For $70 Million; New Owners Will Liquidate 35 Locations
"The decision to focus on our most profitable markets is a strategic decision, designed to strengthen Levitz Home Furnishings for the long term" - Jonathan Duskin, Managing Partner of Prentice Capital Management LP...more

Rent King Partners with Metropolitan Ministries In Holiday Food Drive
Rent King owners Chris Kale, Larry Pividal and Paul Schaller offered a company match for every dollar contributed by an employee...more

RTO Vet Mark Childers Back In The Game; Opening Three Stores In Alaska
In June 2005, Mark Childers and partner Gary Hughes capitalized on their success as franchisees and sold 27 ColorTyme locations across the Northwest U.S. to Rent-A-Center. After a short break, Childers is now re-entering the rent-to-own industry with his own franchise, opening three new stores...more

Arizona Cardinal Kurt Warner And Aaron Rents Present Home Filled With Aaron’s Merchandise To Single Mother Of Two
We are proud to have donated enough furniture to completely fill nine homes and help nine families embark on the next chapter of their lives" - Ken Butler, President, Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership...more

Rent-Way Q4 Slightly Higher Same Store Sales; Projects Flat Same Store Sales For 06'; 44 New Stores in Fiscal Year
"Although the quarter did not meet our expectations, we are already seeing a return to more historical business performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2006." - William Short, President, Rent-Way...more