Florida's Rent King Reaches 17 Locations
The new stores are in Brandon Florida and New Port Richey Florida. RENT KING's corporate office is located in Tampa, FL. and is co-owned by Chris Kale, Paul Schaller and Larry Pividal...more

Acquisitions Increase Rent a Center's Revenue; Same Store Sales Down 2.3%
During the second quarter of 2004, Rent a Center opened 25 new locations, acquired 161 stores, consolidated 12 locations, and purchased accounts from 63 additional locations...more

Rent to Own Industry Online Auction To Raise Funds For Scholarships
"The Education Foundation is a great example of how we come together to assist people in our communities and allow many deserving students the opportunity to continue their education"...more
Shannon Strunk, Baber's Inc.

Inform Print And Promotions Offering Discounts To APRO Attendees
InForm Print & Promotions is a proud member of the Texas Association Of Rental Agencies and the Ohio Rental Dealers Association...more

Westinghouse Digital Reduces Prices Again On LCD TVs
According to Riddhi Patel, senior analyst for the market research firm iSuppli/Stanford Resources: "The major obstacle preventing mass consumer migration from CRT TVs to LCD TVs has been price...more

Maytag Reports $41 Million Loss In Q2; Unions, High Steel Prices Blamed
"Within our Major Appliances segment, Maytag Appliances underperformed because of material costs, under-absorbed burden and the strike at our Newton, Iowa, facility...more
Ralph Hake, chairman and CEO

Cash America Reports 63% Net Increase In Q2
"We are seeing growing levels of revenue from higher demand for both our lending products and from customers seeking value-oriented retail opportunities within our store base...more
Daniel R. Feehan, President and Chief Executive Officer

A Look Back At The 2003 APRO Convention
The 2004 Association for Progressive Rental Organizations (APRO) Convention and Buying show kicks off August 4th. Here is a look back at our favorite images of the 2003 convention in Reno, Nevada...more

Shoppers' View Offers Rent to Own Dealers The Ultimate Training Tool
Savvy Rent to Own dealers understand the importance of customer service...more

Whirlpool Reports Record Shipments In Second-Quarter
"We continue to expect to deliver a record year of revenues...more
Jeff Fettig, Whirlpool's chairman, president and chief executive officer

Digital Cable-Ready TVs Are Here, but How Will They Sell?
Probably by the end of next year or mid- 2006 you will see interactive DCR-2. According to my forecast, that's when the sales enter the mass adoption...more

EZCORP Posts Slim Net But Revenues Up 9% In Q2
"We remain pleased with our progress. Not only have we substantially improved earnings, but we have also significantly expanded our store base...more
Joseph L. Rotunda, President and Chief Executive Officer

Rent A Center Q2 Conference Call to Be Broadcasted Live Via the Web
Audio of the call will be broadcast live. A link to the live webcast will be available from My RTO Portfolio...more

CommSouth Acquired By MobilPro
CommSouth was, at one time, the leading provider of prepaid dial tone in the US. (CommSouth declared bankruptcy in October 2003)...more

SBA Announces Funding for Women's Business Centers
The WBC Program, administered by the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership (OWBO), provides female entrepreneurs with the resources they need to start and grow a business...more

Upholstered Furniture Fires Blamed For 580 Deaths Annually; CPSC Wants Tougher Standards By Fall
"I want the standards for upholstered furniture and mattress flammability to move forward as quickly as legally possible"
Hal Stratton, Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman...more

13 million DVD Players Sold In First Half Of 2004
"[The DVD Format] is a key factor behind the industry's rapid migration to widescreen digital television"
Mike Fidler, senior vice president, home products, Sony Electronics...more

Rent-A-Center Announces Completion Of Refinancing
"We believe this enhanced revolving structure will allow us to scale our secured debt more closely to our business needs over time and result in a more efficient cost of capital"...more
Robert D. Davis, CFO

Sealy Reports Double Digit Sales Growth; Net Loss Grows To $82 Million
"We are very pleased with our second quarter and the sell through of our new products which resulted in a strong 12.9% unit growth and a 5.3% average unit selling price increase for the domestic business...more

Product Knowledge Improves Rent to Own Relationships
"Rent to own shoppers are not looking for a lower payment or a bigger TV, they are looking for a new relationship...more

Maine Representatives Giving Seminars On New Rent to Own Tax
The new law imposes a 5% service provider tax became effective July 1, 2004 on the "Rental of furniture and audio equipment pursuant to a rent-to-own contract" as well as certain other services...more

Advance America Cash Advance Partners With National Non-Profits to Register Over 50,000 Voters
Advance America, corporate sponsor for Register in Advance, is making voter registration forms and instructional materials available through September 18 in more than 2,000 Advance America locations in 29 states...more

Stanley Furniture Reports 15% Sales Increase In Q2
"Our sales have grown at approximately 15% over the prior year period in each of the last three quarters. It appears that improved economic conditions are finally producing positive industry growth...more

Aaron Rents Declares Another 3-for-2 Stock Split
Aaron Rents Common Stock has more than doubled in share value over the past 24 months...more

Ampex Suing Sony; Seeks Import Ban On Digital Cameras
Ampex Corporation filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission ("ITC") today seeking an exclusion order barring Sony Corporation from the importation and sale of digital still cameras...more

Rent Way To Participate In Diversity Career Fair
"We are pleased that so many leading employers have chosen to participate in this event to promote their career opportunities to professionals in the Chicago area...more

Market Forces; As Rent to Own Companies Consolidate, Entrepreneurs Flourish
he roster of new Premier Rental Purchase store owners reads like a who's who in former publicly held companies...more

Advantage Group Signs Distribution Deal With Toshiba
Toshiba America Consumer Products has inked an agreement with The Advantage Group (TAG) for national distribution of its consumer electronics products...more

China Losing More Manufacturing Jobs Than U.S.
“As its manufacturing productivity accelerates, China is losing jobs in manufacturing – many more than the United States is – and gaining them in services...more

Chief Executives’ Confidence Dips But Remains Strong
"Despite the dip in overall confidence, CEOs are very upbeat about the outlook for the next six months...more

Rent Way Stock Falls 24% In 10 Days
RWY closed 6-30, 2004 at $9.00 per share. By market close today (7-8, 2004) the stock closed at $6.82 on volume of 732,000 shares. Average volume is 182,000 shares...more

Rent-Way Schedules Conference Call
The conference call is available live online and can be accessed through RTO Portfolio...more

Furniture Maker Dorel Warns; Higher Wood Prices To Lower Earnings
During the second half of 2003, particle board prices for RTA furniture began to increase and a plan was established to gradually recoup these costs...more

Rent One Enters Gaming Market; Is Latest Craze Good For RTO?
A little over eight years ago, Rent One started carrying computers in their regular rental inventory. In the RTO industry, it can be a little tricky to clean up and reload computers to get them back out on rent...more

I Want My DTV: Shift From Analog to Digital TV In Full Swing But Consumer Awareness Remains Low
Factoid: The most common television screen size in homes today is 27 inches...more

Philips Acquires Leading USA Electronics Accessories Supplier
Philips Electronics announced an agreement to acquire Gemini Industries, the leading North American supplier of consumer electronics and PC accessories...more

Aaron Rents Schedules Q2 Conference Call
The conference call is available live online and can be accessed through RTO Portfolio...more

Text Of Landrieu Statement To The Senate Banking Committee Supporting The Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act
"Good Morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. It is my pleasure to appear before this Committee today to talk about federal rent-to-own legislation...more

Hottest Technology Under the Sun Expected at the 2005 International CES
The 2005 International CES covers more than 20 product areas spread throughout both the inside and outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Las Vegas Hilton and the Alexis Park...more

RTO Online MarketPlace; RTO Store For Sale
Bristol Virginia. Store open 5 years...more

Maytag Strike Ends
"We are pleased that union members recognized that cost improvements are a necessity in this competitive environment...more
Mark Krivoruchka, senior vice president of human resources

Welton USA; Rent to Own Vendor Spotlight
Welton USA has been a leading provider of furniture and electronics for the Rent-To-Own and Credit Retail industries for over 20 years. ...more

Maytag and UAW Reach Tentative Agreement on a New Labor Contract
Contract covering production and maintenance employees at Maytag's manufacturing facilities in Newton, Iowa...more

Hooker Furniture Reports Record Sales In Q2
The 2004 second quarter performance marks the highest quarterly net sales in the Company's history and the tenth consecutive quarter of increased sales compared with the same prior year periods...more

HP and VisuAide Release "Maestro"; First Handheld PC For The Blind
Maestro features text-to-speech technology and a tactile keyboard membrane over its touch screen so the visually impaired can use essential information-access and communication applications without using a stylus...more

Women Business Owners: Risk Takers Well Positioned for Continued Growth
More than half the women entrepreneurs (57%) indicated they were willing to take above average or substantial financial risks, compared to just 14% of all women and 26% of all men...more

Premier Rental Purchase Launches New Concept Store
In addition to rent to own plans, Premier Home Furnishings will offer customers retail and financing options...more

Rent One Raises $14,000 At Charity Golf Outing
Members of the winning golf team; Kenny Moore, Rent One Store Manager, Paragould AK, Bob Scott, IIRM and RTO Insurance, Neil Farrington, Benchcraft Furniture, Steve Brogdan, Autco Distributing...more

Serta Becomes First To Implement Fire Resistant Mattresses
California has become the first state to pass a law that will substantially improve the ability of residential mattresses to resist fires from open-flame hazards such as candles, lighters and matches. Similar bills are now being considered in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island...more

Panasonic Names Capitol Sales As Midwest Distributor
This is part of an overall initiative Panasonic is undertaking to streamline its distributors from nearly 200 in the U.S. down to 15 regional distributors...more

The Bryce Company; Rent to Own Vendor Spotlight
Bryce Co. is the ONLY Jewelry Vendor offering a performance guarantee. We are so confident in our jewelry program we guarantee Rental Dealer's up to 6% of BOR within one year or we buy your program back...more

Panasonic Taps Yoshi Yamada To Lead North American Operations
Yamada will oversee Panasonic's 100 business locations and 26,000 employees in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico...more

FamilyTel Acquires Software Vendor
FamilyTel, a major provider of prepaid in home telephone service, announced the company has agreed to purchase a majority interest in...more

Employees Appreciate Diversity Efforts, But Believe Most Initiatives Fall Short, Says National Urban League Study
Fully 80 percent of survey respondents report being comfortable working in diverse teams, and a great majority (65 percent) believes diversity improves creativity and innovation. Still, fewer than half (45 percent) believe that diversity is part of the corporate culture of their respective employers, and only 32 percent believe their company has an effective diversity initiative...more

Tips For Choosing Rent to Own Software
By: Raouf Bishay, Chief Technology Officer for Full-O-Pep Appliances Inc. DBA American Rental
This is not an easy choice. First of all, what software you need will depend on your business size, volume, number of locations...more

Bassett Sales Up 4.5%; Tariffs On Bedroom Furniture Could Add 8% - 11% to Cost
The recent U.S. Department of Commerce preliminary ruling imposing anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese wood bedroom furniture would result in an assessment of duties in the range of 8 to 11% on product sourced by Bassett...more

Panasonic Home Theater System Named Editor's Choice By CNET
The CNET Editors' Choice seal is awarded to products that display excellence in performance, quality, product design, and value...more  

RTO Career Center Surpasses 1000 Registered Users
Over 150 employers representing thousands of locations, and 850 jobseekers have registered. "RTO Online's mission is to improve the lives of rent to own professionals," said...more

Falling Prices On High End Electronics Pressure Entire Category
"Falling prices for plasma, which have declined over $1000 since last January, and rear projection TV, have put stress on category pricing all the way down to the basic tube set"...more

Salary Increases Show No Change From Last Year
“Although U.S. business continues to rebound from the economic downturn, companies are still paying close attention to cost control,” says Charles Peck,  compensation specialist...more

The Cute One, The Big One And The Old One
Being a 42 year old rent to own maven has never bothered me before. When I look in the mirror I still see the teenager I was when I wrote my first agreement for a top-loading VCR...and then I got the following call...more