Home

Texas Governor Signs Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Provisions
Texas took a major step in increasing transparency in government and promoting small businesses with the signing of House Bill 3430 by Governor Perry. Under this new law, the unique needs of Texas’ small businesses will be considered when state regulations are drafted...more

Mizati To Open Six Rent to Own Wheel Locations By End Of 2007; First Location Opens This Month
Chu estimates each store can generate between $720,000 - $760,000 in revenues annually...more

Heartland Regional RTO tradeshow Kicks Off Tonight With Vendor Showcase
MRDA has put forth significant effort in recent years to increase attendance at the tradeshow, including inviting rental dealers from all surrounding states...more

Five Questions to Avoid While Interviewing a Job Applicant
An interview question such as asking a person's age may seem obvious to avoid but there are many other personal questions that can get an employer into legal trouble according to the Civil Rights Violations Act of 1964 or the Disability Act of 1961...more

New Exclusive Podcast Interviews - 120 Event Pics
easyhome Store Of The Future Opens In New York; Hundreds Wait In Line for Hours; Company To Open Up Border States To Franchisees
"We wanted to make a statement that easyhome has arrived. I think we accomplished that." - Dave Maries, Vice President of Marketing and Advertising, easyhome, Inc...more

Barack Obama Narrows Hillary Clinton's Lead Among Democrats; Democrats Lead Republicans Overall By 8 Points
When the replies of all adults are taken together, 67 percent would consider voting for one of the Democrats and 59 percent would consider voting for one of the Republican leaders...more

Twinhead Renames North American Sales Arm GammaTech
Until the transition to the GammaTech name is complete later this year, the company will retain both the GammaTech and Twinhead corporate names...more
 

New Jersey Democrats Go After Rent to Own Homes
The New Jersey Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance released proposed legislation to regulate the Rent to Own home mortgage industry in the state...more

Be Careful What You Blog; Web 2.0 Fun Could Limit Career Opportunities and Advancement
Fanny tattoo photos, a wet T-shirt contest video, detailed accounts of a crazy party and other dirty laundry may be the stuff of friendly entertainment on social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube. Problem is, these same images may also be the last impressions that many job seekers are leaving with savvy employers...more

Ingram Micro Buys DBL Distributing For $96 Million
DBL Distributing is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, employees 350 people and reported 2006 sales of nearly $300 million...more

Widescreen Notebooks And Bigger Screen TVs Will Dominate Fathers Day Consumer Electronic Sales
The National Retail Federation says that consumers will spend over $1.75 billion on consumer electronics and computer-related gifts for Dad this year...more

Presidential Politics; Rudy Giuliani's Lead Shrinks As Fred Thompson Moves Solidly Into Second Place In GOP Race
Three in ten adults who say they will vote in a Republican primary or caucus say they would vote for Rudy Giuliani while 22 percent say they would vote for Fred Thompson...more

There Will Be One Billion PCs In Use By End Of 2008; Two Billion PCs Worldwide By 2015
There will be more than one billion personal computers in use worldwide by the end of 2008 and more than 2 billion by 2015. This according to data released by Forrester Research...more
 

Tragic Loss For RTO Industry Veteran Ron DeMoss
On June 10th, Carey Lynne DeMoss, daughter of Ron and Lynne DeMoss, was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident while visiting a friend in Texas. Carey was 27 years old. Carey's father, Ron DeMoss, was corporate counsel for Rent Way and was instrumental in securing the future of the rent-to-own industry by advocating the transaction in many key states...more

Rentcash Donates $10,000 Habitat For Humanity - Women Build Winnipeg
"Without the support of organizations like Rentcash, our Habitat homes would not be possible." - Michelle Nyhof, Manager of Communications and Marketing, Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg...more

Direct Comparison Of Rental Purchase Agreement Act and Rent to Own Reform Act
Scroll to various sections to directly compare the Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act of 2007 (left) and the Rent To Own Reform Act of 2007...more

SED Names Former DSI VP Tom Roper General Manager Of Purchasing
"Our priority is to provide our customers with the products and programs they need to succeed. Tom will play a key role in helping us take the next step in this important category." - Jonathan Elster, EVP, SED International...more

Employers Hiring Plans Cautious For Summer Months
Of the 14,000 U.S. Employers surveyed, 29% expect to increase their workforces during the third quarter of 2007, while 7% expect to trim their payrolls. Fifty-eight percent expect no change in the hiring pace, and 6% are undecided about their hiring plans...more

Summer Las Vegas Furniture Market Offers Consumer Trends Seminars
The seminars will give buyers a broad view of what’s happening in the world from design, color, retail and consumers to demographics and societal shifts...more

Premier Wheel Rentals Signs 10-Store Deal In Florida
"I buy houses, rehab them and sell to people with credit issues and carry their financing. When I read the article about wheel rental, and saw the potential for my same market in the automotive industry, I decided to give it a shot." - Keith Slater, Premier Wheel Rental Franchisee, Florida...more

Retailers To Congress; "Protectionism Raises Prices"
"Waving the banner of 'fair trade,' some domestic industries have taken advantage of popular anxiety over trade and globalization to push for protectionist measures and legislation to limit foreign competition and pad their own profit margins at the expense of U.S. consumers." - Erik Autor, Vice President and International Trade Counsel, National Retail Federation...more

Survey; Employees Want More, Better Company Communication
We asked about importance because management often perceives issues differently than the workforce. They focus on things that ultimately are not that important to the workers and then wonder why no one cheers the results." - Robert L. Brady, CEO, BLR...more
 

Editorial: How Microsoft's Surface Computing Will Change The Rent to Own and Leasing Industry
The potential of surface-computing to improve, not only the customer experience, but also the efficiency of Rent to Own store operations is phenomenal. Here are just a few ways Surface Computing will change the look of RTO in the near future...more

HD DVD Players Capture 60% of HD Set-Top Market; Highest Attach Rate of Any Format
Consumers have purchased 150,000 dedicated HD DVD consumer electronics players which are holding a 4 to 1 movie attach rate over competing formats...more

TransUnion Begins Offering Rent to Own, Payday Loan Histories; Traditional Retail Paying Increasing Attention To Non-Traditional Financial Services Data
"Traditional credit scoring sometimes cannot calculate a credit score for millions of consumers because of their limited credit histories." - Tony Powers, Director, Solutions and Business Development, TransUnion...more

New Study Of Underbanked Consumer Preferences
The study finds underbanked consumers make financial decisions differently than mass market customers, strongly emphasizing intangibles such as respect, trust, safety, security, and a sense of belonging...more

Aaron’s Sales & Lease Franchise Sees Success With PCRental Agent
"If results like this are typical, you can expect us to be a lifetime customer." - Kathy Weigle, Sales Manager, Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership Franchise location F655...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
RTO Online Wraps Up Successful Franchise Week 2007
"Website traffic and magazine readership both far exceeded expectations. Visitor traffic increased throughout Franchise Week, ending with nearly 20,000 user sessions Friday (June 8, 2007)." - Roy Griffaw, President, RTO Online, Inc...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
Rent Here, Pay Here; RTO Cars - The Wheels Every Rent to Own Customer Needs
There’s a lot of discussion these days about the profit potential for renting tires and wheels. But imagine renting an entire vehicle to your customers. “I’ve learned never to say no about renting something until I’ve had a chance to really examine the potential,” says Fred Pearson, former co-owner of Furniture and Appliances Now, Arkansas’ largest independent RTO chain...more

Pre-Registration Begins For High Point Furniture Market
Pre-Registration activities for Fall High Point Furniture Market kicked off this week with a special promotion that will award complimentary hotel stays to ten retailers around the country...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
Rolling Out Premier Wheel Rentals
Premier Wheel Rentals fills the experience gap by combining the perfect blend of RTO franchising expertise and support with knowledge and experience in the wheel rentals industry...more

Artistic Resources Joins Nationwide Marketing Group; Company To Show At PrimeTime
Artistic Resource Team announced has it joined the Nationwide Marketing Group. In collaboration with Bill Bazemore (Furniture Smart) the company developed a program for Nationwide members...more

House Financial Services Committee Schedules Hearing On Future of Consumer Protection
The hearing will examine consumer protection in the financial services sector in light of regulatory and judicial decisions over the past several years that have preempted state consumer protection laws for federally chartered institutions...more
 

Easyhome Honored For "A New Way To Look At Buying" Ad Campaign
Easyhome took the Retail Marketing/Advertising Award in the mid-size category. The award is presented to a retailer that has developed a creative and successful marketing campaign by integrating two or more tactics...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
The Premier Rental Purchase Philosophy
"At Premier, we have our 80-20 rule. With almost any of our support services, up to 20% of our dealers will choose to do something different because they believe they can do it better." - Trooper Earle, CEO Premier Companies...more

Reykdal's RentCash Named Canada's Fastest Growing Company
Rentcash was founded in 2000 by rent-to-own industry icon Gordon Reykdal. The company reported 2006 sales of $154 million-up 33,700% from 2001...more

Custom Wheel Rental Firm Mizati Appoints Croft As COO
Among other duties, Mizati said Croft will assist CEO Hazel Chu in rolling out the companies Rent to Own custom wheel initiative...more

RTO Magazine Launches Updated Website; Announces Availability Of RTO Screensavers
RTO Online, Inc., the leading source of news and information for the rent to own industry, today unveiled a newly redesigned website for RTO Magazine, the company's industry-leading print trade publication....more

High Point Shifting Market Dates
The High Point Market Authority has set new Spring and Fall furniture market dates through the year 2015...more

BC Government Halts Proposed payday Loan Legislation; Rentcash Applauds Move
"The bottom line is that B.C.'s legislation does not strike a proper balance between consumer protection and fostering a competitive lending environment. In fact, the Bill as presently drafted is bad for consumers, as it will restrict the range of product offerings available to them." - Gordon J. Reykdal, Chairman and CEO, Rentcash...more

Stealth Security Offers Complete Camera System Designed For Rent to Own Industry
Stealth says protecting a store and its inventory doesn't have to be complicated. The Digit One Plus video system is an easy to install camera security system that is set to record as motion occurs...more
 

RTO Online Releases Website Traffic Numbers For May, 2007
RTOonline.com registered over 350,000 unique visitor sessions and 3.7 million page views in May, 2007. This brings the trailing three month total to more than 1.15 million visitor sessions. RTO Online, Inc., also reported over 23,000 E-Book version downloads of its rent to own industry leading print publication RTO Magazine in the past 90 days...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
ColorTyme Franchisees Tell Story Of Commitment, Growth
ColorTyme franchisees have access to 100 percent inventory financing through Wells Fargo Foothill or Texas Capitol Bank. It’s the backing independent dealers need to take business to the next level with higher-end inventory to attract customers. That same financial backing is available for new stores as well...more

Eye On The Street; Google Maps Zooms In On Privacy
With just a few clicks, we were able to find a storefront view of a Rent-A-Center and an Aaron's in San Francisco, California...more

Payday Advance Association Bans Certain Advertising Practices
"These changes represent another step in our ongoing efforts to respond to the concerns of policymakers and protect the financial well-being of our customers." - Darrin Andersen, President, Community Financial Services Association of America...more

U.S. Census Data Available Online For All US Counties
Data by county on the number of establishments, number of employees, and quarterly and annual payroll for the nations 7.5 million businesses with employees...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
Retail Giant Goes Smaller To Get Bigger; Aaron's Reaches Out To Franchisees In Smaller Markets
Aaron’s will continue to open new franchise locations in traditional urban markets, but by expanding into smaller towns and in rural areas, the company will increase its penetration in growing and underserved markets...more

Whirlpool Receives Helen Keller Award; American Foundation for the Blind Recognizes Commitment to Helping Vision Impaired Consumers
Some of the product innovations may seem simple, but they make a tremendous difference in the lives of the visually impaired. For instance, engineers incorporated tones into the newest Duet laundry system to help guide users through various settings for wash and dry cycles...more

Las Vegas Furniture Market Goes Green; Eco Friendly Furniture Pavilion Planned
"One of the most important issues in the world today is protecting the environment, and so it’s no surprise that the home furnishings industry is becoming more in tune with consumer demand and the usage of sustainable resources in their products." - Tim Branscome, World Market Center, Director of International Business Development...more

RTO Pro Software Surpasses 700 User Locations
RTO Pro, a leading point of sale (POS) software package for Rent to Own industry, has surpassed 700 user locations. No newcomer to the industry, FutureWare Enterprises, makers of RTO Pro software, began developing rental software in 1994...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
Golden Gates; RTO Magazine Profiles Rent to Own Industry Icon Bud Gates
In a career that spans nearly forty years, Bud Gates has had the chance to pretty much be anything he wanted. From an early start as a popular math teacher in the town of Weston, Massachusetts before paying his way through the storied Harvard MBA program, Gates has embarked on a one-way road to success...more
 

RTO Franchise Week 2007
Franchise Nation; Rent to Own Franchises - the invisible difference
Today’s digitized, MTV’d and X-boxed rental store customers have been trained to make buying decisions largely on the basis of presentation and promotion. And there the franchisee can excel...more

65% of Business Professionals Use Social Networking Sites To Connect With Peers
"Companies and employees have often gravitated to trade associations and shows for one primary benefit: community,” says Jamrog. Social networks have opened a new dynamic in bringing that community online." - Jay Jamrog, i4cp, SVP of Research...more

RTO Franchise Week 2007
Rent to Own Franchise Week
"Based on the overwhelming response and positive feedback of our 'industry-first' Franchise Issue of RTO Magazine, RTOonline.com will dedicate an entire week to getting the message out about franchise opportunities in the rental purchase/leasing sector." - Roy Griffaw, President of RTO Online Inc...more

Consumers Cautious; Gas Prices Continue Negative Effect On Economy
The short-term outlook remains cautious, and rising gasoline prices are having a negative impact on consumers' inflation expectations...more

70 Percent of US to Have Broadband By 2012
As prices for broadband fall, the service will become more popular among consumers in the lower economic spectrum. This will encourage rent to own companies to improve online marketing by incorporating high bandwidth features into their websites...more

Schumer To Introduce Rent to Own Legislation
In 2006, Schumer introduced Senate Bill 1012, the Rent to Own Reform Act of 2006 which claims that rent to own transactions are retail credit sales and therefore subject to interest rate caps...more

High Point Furniture Market Online Hotel Registration Available Now
"We expect these discounted hotel rooms to book very quickly and encourage all attendees to book their hotel rooms early to ensure the best availability." - Brian D. Casey, President and CEO, High Point Market Authority...more

Aaron Sales and Lease Ownership Partners with Bill Elliott Racing
"Aaron’s partnership with the Bill Elliott Racing Driver Development Program will be a great addition to our involvement in sports marketing." - Robin Loudermilk, COO, Aaron Rents Inc...more

Recycling Tax Proposed For Consumer Electronics; Consumers To Pay At Point of Sale
TV collection and recycling would be primarily conducted by an industry-sponsored third party organization and initially supported by a nominal fee paid by consumers at the point of purchase. The fee would eventually expire, once a significant number of so-called “legacy” sets are recovered...more

Price Deflation Drives Hitachi and Panasonic Plasma TV Business Partnership
According to a joint statement issued today, the move is intended to improve efficiencies in order to cope with falling prices...more

Custom Wheel Operations Benefit From Growing Consumer Interest In Vehicle Appearance
Based on sales through the auto parts channel, dollar sales for appearance products and accessories were over 17 percent higher in the month of March 2007 versus the same month in 2006...more

Fed Seeks New Disclosure Requirements
"There is systematic evidence that in practice, changes in disclosure affect both consumer and supplier behavior in a number of consumer product markets." - Randall S. Kroszner, Governor, Federal Reserve...more

Online Advertising Revenues Grow 35% in ’06
Interactive advertising revenues continue to show solid growth as advertisers and agencies recognize that it is a medium that can uniquely affect behavior...more

Retirement Plans Key To Attracting Talent; Sixty-Nine Percent of Employed U.S. Adults Receive Some Type of Retirement Benefit from Their Employer
When asked what factors they consider important when evaluating a potential employer, more than half (53%) of U.S. adults say they consider a comprehensive retirement-plan package to be extremely or very important...more