RTO Online Reaches Top 10 Business News and Media Ranking
Providing timely, informative and relevant information to the rent to own sector for a decade has made RTO Online, Inc. one of the most read websites in the retail-trade...more

Global LCD TV Shipments Rise 135% in Q1: Sony Remains #1 in Revenues, Philips Earns Top Unit Share
The average diagonal rose 19% year-over-year and 2% quarter-over-quarter to 27.0" as larger sizes continue to become increasingly affordable...more

Report Shows Consumer Electronics Devices Becoming More Entrenched in Kids Lives
kids are digital natives whose activities are fundamentally different than previous generations...more

Dads Prefer Fathers Day Electronics; 55% Say Biggest Downside To Electronics Is Getting It Set Up
Nearly 95% of surveyed dads say knowledgeable and reliable technicians are a must when they consider tech services...more

Forecast; $3.50 Per Gallon Gas If Predicted Severe Hurricane Season Develops
Stormy weather is likely to mean further pain for motorists at the gas pumps during the coming driving season." - Jeff Rubin, Chief Economist and Chief Strategist, CIBC World Markets...more

O'Rourke Sales and Phillips Electronics Treat Rent to Own Dealers To Mexico Getaway
"The group held the 4th Annual Club "O" Golf Tournament, shopped Puerto Vallarta, road raced ATVs, visited a secluded, private island and participated in the "Club-O-Pub-Crawl" (photo gallery: 196 pics)...more

La-Z-Boy Names Mark Copping Corporate Controller 
Most recently, Copping was Vice President and Controller of Agrium, Incorporated, where he was responsible for all internal and SEC reporting, business planning and analysis, internal control compliance, operations finance and business process improvement...more

Darrell Waltrip To Unveil His Own No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine This Weekend
After a 14-year hiatus from racing in the series, the elder Waltrip will make his return this time behind the wheel of the Dream Machine...more

Michigan Car Dealer Fined For Violations Of Rental Purchase Agreement Act
Michigan law prohibits rent-to-own used vehicle purchases that fail to comply with the Michigan Rental-Purchase Agreement Act...more

Whirlpool Expects $400 Million In Efficiency From Maytag Acquisition; Will Sell Off Specialty Divisions To Focus On Core Business
"We have moved quickly to integrate the Maytag business since closing the transaction seven weeks ago and we are pleased with our progress to date." - Jeff M. Fettig, Chairman and CEO, Whirlpool...more

Moody's Upgrades Rent-A-Center; "Outlook Positive"
"Moody's also believes that the company could take advantage of an opportunity to increase its market presence if a sizable chain or several smaller chains of rent-to-own retailers were to become available." - Moodys.com...more

Rent One To Hold 12th Annual Vendor Appreciation Golf Outing
"With store managers and office staff attending the outing, this is a terrific opportunity to meet members of our entire Rent One team and network with other vendors who support Rent One and the RTO industry." - Larry Carrico, Rent One, Owner...more

Aaron’s Builds In-House Television Studio To Streamline Communications With Franchisees
"Inside Aaron’s” is shot digitally, recorded on DVD and sent to more than 1,220 stores in 46 states, Puerto Rico and Canada...more

TRIB / AVB Buying Show Kicks Off At Cinergy Center
500 people from 89 companies attended this year's event at the Cinergy Center in downtown Cincinnati...more

Microsoft Xbox 360 Outsells All Other Game Consoles In April
Xbox also claims five of the top selling games in April were Xbox 360 titles...more

Corporate Giving To Worthy Causes Focusing On Meeting Business Objectives; Measuring Impact Difficult
Nearly half of the survey participants cited corporate reputation/branding as the biggest change in their function during the last five years...more

Hooker Warns; Furniture Manufacturer Blames Rising Fuel Prices And Falling Home Sales For Q2 Decline
"A softening in business at retail has dampened our expectations for the current quarter. We believe this decline has been precipitated by rising energy prices and a decrease in housing activity." - Paul B. Toms Jr., Chairman and CEO, Hooker Furniture...more

Rent to Own Business Insurance; Tips For Protecting Your Company And Your Wallet
Screening employees reduces wrongful collection claims, for which there is generally no coverage...more

Eighty Percent Of Employers Perform Background Checks On Applicants
Data indicates that 10% of firms may be operating outside of established Fair Credit Reporting Act procedures...more

Kingsdown Names Former Sealy Exec VP Marketing
"Jim's proven success at positioning and selling high-end product makes him an obvious fit." - Pat Flippin, President and COO, Kingsdown...more

Opportunities Abound In Mobile Electronics; Sales of In-Vehicle Devices To Rise In 2006
"There are several areas that pose great opportunity for the industry. Consumers across all segments are interested in owning more safety and navigation aids, and in having access to a wide range of content in their vehicles." - Joe Bates, Director of Research, CEA...more

Families Reduce Summer Spending As Gas Prices Rise
"Higher gas prices, rising prices at their local supermarket and feeling the pinch of credit card debt are taking their toll on American families." - C. Britt Beemer, Founder and CEO, ARG...more

Help-Wanted Ads Down 6% in April; Still Significantly Higher Than 2005
"In the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which measures job vacancies at the national level, 2006 monthly figures are running on average about 10-20 percent above the 2005 levels." - Gad Levanon, Economist, Conference Board...more

Are Consumers Really Ready For Digital Convergence?; Survey Highlights Barriers To Market Development And Provides An Estimate Of Next-Year Market Potential
"In this already time- and attention-starved world, Americans are asking themselves, ‘Once I start wading into these new devices that work with my Media Center PC to share stuff around the house, do I then have to buy cables, antennas, a new TV for the second bedroom, and so forth?’ It’s quite the Pandora’s Box." - Todd Board, Senior Vice President,  Ipsos Insight Technology & Communications...more

Arkansas' Largest Rent to Own Company Celebrates 10th Anniversary; Susan Williams Named Manager Of the Year
As a result of in-depth analysis and strategic planning, last summer FAN aggressively evolved into “sales and leasing.” Vail restructured his offer by reducing cash prices, extending same-as-cash terms from 90 to 120 days, and by offering categories such as recliners and dinettes on 6 Month terms...more

Rent to Own Car Dealership Opens Third Missouri Location
Most Auto by Rent rental purchase agreements are for 18 to 30 months...more

Aaron’s To Franchise RIMCO Wheel And Rim Leasing Concept; Proven Aaron’s model to penetrate $3.9 billion wheel and tire retail market
"The market is booming across all demographics and our goal is to build the first national custom wheel and rim chain." - Kevin Leary, director of franchise development and operations for Rimco Sales & Lease Ownership...more

Maine Entrepreneur Signs Three Store Deal With Aaron's
"Michael knows the geography and he’s an experienced retailer having owned several independent grocery stores." - Jim Thrash, director of franchise development, Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership...more

Rent America's Michael Jordan Wins dPi Teleconnect April Incentive
Jordan is the first Store Manager from Rent America to lead an incentive period...more

Survey; 55% HR Pros Say Companies Should Not Be Required To Provide Healthcare
71.2% thought employers should be allowed to charge higher premiums to employees who smoke and half of the respondents thought it would be okay to charge more for employees who are 30 pounds or more overweight...more

EZCORP Rolls Out Credit Reporting Service to Help Customers Build Credit Score
"It is a valuable community economic development service when a business reports its customers' timely payments to a credit bureau such as PRBC." - Michael Nathans, Chairman and CEO, PRBC...more

eMachines Updates Online Training
eMachines Knowledge Center, a comprehensive training center with useful information for rent to own pros, has been redesigned. The update features improved navigation and additional training opportunities...more

Canadian Court; "Class Action Can Proceed Against Cash Store"
"Rentcash believes that the Cash Store conducts its business in accordance with applicable law and as a result, intends to defend each of the actions vigorously." - RentCash in a statement issued today...more

Furniture Answers Releases New Furniture Repair Training Video
"Some videos are in response to specific requests by rental companies, others are the next logical step in an on-going library of training techniques designed to reduce the time and expense required to keep inventory ready-to-rent." - Pat Blank, Furniture Answers National Training & Support Director...more
 

RTO Excellence; Barbara Mason, Once Upon A Prime Time…
Barbara Mason of Virginia RTO powerhouse Prime Time has two passions; Animal rights and re-inventing RTO
"Just like Sam Walton looked at the competition and said there has to be a better way, I try to be aware of the competition, to follow trends. The moment you think you know it all, you’re as good as being out of business yourself." - Barbara Mason, Prime Time...more

Rentcash Doubles Revenue; Rental Division In Red; No Rollover Policy Hurts Earnings
"Bill Johnson's background and knowledge of the rental industry will be instrumental in taking Insta-rent to the next level which could include a restructuring of the rental business or other strategic alternatives." - RentCash...more

La-Z-Boy Appoints Gabrys To Board
"Gabrys brings to the company not only significant financial expertise, but a wealth of international experience, specifically in China." - Patrick H. Norton, La-Z-Boy Chairman...more

Whirlpool To Close Maytag Plants; 4,500 Jobs Eliminated
"We are taking these actions to rapidly restore the competitiveness of the Maytag brands." - Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool chairman and CEO...more

Playstation 3 To Ship November 17 In US; Unit Preview
"In addition to standard key input available in existing controllers, more natural and more intuitive play will become possible as if the controller has become part of your body." - Sony explaining the PS3's motion sensitive controller...more

Mobile Phone Sales Up 11% In Q1; Bluetooth devices 18% of all new sales
"Normally, there is a seasonal drop in the first quarter after the holiday rush; however, these numbers reflect a very healthy market, and we’re seeing strong demand for replacement models and from new subscribers." - Neil Strother, Research Director, Mobile Devices, The NPD Group...more

easyhome Reports 8.7% Same Store Growth; Begins Financial Services Test Market
"I am also pleased with our operational discipline which showed continued improvements to our collection practices with reduced delinquencies and a lower charge off expense." - David Ingram, President and CEO...more

Digital TV Sales Up 100 Percent For Q1 2006
"The consumer electronics industry industry sold 3.4 million DTV units during the first quarter of 2006, equaling a 101 percent increase in unit sales over the same time last year." - Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics Association...more

Twenty Four Year RTO Veteran Cashes In Experience To Become Owner
ColorTyme offers partnerships between multi-store managers and investors to help multi-store managers become franchisees...more

ColorTyme’s 2005 New Franchisee of the Year Plans Expansion
Edwards is one of several franchisees who to capitalize on ColorTyme's offer of $1,000 credit towards the initial franchise fee for each year of experience in the RTO industry, up to $10,000...more

Study; One-Third of Moms Hope to Receive Electronics For Mother's Day
"An overwhelming number of studies and reports have documented the growing fascination with electronics among the so-called 'Generation Tech.'" - Gary Shapiro, President, Consumer Electronics Association...more

Gas Prices Contribute To Collapse In Consumer Confidence
Women aged 18-44, Midwesterners, rural residents and those with household incomes of less than $25,000 annually all are more pessimistic than the country as a whole...more

"Americans with Disabilities: Ready for the Global Workforce"; Theme For 2006 National Disability Employment Awareness Month
"This theme echoes the President's New Freedom Initiative which has been out in front in recognizing the need to promote greater job opportunities for workers with disabilities." - Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor...more

Rent-Way Names John Lombardi Senior VP and CFO; Roger Zwingler Executive VP of Strategic Planning and Chief Marketing Officer
"I believe John and Roger have the vision, the capabilities and the focus to lead Rent-Way in their respective capacities going forward." - William Short, President, Rent-Way...more

Canadian Payday Loan Association Appoints Former Law Enforcement Official Sid Peckford Ethics and Integrity Commissioner
The Office of the Ethics and Integrity Commissioner was designed by Phil Murray, former Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, to oversee and enforce the CPLA's Code of Best Business Practices...more

Rental Purchase Amendment Fails In Committee
"Supporters had hoped to include the amendment that would have standardized rental purchase legislation in all states."...more

Q1 Overall PC Sales Strong; Notebooks Sales Up 12% As Desktop Sales Fall
Consumers spent $2.5 billion on desktops in the first quarter, a 10.2 percent decrease over the same time period in 2005...more

The PC To Be Challenged By Competing Digital Platforms For Supremacy In Tomorrow’s “Digital Den”
?Watching movies and TV on the PC or portable devices is not exciting to mainstream America yet, as most consumers overwhelmingly prefer the ’10-foot’ experience for video content." - Todd Board, Senior Vice President of the Ipsos Insight Technology & Communications...more

Consumer Group Launches Payday Loan Web Site
CFA is no friend of business. The views of the group's director, Jean Ann Fox, against the profit motive are well known and extreme...more

Credit Unions Make New Attempt At Short Term Lending; TRE Launches TurboCash As Alternative to Payday Loans for Credit Union Members
According to TRE, a two-year market study indicated that more than twenty percent of payday loan customers are also members of a credit union...more

Midwest RTO Expo Changes Name, Dates; Registration Begins June 1
The Midwest RTO Expo is changing it's name to “Midwest Training Expo” to emphasize the personal development focus of this regional event...more

RentDirect Nationwide To Host Member2Member Summit
"Our dedication to the Rent-to-Own channel has led us to create a wide range of vendor programs and member services, and the RentDirect Member2Member Summit is just our most recent initiative." - James MacAlpine, Executive Director, RentDirect...more

Rent-Way Reports Quarterly Revenues Up 5.2% But Profits Down
"Looking forward for the balance of the fiscal and calendar year, we expect to see same store revenues in the 3% - 5% range." - William Short, President - William Short, President...more

Innovex Comes To “Play Ball” At TRIB Buying Show; Offers 10% off show special
Innovex Home Products announces attractive specials to be offered TRIB members at its “Play Ball In Cinci” Buying Show May 17th - 21th. Innovex has served the RTO industry since 1998 and has been a TRIB Approved Vendor since 2004...more

Johnny Brinson Wins Aaron's PT Rodeo; Named Best Product Technician In Aaron's Franchise
Brinson's bested more than 3,000 other product technicians to win the coveted title...more

West Virginia ‘Miracle Miner’ Randy McCloy and family VIP guests at Aaron’s Dream Weekend; Family in Talladega for first-ever trip to NASCAR race
Aaron's President Ken Butler extended the invitation to the McCloy family last month when he learned they were NASCAR fans...more

ColorTyme Racing Continues Kids Across America Campaign; Chastain Off To Winning Start In 2006 Season
Johnny Chastain has a first and second place finish in the first three races of 2006. During the 2005 season Chastain and the team scored 10 wins and 30 top five finishes....more

Military Access To Payday Loans Should Be Protected; Independent Study Finds No Data To Support Predatory Claims
"There exist no data from which it can reasonably be concluded that military personnel should be denied access to any form of credit that is available to civilians." Consumer Credit Research Foundation...more

RTO Refurbish Tip #1; Removing White Water Marks From Wood Furniture
"Aerosol Blush Remover is a fifty cent solution to a million dollar problem." - Pat Blank, Furniture Answers...more

La-Z-Boy Shuffles Management Team
"This is a young, talented team who knows our target customer well" - Steve Matlock, senior vice president of sales and marketing...more

Aaron Rents Reports Q1 Same Store Sales Up 10.7%; Record Revenue
"Our management team has consistently performed at a level that has delivered superior results to our shareholders, and this quarter was no exception." - R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr., Chairman and CEO...more

Dell Receives Top Government Award for Workplace Diversity
"Dell is a company that fosters as its basic core value a commitment to equal employment opportunity throughout its organization." - Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor...more

Convention Coverage - PHOTO GALLERY
Arkansas Rental Dealers Name Teresa Hardin and Ed Martin Managers Of The Year As 2006 Convention Kicks Off In Hot Springs
"The sign on the door says 9-6. But a managers job doesn't stop at 6, and it doesn't start at 9." - Joe Burchfield, President, Arkansas Rental Dealers Association...more

EXPO Magazine Names Las Vegas Market ‘Best New Show’
"After five years in the making, Las Vegas Market set out to deliver to the industry a new Market experience that would offer unparalleled amenities and choices." - Gerry Sawyer, Chief Operating Office for World Market Center...more

Loan Operator World Acceptance Corp Reports Record Results
"Loan demand was very strong in the third fiscal quarter and carried over through year end. In addition, we have experienced a drop in delinquencies and net charge offs since the third quarter." - Sandy McLean, World Acceptance Corporation, CEO...more

Aaron’s Sports Marketing Readies For Talladega Weekend
"This is the culmination of a year-long effort from many different people encompassing nearly every department within our company." - Ken Butler, President, Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership...more

Reminder; Anti Business Bill On New York Judiciary Committee Agenda
Assembly Bill 592, a bill that, if passed, would define "lease charge" as the equivalent of interest and legislate the cash price of rental merchandise. This is the second attempt at approval. AB 592 died in committee in January, 2005...more

Rent-A-Center Reports Same Store Sales Up 1.8%; Cites Slight Uptick In Customer Traffic
"Our reported first quarter earnings per share exceeded our previous guidance, primarily as a result of higher than anticipated revenue." - Mark E. Speese, Rent-A-Center CEO...more

Feds Keep Out!; Association Launches Education Effort To Protect Electronics Industry From Government Regulation
"With a unified voice, we can help consumers and protect our industry and your business from government regulation." - Gary Shapiro, Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO...more

easyhome To Webcast Q1 Conference Call
Audio of the call will be broadcast live. A link to the live webcast will be available from My RTO Portfolio...more

Sony Lowers PlayStation2 Price; SRP $129
"...we remain dedicated to our long-term vision for the PlayStation 2 platform." - Kaz Hirai, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America...more