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Dell Offers Three Systems With Linux Operating System
With no software licensing costs associated with Linux, the base price for each system is significantly lower than Windows systems...more

Mizati Revenues Rise 35%; Expects Sales to Double in 2007; Company To Open First Wheel Lots In San Bernardino
Since 2006, Mizati has moved into a larger facility, secured its first international sales orders in South America, and most notably, made the strategic decision to open a retail chain of Rent-To-Own (RTO) wheel and tire stores under the name "Wheel Lots."...more

Samsung Leads Q1'07 Units Shipped And Revenue
HDTV had a 35% share of all TV shipments on a unit basis and 74% on a revenue basis. Samsung remained the top 720p/1080i brand with a 20% to 11% revenue share advantage over Sony...more

Census Reports More Houses Have More Bedrooms
American homes are getting bigger at least when measured by the number of bedrooms they have according to a new analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. More bedrooms translates into more bedroom furniture sales and rentals...more

Premier Conference In Full Swing; Reports of Growth and Commitment to Unity
"We discussed tough subjects. Nothing was off limits. We met as entrepreneurs but also as a united group of Premier dealers, dedicated to growth and willing to work through any growing pains. It’s been a great day." - Trooper Earle, President and CEO, Premier Companies...more

Younger Consumers Driving Demand for Online Payment Options
"Beyond modifying today's most common features and products, issuers and vendors must keep an eye on the emerging data habits of younger adults, and pay special attention to how their payment and data preferences feed into tomorrow's payment-product and form-factor innovations." - David Schatsky, President,  JupiterResearch...more

Flexsteel Leader Bruce Lauritsen Dies at 64
Bruce Lauritsen, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Flexsteel Industries, died Sunday, May 20, 2007, at home in Dubuque, Iowa after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer...more
 

Denise Ramos Resigns as Senior Vice President and CFO of Furniture Brands International
"Denise has made many contributions to Furniture Brands at an important point in the company’s history." - Mickey Holliman, Chairman and CEO, Furniture Brands...more

Former Rent-A-Center District Managers Open First Of Five ColorTyme Locations
Routh and Dami, former Rent-A-Center (RAC) district managers, bring more than 26 years combined experience in rent-to-own to their franchise...more
 

The Web 2.0 Train is Coming; Get Your Business On Or Get Out Of The Way
While the largest RTO companies have jumped into online promotions and order processing with both feet, most of the rental purchase industry's B2C websites are not leveraging the prolific use of the internet by the typical RTO consumer...more

Video
RentDirect Nationwide Helps Members Say Goodbye to Competitors Ads with MemberNet TV
RentDirect/Nationwide provides a wide array of high quality demonstration programming, event graphics, and generic ad materials in addition to its library of “Better than Film” HD commercials that can be customized for RentDirect Members. The generic materials and HD programming are free...more

LG Raises HD TV Brand Profile with “Red Couch” Campaign
"This is about creating an emotional attachment to our products." - Young Chan Kim, Executive Vice President, Digital Display Company, LG Electronics...more

High Point Furniture Market Dates To Change...Again
Of sales reps surveyed, 28 percent preferred March to 49 percent for April, and an additional 15 percent of the sales reps surveyed also responded ‘whatever the customer wants...more
 

Lawsuits Drain Economy, Alter Business Decisions; U.S. Chamber: 'Broken Lawsuit System' Hurts Small Businesses
"Although some liability costs represent legitimate compensation for damages sustained, these studies leave no question that small businesses pay an extremely high price for the excesses of our lawsuit system-money that the business owners could use to expand operations, develop new products, hire additional employees and grow the American economy." - Lisa Rickard, President, U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform...more

Whirlpool Wins Golden Halo Award
"We are pleased to be recognized for two important causes that are close to the hearts of our customers and employees -- eliminating substandard housing and fighting breast cancer." - Jeff Davidoff, Vice President of Marketing Communications, Whirlpool...more

Tempur-Pedic Unveils Brand Campaign
"This direction was born of consumers and what they have told us is important to them." - Rick Anderson, President, Tempur-Pedic North America...more

U.S. Minority Population Tops 100 Million; One In Three Americans A Minority
"To put this into perspective, there are more minorities in this country today than there were people in the United States in 1910." - Louis Kincannon, Director, Census Bureau...more
 

Prediction; Fuel To Reach $4 Per Gallon
"I see nothing in sight to slow down the increases in gas pricing." - Bill McClure, CEO, Fuel.com...more

FICO Beefs Up High Risk Sub-Prime Scoring
Fair Isaac’s development tests indicate that the new FICO score research model increases predictive strength by 5-15 percent, with the largest increases coming in three important consumer segments including Sub-Prime...more

Small Business Lending Bill Clears Committee
"These programs will leverage $87 billion in loans to America's small businesses, filling a critical gap regular markets do not meet -- especially in underserved communities." - Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship...more

What Would You Do For Money?; Survey Finds Drastic Difference Between Ethics Of Men and Women
Both men and women believe women are more ethical than men - although women are likelier than men to think that’s true - and it appears they may be right...more

RTA Manufacturer Dorel To Shutter Michigan Plant; Company Encouraged by 2007 Prospects
"We believe this will ensure the long-term viability of our domestic operations and speed Ameriwood's profitability growth." - Martin Schwartz, President & CEO, Dorel...more

Politics
Hillary Clinton Widens Lead Over Barack Obama; Gore, Edwards Show No Signs Of Success
Among Democrats, more people say they would consider voting for Hillary Clinton (74%) than for Barack Obama (62%). However, Obama leads Clinton among Independents by 39% to 34%...more

PeopLoungers Declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
PeopLoungers, based in Nettleton, Mississippi, was founded in 1979 with 20 employees and claims to be the first company to successfully sell motion upholstery as a primary product...more
 

Video: New World Record Set For Fastest Sofa; 92mph
"You feel every bump. Worse, you feel like you might take off." - Marek Turowski, Record Holder, World's Fastest Piece Of Furniture...more

Strange: Stolen Rent-A-Center Laptop Held For Ransom
The customer received a text message demanding $50 to buy back the laptop...more

Association Encourages Retailers To Have Digital Converter Boxes In Stock By January; Says Availability "Critical"
"If boxes are not produced and on store shelves by January 1, 2008, significant consumer confusion will result." - David K. Rehr, President and CEO, National Association of Broadcasters...more

Registration Open for This Summer’s Biggest Rent to Own Tradeshow; PrimeTime! by Nationwide Convention
Nationwide plans to integrate their annual Member2Member Summit, hosted by the group’s rent-to-own division, RentDirect Nationwide, into their August PrimeTime! convention...more

Whirlpool And Habitat for Humanity Building 9 Homes in 5 Days
We are so happy to have a partner like Whirlpool that is committed to finding new ways to engage people in the work of Habitat as well as raise awareness and resources to support Habitat families around the world." - Chris Clarke, Senior Vice President of Communications, Habitat for Humanity International...more
 

Association Calls On Congress To Pass H.R. 1201, the Fair Use Act
The Betamax Doctrine is so named because of the 1984 Supreme Court decision in the Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios case. The court held that manufacturers of video recorders, and the retailers and rent to own companies that sell them, could not be held liable for copyright violations when a consumer used a video recorder to tape a television show...more

Well-known RTO Dealer Fred Pearson Finds Success Renting Automobiles Instead of Appliances
As many as 80% of car shoppers have credit too poor to lease or purchase vehicles through traditional means, giving the concept of RTO automobiles a jump start...more

Deadline To Register for Ideal TIRM Training May 11th
"The hands-on training is invaluable in teaching all Premier dealers to use the TIRM software to its full capacity." - Trooper Earle, President, Premier Rental Purchase -43 locations...more

Designers Embrace Flat-Screen HDTV Technology
As retail and rent to own salespeople know, the best way to close a deal for a flat screen is to let the customer see it in action...more

Microsoft Leveraging Summer Blockbuster Movie Season To Promote Xbox 360
Microsoft will run a monster Xbox 360 promotion leading up to this summer's projected blockbuster release of "The Simpsons Movie" on July 27, 2007...more

First American Cash Advance Settles With West Virginia Attorney General McGraw For $800,000
The agreement requires First American Cash Advance to forgive over $600,000 in defaulted loans owed by nearly 2,700 West Virginia consumers. FACA also agreed to pay $200,500 to the State of West Virginia...more

Rentcash Net Falls; Rent to Own Division To Be Sold To Stockholders
"Due to the improved performance of the rental division, management has determined that the offer for a majority of assets of the rental division received on February 6, 2007 is no longer acceptable. We have determined that a spin-off of the division to shareholders is the best method for maximizing shareholder value." - Gordon Reykdal, Chairman and CEO, Rentcash...more

Top 10 Consumer Electronics and Computer Gifts for Mother’s Day 2007
"With an increasing number of consumers shopping online for Mother’s Day, it has been important for online retailers to identify which categories shoppers were seeking out and create an environment for easy and comfortable shopping while offering the best deals possible." - Carl Fiorentino, President, TigerDirect.com...more

Survey Shows Hispanics’ Customer Service Experiences Are Much Worse Than Those of Anglos
Spanish speakers are three times more likely than English speakers to threaten to contact the media if their complaints are not handled appropriately...more

Mizati Wheels CEO To Appear On Live Online Video Feed 'Micros in the Morning' To Discuss Rent to Own Venture
Founder and CEO of Mizati Luxury Alloy Wheels, Hazel Chu will join Market News First for a live video (IPTV) interview Thursday...more

LCD Continues To Dominate Plasma; Plasma Shipments Fall for the First Time
The decline can be attributed to loss of share to LCDs, particularly 1080p LCDs, at 37" and larger sizes...more

History Of Mother's Day
The driving force behind Mother’s Day was Anna Jarvis, who organized observances in Grafton, W.Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908...more

LG Taps Weinstock as Marketing VP; Unveils HDTV Refrigerator
In addition to a remote-controlled, cable-ready, high-definition LCD screen and FM radio on the right door, the unit features a DVD connection on top. The left door of the side-by-side also includes a four-inch Weather & Info Center LCD display located above the ice and water dispenser...more

Payday Loan Association Adds Internet Lending Best Practice; Requires Lenders to be Licensed in Each State They do Business
"Appropriate state regulations provide strong protections for consumers, while ensuring continued access to choices for short-term credit needs. That same principle should apply in cyberspace." - Darrin Andersen, President, CFSA...more
 

Tips For Using Ad-Specialties To Promote Your Rent to Own Business
Studies have shown that customers were 22% more likely to provide the names of friends and acquaintances to stores that offered promotional products than those that did not...more
 

Survey; Nearly 70 Percent of Workers Confident in Future of Current Employer
The national unemployment rate continues to hover around 4.5 percent and last month the unemployment rate for professionals was the lowest since 2001, at 1.7 percent." - Roy Krause, President and CEO, Spherion...more

RTO Professional Profile
Plan of Action: ColorTyme Franchisees Scott Brown and Louis Garcia Map Future
To achieve lasting relationships, Scott Brown and Louis Garcia combined their 30+ years of RTO experience and created their own sales system that tracks a list of about 2,000 potential customers for their four Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area ColorTyme stores...more

Canada's Payday Loan Law Receives Royal Ascent; Effective Today
Bill C-26 is designed to exempt payday loans from criminal sanctions in order to facilitate provincial regulation of the industry. Opponents of the new law say it will result in a patchwork of different laws and regulations, and a lack of uniformity in enforcement...more

Rentcash to Webcast May 10 Conference Call
Rentcash operates 420 stores across Canada under three banners: The Cash Store, Instaloans and Insta-rent...more

easyhome Same Store Sales Up 11.0%; Webcast Today
"All 4 major categories experienced comparable revenue growth, lead by furniture at 26%, electronics at 18%, computers at 15%, and appliances at 8%." - David Ingram, CEO, easyhome Ltd...more

Sharp USA Names Former Toshiba Exec Alex Rivera VP Regional Sales
Most recently Rivera was with Toshiba America, where he served as a Vice President in the Consumer Products Division...more

Federal Reserve To Begin Comprehensive Study Of The Economic Condition Of American Families
"The results of the survey will fill a gap in our knowledge about the financial circumstances of different types of households." - Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve...more
 

Custom Wheel Rent to Own Market Heats Up; Prime Time Group To Open 50 Wheel Workz Franchises In Florida; Mizati Moves Forward With RTO Brand Wheel Lots
"This could easily be a $100 million venture within a relatively short period of time." - Johnny Ray Arnold, Chairman of Prime Time Group, Wheel Workz Franchisee...more

RTO Online Website Traffic Surges Past 420,000 Unique Sessions, 5 Million Page Views In April; Fourth Consecutive Record Month
RTO Online, Inc., the leading source of news and information for the rent to own industry, today reported website traffic for the month of April, 2007...more

Tom Murphy To Lead Marketing Effort For Artistic Resources
"Artistic Resource Team has many exciting programs. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to match the company’s product and service with RTO needs." - Tom Murphy, Motivated Marketing...more

Canadian Payday Loan Operators Warn Against Monopoly; Provincial Association Demands Hearing
Rate-setting measures must not give competitive advantage to one company over another. If regulators get it wrong, they will limit competition and restrict options for consumers." - Gordon J. Reykdal, Chairman, President and CEO, RentCash...more

Recruiters Get Aggressive As Labor Market Tightens
"Employers are actively looking for the right workers and a relatively tight labor market is forcing them to maintain aggressive advertising plans." - Gad Levanon, Economist, The Conference Board...more
 

Broad Media Approach Necessary To Reach Hispanic Consumers
"There is a perception that Hispanics are lagging behind the general population in the use of new technology. In reality, Latinos are in some cases early adopters of new media." - Larissa Acosta,General Manager, Dieste Harmel & Partners...more

Teenagers Lead Early Adoption of Consumer Electronics
"Understanding this behavior will help marketers determine the best strategy for promoting new technology to younger consumers." - David Schatsky, President JupiterResearch...more

Rent-A-Center Same Store Sales Increase 2.9%; Agrees To Settle New Jersey Class Action For $109 Million
"We continued to execute in our core rent-to-own business as demonstrated by our fifth consecutive quarter of positive same store sales." - Mark E. Speese, Chairman and CEO, Rent A Center...more

PHOTO GALLERY (544 Photos)
Gentlemen Start Your Marketing; Aaron's Wraps Successful Talladega Dream Weekend
NASCAR has turned sports-marketing into an art form and Aaron's has embraced the NASCAR demographic with enthusiastic open arms...more

Joshua Edwards Wins Aaron's PT Rodeo; Named Best of the Best In Aaron's System; Company Announces Expanded Commitment To Victory Junction
Joshua Edwards, Product Technician at the Cartersville, Georgia Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership location, took the grand prize in Friday's PT Rodeo finals. Edwards came out on top of a company-wide field of over 3,000 Product Techs. See a complete photo gallery of Friday's PT Rodeo (112) and other events including the Speed Channel Show (20), Victory Junction Press Conference (9) and shots from the Pits (19)...more

Half Of Online Hispanics Prefer Spanish-Language Web Sites
English-language sites are currently under-serving 7.1 million online Hispanics. If companies are serious about reaching this growing audience, they need to offer Spanish-language sites...more

Average American Household Owns 25 Consumer Electronics Products; Spends $1,200 Per Year On Electronics
The five most owned products beginning with the television (92 percent), DVD player or recorder, VCR (82 percent), cordless phone (82 percent) and the cellular phone (76 percent)...more
 

Canadian Federal Government Passes Payday Loan Law; Provinces to Regulate Industry
While The Canadian Payday Loan Association's (CPLA) tactics are highly questionable, specifically the CPLA's stance that any non-association member is predatory (the CPLA represents about one third of the industry in Canada), their approach has been effective with legislators...more

Cinco de Mayo Is Day To Celebrate Mexican Culture
Nearly 10% of the United States' population is made up of people of Mexican heritage. Cinco de Mayo is THE holiday in Mexico and is also widely celebrated in the US in areas with a concentrated Hispanic population...more

Ideal Software TIRM Users Invited To Training May 15-16
The hands-on training is invaluable in teaching all Premier dealers to use the TIRM software to its full capacity." - Trooper Earle, President, Premier Rental Purchase - 38 locations...more

Flat Panel TV Prices Predicted To Plunge In December
Prices for 50-inch PDP TVs were high at $45 per inch as of March 2007, but are projected to plunge to $32 by December of this year...more

Aaron's Sales And Lease Ownership Same Store Sales Jump 9.3%
"Although revenue growth in the first quarter was slower than in the past quarters, due to the decline in retail sales and early payouts, margins improved as several of the initiatives we have put in place over the past year to raise profitability are showing results." - R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aaron Rents...more

Sony Unveils Worlds Smallest High Def Camcorder; 15 Ounces With Battery
The HDR-CX7 and HDR-SR7 camcorders will ship in June, 2007 and retail for about $1,200 and $1,400, respectively...more

Retailers Express Concerns Over Identity Theft Act of 2007
One section of the bill addressing the use of Social Security numbers could interfere with the legitimate use of those numbers in identifying employees for purposes of immigration compliance, wages and benefits...more

Brian Rosen Joins Gaming Manufacturer Intec As National Sales Manager
"I look forward to introducing Intec's broad line of gaming accessories to the rent to own industry." - Brian Rosen, National Sales Manager, Intec Inc...more

Mizati Secures $1 Million Funding for Rent to Own Wheel Expansion
Mizati expects wheel shipments to double this year from 2006 levels based on organic growth, new international accounts, and Mizati's entrance into the Rent-To-Own industry...more
 

easyhome webcast Scheduled; Expect Review of Recent Major Announcements
easyhome, Canada's largest rent to own company, has made several high impact announcements recently including the company's plan to open company-owned stores in the United Sates along the Canadian border and sell franchises throughout the remainder of the US. easyhome also formed a new division to handle staging and special events rentals...more

Georgia Senator Isakson Supports Rental Purchase Agreement Act
Senator Isakson says his philosophy is "people before politics" and his legislative priorities can be boiled down to a short list...more

Tips For Recruiting Diversity Candidates
Consider launching a creative employee referral program to get your staff involved in finding potential candidates of all ethnic backgrounds...more

SBA Counsel Recommends Sarbanes-Oxley Relief
"There is a compelling record demonstrating that the costs of complying with Section 404 are large and disproportionately high for small public companies." - Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel, SBA Advocacy...more