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Las Vegas Furniture Market Shifts 2009 Market Dates
Starting in 2009 World Market Center Las Vegas will host Las Vegas Market in Fall and Winter instead of Summer and Winter. World Market Center officials say the change in Market dates "is designed to better serve every segment of the home furnishings industry both domestically and internationally."...more

La-Z-Boy Names Mark Bacon Chief Retail Officer
La-Z-Boy (NYSE:LZB) announced that Mark S. Bacon, Sr. has been named Chief Retail Officer. Bacon succeeds Mark Wiltshire, President of La-Z-Boy's retail segment, who recently left the company...more

Consumer Confidence Plummets; Largest Single Month Decline
The implosion of Wall Street and the spreading economic crisis have taken a heavy toll on consumers, driving their confidence back down after a brief rally the past two months...more

Kansas Rental Dealers Prep for Annual Meeting
Between 40 and 50 rental store employees, owners and managers are expected to attend next week's Kansas Association of Rental Dealers' (KARD) annual training meeting, to be held at the Prairie Band Casino in Mayetta, Kansas, near Topeka October14-15, 2008...more
 

Nationwide Marketing Group Sets Shipping Records in 3rd Quarter
Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG) continues to set records in warehouse distribution of flat panel TV's, audio equipment and accessories. DSI Warehouse Direct Nationwide (DSI) reported today that nearly 9,500 orders were shipped in the 3rd quarter to NMG member dealers across the country...more

KBII Receives Minor Injuries After Aaron's Lucky Dog Fiery Crash
After climbing 22 positions in only 12 laps, Ken Butler, III was slammed hard into the outside by the No. 25, the first of many victims of a right-side tire explosion. The Aaron's Lucky Dog Toyota was engulfed in flames. KBIII climbed to safety as the car came to a halt, still heavily on fire. Suffering only minor burns on his hands...more

Fed Moves to Free Up Commercial Credit; Will Purchase Commercial Paper
The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced the creation of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF), a facility that will complement the Federal Reserve's existing credit facilities to help provide liquidity to term funding markets. This is welcome news for Rent-to-Own dealers and retailers...more

Moody Brothers Open Columbus Mississippi RTO
"A lot of people in my family own their own business," says Chad Moody who was raised to think he too would one day follow an entrepreneurial tradition. After beginning his career in RTO with a major firm in 2003, he opened his own Premier Rental-Purchase store in Columbus, Mississippi recently with his brother Jeffery...more

Radio Rentals Featured in Australia's Best
Radio Rentals was featured in the September 2008 issue of Australia's Best. Radio Rentals is Australia's largest rent-to-own company with 65 stores and over 400 employees. Peter Krideras, General Manager of Marketing & Merchandise, Thorn Australia Pty Ltd., parent company of Radio Rentals, told Australia's Best that vendor partnerships are critical to the company's model...more

State Regulator Data Contradicts Center for Responsible Lending Payday Lending Reports
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) in their September 16, 2008 CRL Report entitled - High Cost Payday Lending Traps Arizona Borrowers - "Misinterprets statistics published by Veritec as part of our contractual agreements with various state agencies...more

NAAG Issues National Top 10 List Of Consumer Complaints
This national list of consumer complaints is a compilation of reports provided by offices of the Attorneys General and is tallied by NAAG's Consumer Protection Project...more

NRF Says U.S. in "Profound Economic Crisis"; Urges Senate Action
Calling the current economic situation a "profound crisis that is threatening the viability the nation's financial system," the National Retail Federation (NRF), the largest retail traded association in the world, is urging swift Senate passage of a a bailout plan...more

Michael Waltrip to Launch MWR Branded Wheels for RIMCO
The wheels feature the MWR logo in the center of each and were designed by Michael Waltrip. They will be available exclusively at participating Rimco locations...more

Rent-to-Own Kiosks in a Retail World; Bill Milby, Home Express and Lease
Just one year ago, former Rent-A-Center Regional Director Bill Milby, 43, opened his first Home Express Sales and Lease store. In twelve short months since then, he has grown to a total of six free-standing Home Express stores and five Home Express kiosks in Ashley Home Stores. Oh, and did we mention he took on the CEO role for those five Ashley Home Stores, as well?...more

J.D. Power and Associates; Samsung, Whirlpool, Bosch, Kenmore Lead Customer Satisfaction Rankings
Bosch, Kenmore Elite, LG, Samsung and Whirlpool Gold rank highest in satisfying customers with major kitchen appliances in their respective segments, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Kitchen Appliances Study released today...more

Matsushita Electric Becomes Panasonic Corporation
Matsushita announced that it has become Panasonic Corporation and its stock symbol on the New York Stock Exchange has been changed to PC from MC effective today...more

RTO Pro Software Touts Benefits of Full-Featured Windows Functionality
Over 800 rent-to-own locations know the many advantages afforded them by running their business on RTO Pro software...more

Oklahoma Rental Dealers Expect Near-Perfect Attendance for Annual Meeting
More than fifty rental industry dealers and vendors are expected to participate in next week's meeting of the Oklahoma Rental Dealers Association (ORDA) at the Cherokee Casino and Resort in Catoosa, OK...more

New easyhome Franchisee to Develop Austin, Waco Markets; Plans 10 Stores
Bud Gates, Chairman and CEO of easygates, LLC announced the signing of a new easyhome franchise to develop several markets in Central Texas. The franchise, easycompany, LLC will develop at least 10 stores over the next 4 years...more

easyhome Moves Forward With Insta-Rent Acquisition
easyhome announced that shareholders holding 89% of outstanding Insta-Rent shares have accepted easyhome's acquisition offer...more
 

DATATrue Enhances RTO Customer Data Verification
In a newly announced system and service enhancement, DATATrue customers now have the ability to request Credit Reports from either Experian or TransUnion. To assist with RTO back end skip-tracing, DATATrue also makes a without-score report available...more

Little Known Rent-to-Own Industry Legislative Facts
RTO Online bots work behind the scenes gathering massive amounts of raw data associated with RTO industry-supported legislation. We've decided to share some of the interesting, the not-so interesting, and the just plain odd things we've learned over the course of monitoring HR1767...more
 

Rent-to-Own Transaction Favored in Ralph Nader's 10-Point Plan
Quintessential consumer advocate and presidential candidate Ralph Nader today issued a "10-point plan to cool off the financial markets meltdown" that supports the rent-to-own transaction for below median-value homeowners...more

CL Verify Debuts RTO Industry Consumer Reporting
"We are now finding a niche in rental-purchase and have begun to cultivate opportunities for our services in this growing market." - Bobby Edwards, Market Development Executive, CL Verify...more

Whirlpool to Layoff 700 at Arkansas Plant; Economic Challenges
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) will layoff 700 employees at its Fort Smith, Ark. manufacturing facility. The layoffs are expected to begin in November 2008...more

Nationwide Rental Coalition Legislative Conference Changes Venue to Accommodate Larger Turnout
Due to the overwhelming response in pre-registrations for the upcoming Nationwide Rental Coalition (NRC) Rent-to-own industry legislative conference, the event has been moved to a larger venue. RentDirect Nationwide announced today that the Gaylord National Harbor Resort Hotel and Convention Center will be the new location for the NRC legislative conference...more

Ohio Companies Get Reprieve; Paid Sick Leave Measure off Ballot
The Ohioans for Healthy Families' decision to end its fight for the ballot initiative grants a temporary reprieve to Ohio business...more

Flexsteel to Close Plants; Economy Blamed
"The demand for residential furniture products has continued to decline with the depressed housing market, the sub prime mortgage default driven credit crisis and higher fuel costs." - Ronald J. Klosterman, President and CEO, Flexsteel...more

About Hispanic Heritage Month 2008, Sept. 15 - Oct. 15
In September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, which was observed during the week that included Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. The observance was expanded in 1988 to a month long celebration...more

NRC Announces Historic 2009 RTO Industry Legislative Directory
Nationwide Rental Coalition (NRC), in conjunction with RTO Magazine, is compiling the largest, most comprehensive RTO legislative guide ever printed. Distribution of the 2009 RTO Legislative Guide will coincide with the upcoming NRC Legislative Conference April 21 – 23, 2009...more

0Employee Confidence Shows First Increase Since May
Employee Confidence jumped 2.4 points to 47.6 in August according to a Harris Poll, representing the first increase since May...more

Discover Rental Purchase Plans Franchise Expansion
In preparation for the launch of franchise operations, Discover Rental Purchase has named Jim Steger Vice President of Franchising, a new position for the company...more

Republicans Rave Over LG's Role in Convention, Hurricane Relief
As the Republican National Convention wrapped up, convention officials praised LG Electronics for its key role in bringing gavel-to-gavel high-definition images to 45,000 delegates, alternates, volunteers, media and guests in attendance this week...more

Economic Pessimism Eases; Consumers Hold-the-Line on Spending
There was a 7-point decline in the number of consumers expecting to spend more in the next month from 40 percent to 33 percent. This is the lowest this number has been since February. No doubt falling gas prices contributed to this decline...more

Whirlpool Focuses on Attracting talent
Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) today was named one of the "Best Places to Launch a Career" by BusinessWeek magazine. The company ranked 46 on the list...more

Billions Spent Preparing for Digital Transition Deadline; Transition Trivia
10 million - The number of people who have asked the government for the $40 converter box coupons as of April 8, 2008...more

Woman Owned Businesses Growing Despite Economy
"These statistics are evidence of the strength of companies owned by women entrepreneurs despite economic downturns and adversity." - Marsha Firestone Ph.D., president and founder, WPO...more

Payday Loan Provider Amscot Raises $80,000 for Local Education Foundations
Payday loan provider Amscot Financial announces the successful conclusion of its 2008 'Just a Dollar' fund-raising campaign. In the month of August, customers contributed $70,947, donating $1 at a time...more

ACE Cash Expands Charitable Partnership With March of Dimes
ACE Cash Express and NetSpend have launched the March of Dimes Visa Prepaid Card, the first reloadable prepaid debit card to give consumers a way to continuously support pregnancy and infant health education and advocacy...more

Sony Recalls 73,000 Vaio Notebooks
Irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge and/or a dislodged screw inside the hinge can cause a short circuit and overheating...more

Former Rent-A-Center Director of Operations Opens Lexington ColorTyme
"Shawn DiLeo is the kind of person who'll rise to become a highly successful ColorTyme franchisee," said ColorTyme CEO Bob Bloom. "Not only is he a community leader who understands the needs of the customers he serves, he's also an industry leader...more

Nationwide Marketing Group Partners With ReachLocal
Nationwide Marketing Group (NMG) has recently announced an extensive collaboration with ReachLocal, a leading national Internet advertising firm for local businesses...more

Salazar-Harper to Coordinate RTO Industry Legislative Conference
"One of my long term goals has always been to play some small part in making federal legislation a reality. With the renewed focus on getting federal legislation passed, this is an exciting time to be involved in the RTO industry." - Mamie Salazar-Harper...more

Microsoft, Sony and Ford CEOs to Keynote 2009 CES
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced today that the chief executives of Microsoft, Sony and Ford will deliver keynote addresses at the 2009 International CES...more

GalleryPlayer Pulls Support for Mitsubishi LCD Photo Service
"As a consequence of GalleryPlayer Inc.'s decision to cease their art and photography download service, the GalleryPlayer function may no longer operate as advertised in our 148, 149, and 246 series of Premium LCD Flat Panel TVs." - Frank DeMartin, vice president, marketing, at Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America...more