Danny and Meg Ziegler look more like homecoming King and Queen than the owners of a fast growing Rent to Own business.

The Zieglers, owners of Carolina Rent to Own have been on a rocket ride since 1995. Danny, like so many other owners, began his RTO career as an account manager with Rent a Center at the tender age of 18. By 23 he founded Carolina Rent to Own and opened his first store. Now 27 years old, he and his wife Meg operate three locations and plan at least one new store every 12 months for the next decade. "I see myself with 15 stores in the next 10 years," Danny enthusiastically told RTO Online. "This is the only business I know and I love it."

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 The Ziegler's opened their third Carolina Rent to Own location last week. The 8,000 square foot showroom is the largest in the area and Danny sees the large footprint as the future of Rent to Own. "Rent to Own consumers have evolved dramatically" said Ziegler. "They are much more savvy and demand more choices. Larger showrooms satisfy that demand." Ziegler added that a large showroom also requires less selling than a traditional RTO location. "It sells itself," he said.

Purchasing has also evolved quickly to keep pace with consumer demands. "I thought it would be a long time before we carried high definition 16:9 wide screens," says Danny. Seemingly overnight, customers changed. "Consumers won't rent analog. They see HDTV everywhere and expect it here. I haven't bought any analog in over year."

The Zieglers believe LCD will be the "Next big thing" in rent to own. "At first I thought it would be plasma," Danny said. "But LCD is much more durable and, as LCD prices decline, I see it as the next logical step after HD."

On competing with the majors
"I can compete with Rent a Center, Rent Way, and Bestway all day long," says Danny. "I just out-service them or offer matching specials. Aarons is a different story. Their 12 month plans and willingness to settle for fewer turns are changing this business. Rent to Own customers are becoming more total-price conscious. Plus, I have an Aaron's 200 yards from my front door, so they are my most direct competition."

Fewer turns means lower margins and lower margins are hard for an owner to swallow. Rent to Own has always been about maintaining a close relationship with customers and offering levels of service unheard of in the retail universe. Maintaining that world-class customer service can be very expensive. Ziegler explained, "If you're not careful, lower margins on higher volume could mean less personal attention per customer. This very well may be the way of the future. I hope it doesn't come to that, but if it does we'll just adapt." He added that as long as Rent a Center, the dominant force in this industry, continues to operate on a traditional weekly pay rental purchase model, things won't change much. "If Rent a Center decides to change, then the rest of the industry will have to follow," he said. On the upside; While lowering turns may lower margins, it vastly increases Carolina Rent to Own's customer base. "Our rental plans appeal to more people so volume increases."

For a person trained in the traditional 3,500 square foot 4 employee RTO environment, running an 8000 square foot million dollar plus location can sometimes seem like "Organized chaos," said Ziegler. "It takes very different skill set to be successful as a manager in this environment."

The unbridled enthusiasm with which Danny and Meg approach the rent to own business is contagious. An hour on the phone with Danny is like attending a motivational seminar! Although the Zieglers say 15 stores is their goal, my money is on more...many more.