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

Wheel Workz founder and CEO Tommy Crenshaw was featured in the Feb/March, 2007 issue of RTO Magazine.

Prime Time Group Inc., an investment group with holdings in areas as diverse as wireless phone service to oil and gas, says it will open as many as 50 Wheel Workz custom wheel rent to own franchise locations in Florida. The franchise group also purchased development agreements for the Caribbean, Brazil, Panama, Argentina and Venezuela.

"This acquisition represents the first in a number of acquisitions to be announced that are consistent with the business and strategic plan announced in January of this year," says Johnny Ray Arnold, Chairman of Prime Time Group Inc.

"This could easily be a $100 million venture within a relatively short period of time," said Arnold.

According to Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA), the accessories and appearance market segment of specialty equipment has grown substantially over the years to reach $6.94 billion at the manufacturer level in 2005. Part of the reason for this growth comes from the fact that automotive customization has grown in popularity among mainstream automobile buyers. Recent SEMA research showed that over the first three months of this year, nearly one out ever 10 (9%) consumers surveyed planned to purchase accessory and appearance products. This translates to slightly over 10 million U.S. households planning to purchase some type of appearance accessory for their cars or trucks.

"The rapidly expanding automotive rent-to-own industry represents nearly the same market percentage as the computer rent-to-own or about 4.7%." Says Dale Ingram CEO of Wheel Workz. "The opportunity for growth with Prime Time is enormous, franchises alone currently have revenues of approximately $4 Million per year and that doesn't include the licensing fees." Wheel Workz carries custom wheels for all vehicle types including high end cars like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, BMW and Mercedes.

Memphis Tennessee based Wheel Workz is the largest independently owned supplier of original equipment and custom wheels in the Mid-South region of the United States.

Wheel distributor Mizati Luxury Alloy Wheels, Inc. said today that it will name it's custom wheel rent to own division  "Wheel Lots." Mizati has also reserved the domain name www.wheellots.com to establish a strategic online presence.

"We're excited about entering the $6.7 billion RTO market," said Mizati CEO Hazel Chu. "Wheel Lots' product offerings will consist of Mizati brands, including MIZATI, HERO, ZATI, as well as a wide range of other wheel brands and wheel packages that will be determined by market demands and demographics for each individual store."

Chu said the next step for "Wheel Lots" includes securing and preparing retail locations, permits, staffing, promotion activities and logistics. Also experiencing growth in its core business, Mizati has added additional suppliers in China to keep pace with growing demand.

Mizati will open it's first stores in the greater Los Angeles area and Inland Empire area. The Inland Empire area is the 14th largest metropolitan area in the country with a population exceeding 4 million people. "These two areas are very representative of our target market. Car culture thrives in these areas with the 92,000 seat California Speedway in Fontana that hosts major NASCAR Busch Series and NEXTEL Cup events," noted Chu.

Ms. Chu shares strong feelings about Mizati's RTO strategy in relation to the market segment it will cater to. "When I came to the United States to attend college, I couldn't afford a decent car. The ability to customize the car I had gave me a sense of pride and individuality. Our RTO model will give our customers a chance to attain luxury wheels at affordable prices," Ms. Chu noted.

Mizati also sees the RTO segment as an opportunity to increase brand equity and profitability. In a November, 2006 RTO Magazine article, Premier Wheel Rentals President, Scott Savell asserted that his company's stand-alone RTO wheel and tire stores consistently produce revenues of $75,000 per month and higher. Mizati will gain a competitive advantage in this segment by realizing higher margins on Wheel Lots sales than competitors through vertical integration. Wheels will be distributed internally, cutting out the wholesale mark-up paid by most wheel and tire stores.

Mizati plans to open its first three locations by the end of the second quarter of this year.