We're [the vendor's] customer 364 days out of the year. We want them to feel like our customer for that one day.
Joe Burchfield, President, ARDA

photo rtoonline Attendees enjoy the view of Petit Jean State Park, site of the 2005 Arkansas Rental Dealers Association Fall Conference. See a complete photo gallery of the 2005 Arkansas Rental Dealers Association Fall Conference here.

Arkansas Rental Dealers Association (ARDA) held it's annual Fall Conference Wednesday at Mather's Lodge in Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton, Arkansas.

65 rental rent-to-own professionals attended the day long training seminar, a record for the event. ARDA President Joe Burchfield has seen a marked increase in association participation since the legislative scare in March of this year. "It really motivated people to get involved," he said. In March, Arkansas State Senator Sue Madison (D-7) introduced SB1016, an amendment to the Arkansas Rental Purchase Act. If passed, SB1016 would have limited the total cost of rental purchase agreements to 150% of the Cash Price. Dealers in the state considered this amendment to be an "industry killer." (See Story). ARDA was able to mobilize quickly and stop the bill.

Rent A Center has also swelled the ranks of ARDA. 22 Rent A Center employees attended the conference. ARDA enjoys participation for all three public RTO companies; Rent A Center, Rent Way, and Aaron's. "There's strength in numbers," Burchfield said. "They can bring a lot of people to the table."

A New Twist On Tradeshows
Arkansas, like other states, has been struggling to balance it's desire to have a full blown tradeshow with vendors need to limit expenses. Despite the move toward regional associations, the number of RTO industry tradeshows, and the associated costs to vendors, has not declined.

In an all out effort to increase association membership value to vendors, ARDA has developed a new twist to RTO tradeshows. ARDA members have committed to purchase all vendor's inventory before the show, ship it to their stores, set up the show floor and tear down afterwards. Joe Burchfield said "We're [the vendor's] customer 364 days out of the year. We want them to feel like our customer for that one day." Jill Crews, ARDA Executive Director added, "We want our tradeshow to be a real value to vendors." Crews detailed other unique aspects of the new tradeshow format. "Every vendor will have scheduled time with all companies attending," she said.

The tentative date for ARDA Tradeshow is April 25-26, 2006 at the Austin Hotel and Convention Center in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

See a complete photo gallery of the 2005 Arkansas Rental Dealers Association Fall Conference here.