RAC also tries conventional retailing
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, February 9, 2003
Plano, Texas — Aaron Rents isn't the only rent-to-own giant now dabbling in conventional retailing.
Last year, RTO leader Rent-A-Center converted all 23 of its Wisconsin stores to credit-oriented retail operations under the name Get It Now.
The move didn't reflect a desire to test retail waters, and Rent-A-Center wasn't looking to mix traditional retail and rental programs under one roof.
The nation's largest RTO operator, with more than 2,400 stores, was facing a Wisconsin lawsuit alleging it deceived customers by failing to fully disclose all charges.
The chain ended up settling for $8.4 million and, in October, converted its Wisconsin RTO stores to retail in order to avoid future problems.
Get It Now hasn't hurt Rent-A-Center's bottom line, said President Mitch Fadel, but that doesn't mean the company is looking to expand the concept.
"We've only been doing it four months, and for the first few months the business was driven mainly by the conversion (of rental contracts to more traditional retail financing)," Fadel said.
"The revenue stream is still there because of the conversions.... But whether the business will stand on its own now that the majority of the conversions are out of the way, it's just too early to tell," he said.
RAC has no plans to do anything else in the retail arena right now, he said.
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