Rent-A-Center Inc.
(
RCII
) announced the opening of a new store in Fayetteville, Ark. With
the inclusion of this new store, Rent-A-Center will conduct
operations through 42 locations in Ark.
The residents of the region will now have an additional option
of purchasing goods with flexible payment options (freedom to pay
weekly, biweekly or monthly). Moreover, when any consumer is
denied credit financing for a particular product from the
retailer, Rent-A-Center, under its RAC Acceptance program
acquires that product from the retailer and offers it to the
consumer under a rental-purchase transaction.
The move reflects the company's strategic approach of
leveraging an extensive network of stores to effectively
penetrate into its target markets, which in turn facilitates it
to generate healthy sales and gain competitive advantage over its
rivals,
Aaron's Inc
. (
AAN
) and Advance America.
During the recently concluded quarter, the largest rent-to-own
operator in the U.S, opened 12 new Core U.S. locations and
consolidated 9 stores with existing locations bringing the total
store count to 2,986. The company also opened 103 RAC Acceptance
stores and consolidated 19 stores with existing locations,
resulting in 966 stores.
Nine international locations were opened and 15 stores were
shuttered during the quarter, bringing the count to 108 stores.
ColorTyme, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rent-A-Center,
added 7 new locations and consolidated 3 stores with existing
locations, taking the total store count to 224.
For 2013, management plans to open approximately 60
rent-to-own locations in Mexico. Furthermore, the company aims at
about 425 domestic RAC Acceptance kiosk additions.
Apart from store expansions, the company is taking prudent
steps to optimize rental merchandise levels in accordance with
sales trends. Rent-A-Center implemented a centralized inventory
management system, including automated merchandise replenishment.
Moreover, a new centralized purchasing system allows better
management of rental merchandise.
Despite these measures, currently, shares of Rent-A-Center
hold a Zacks Rank #3 (HOLD), following the company's soft
fourth-quarter 2012 earnings.
However, until any further upward revision in Rent-A-Center's
rating, other stocks in the finance-leasing universe worth
considering are
AeroCentury Corp.
(
ACY
) and
Electro Rent Corporation
(
ELRC
), which hold a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a Zacks Rank #2
(Buy), respectively.
AARONS INC (AAN): Free Stock Analysis Report
(ACY): ETF Research Reports
(ELRC): ETF Research Reports
RENT-A-CENTER (RCII): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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