Rent-A-Center Inc.
(
RCII
), the largest rent-to-own operator in the U.S, announced the
opening of two new stores, one each in the states of Louisiana
and Texas.
The company, through its latest stores, will offer furnishings,
electrical devices, electronics and computers. With the inclusion
of these new stores, Rent-A-Center now operates through 48 and
280 locations in Louisiana and Texas, respectively.
The residents of the regions 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.
Going forward, the company remains optimistic about its future
growth as it opens stores in international markets and
accelerates the rollout of RAC Acceptance kiosks.
Management remains on track to open approximately 35 domestic
rent-to-own stores for 2012. Through the year, the company
targets to open 40 rent-to-own locations in Mexico and 6 in
Canada. Moreover, the company aims at 300 domestic RAC Acceptance
kiosk additions.
Rent-A-Center has an extensive network of more than 3,000 stores,
facilitating it to effectively penetrate into its target markets
and gain a competitive advantage over its rivals,
Aaron's Inc
. (
AAN
) and Advance America.
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.
Currently, we have a long-term 'Neutral' recommendation on the
stock. Moreover, the company has a Zacks #3 Rank, which
translates into a short-term 'Hold' rating.
AARONS INC (AAN): Free Stock Analysis Report
RENT-A-CENTER (RCII): Free Stock Analysis
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