| Type | Public (NYSE: AAN) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Furniture |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Founder(s) | R. Charles Loudermilk |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, GA, USA |
| Area served | North America |
| Key people | R. Charles Loudermilk (Chairman) Ronald W. Allen (Interim President) & (CEO) |
| Products | Furniture rental Rent-to-own |
| Revenue | US$ 1.494 billion (2007) |
| Operating income | US$ 128.84 million (2007) |
| Net income | US$ 75.82 Million (2007) |
| Total assets | US$ 1.113 billion (2007) |
| Total equity | US$ 673.38 million (2007) |
| Employees | 9,600 (2008) |
| Subsidiaries | Aaron's Aaron's Corporate Furnishings Rimco |
| Website | http://www.aaronsinc.com/ |
Aaron's, Inc. is a lease-to-own retailer. The company focuses on leases and retail sales of furniture, electronics, appliances, and computers. It is divided into three major divisions: sales and lease ownership; corporate furnishings; and manufacturing. The incorporation of manufacturing as well as retailing makes the company vertically integrated.
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As of 11 June 2010[update], Aaron's, Inc. has 1723 locations, broken down as follows:
This includes the first company-owned Canadian store, opened on April 13, 2007 in Windsor, Ontario.
Aaron Rents, Inc. was founded by R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. in 1955.[1]
In September 2008, Aaron's announced the sale of its Corporate Furnishings division to CORT Business Services, part of Berkshire Hathaway. Aaron's Corporate Furnishings division, which operated 47 stores, had recorded revenues of approximately $99 million in 2007.[2]
In May 2011, Aaron's and one of its franchisees was sued by a Wyoming couple for providing a rent-to-own (RTO) computer which, unknown to the couple, came pre-installed with spyware that allowed Aaron's to "track keystrokes, take screenshots and even snap webcam pictures of renters"; it also came with support for a remote kill switch. The suit is not challenging Aaron's right to bundle such software without informing them in advance.[3]
In June 2011, a federal judge awarded an unprecedented $95 million to a former Aaron's employee who had sued the company due to sexual harassment by her supervisor.[4][5]
General references:
Plunkett, Jack W. (December 2007). Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac 2008. ISBN 1-59392-101-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=z4eZhafKnEcC&pg=PT151&dq=%22Aaron+Rents%22&ei=TeJNSLKLGIegiwGR0InmDQ&sig=iSE01i3MGBtUWV7H8BYHXj8QS1E.
Specific references:
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