Rent-A-Center Inc. is the United States’ largest rent-to-own retailer, operating more than 3,050 stores in 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with additional outposts in Canada and Mexico. It offers name-brand furniture, electronics, appliances and computers through rental purchase agreements that generally allow customers to obtain ownership of the merchandise. The company’s operations include its Get It Now subsidiary, Canada’s Rent-A-Centre and ColorTyme, a franchiser of rent-to-own stores. The company offers corporate leasing, product warranties and repair services.
The rent-to-own concept dates from the rise of Mr. T’s TV Rental in Tulsa, Okla., during the 1960s. Rent-A-Center, founded in 1986, is publicly traded on Nasdaq. With revenues just shy of $3 billion, it occupies the No. 684 slot on the Fortune 1,000. The company is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and has nearly 20,000 employees.
