Aarons 2000 Annual Report Download - page 4

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All this and more served as a prelude to the
future as we expanded our infrastructure of
manufacturing and distribution capabili-
ties to gain a larger share of the growing markets
for our products and services. And the outlook is
very good as indicated in our annual report theme,
“Opening Doors to Unlimited Opportunities.” For
even though 2000 was our best year ever, we see
many more opportunities for growth, and we are
positioned to open the doors to the future.
Revenues for the year increased 15% to a
record $502.9 million compared to $437.4 million
for 1999. Systemwide revenues, which include
revenues of our franchised stores, increased 20%
to $656.1 million. Earnings advanced to a record
$27.3 million versus $25.6 million for the previous
year. Earnings per share reached $1.38 ($1.37
assuming dilution) compared to $1.28 ($1.26
assuming dilution) for 1999. If new stores opened
in the last two years are excluded, revenues and
net earnings would have increased in 2000 over
1999 by approximately 11% and 14%, respectively.
Our Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership division
continued its rapid growth, opening 32 Company-
operated and 47 franchised stores during the year.
In addition, 10 stores were acquired in Puerto
Rico, bringing the net new store count to 88—
exceeding the number for the previous two years
combined. At the end of 2000, we had a total of
456 Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership stores open.
Seizing a new growth opportunity, our sales and
To Our Shareholders:
leasing division entered into a strategic alliance
with CompUSA to market personal computers at
our stores during the year.
Franchised stores open increased 25% to a
total of 193 stores, reflecting the success of this
program, which enables us to grow at a faster
rate than is feasible through internal growth alone.
In the past year, we began to see a rising level of
profitability from our franchised operations. The
outlook is also very favorable with a backlog of
146 franchised stores to be opened in the future.
Our nationally recognized franchise program was
first in its category in Entrepreneur magazine’s
annual ranking and placed in the top 100 fran-
chise chains by worldwide sales in Franchise
Times’ survey.
The rent-to-rent division improved its per-
formance, especially in office furniture rentals,
and began laying the groundwork for collaborative
relationships with manufacturers and competitors
to market and distribute office products. This
division, our original business, continues to
generate cash to help finance new store growth.
Our manufacturing division, MacTavish
Furniture Industries, produced more than $50
million of furniture and accessories at cost to
supply our rapidly expanding number of stores.
MacTavish opened a new Texas plant during
the year to manufacture office and residential
furniture, its 11th facility. We also opened a new
distribution center in Baltimore, for a total of six
The 3,900-plus Aaron Associates are proud to tell you that: ❚We began the Millennium with
another record-breaking year! ❚We achieved record revenues and earnings for the ninth year in a
row. ❚We crossed the $500 million threshold in revenues, with systemwide revenues, including
franchise revenues, increasing to $656 million. ❚We reached the 500-store milestone, and by year-
end we had a total of 554 stores open across the country and Puerto Rico. ❚We increased our store
count in Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership, our rental purchase division, by 24%, a record number
of store openings. ❚We made our initial expansion outside the United States with the
acquisition of 10 stores in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. ❚We acquired a total of 26 store
locations formerly operated by one of the nation’s largest furniture retailers, providing the opportunity
to accelerate our store-opening plans in the first two quarters of 2001 by serving a customer base
already familiar with those locations.