Aarons 2010 Annual Report Download - page 8

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Reflections
Charlie Loudermilk: Aaron’s success has been built
on responding to opportunity and attending to
details and I believe those same characteristics will
serve us well in the future. In 55 years of operation,
we never squeezed our customers to enhance the
bottom line. Fairness is the bottom line. I was in
the restaurant business, the ultimate customer
service business, with my mother and we were
business partners for 15 years. She set the example
for me — success is built on hard work, attention
to detail and customer service.
The Company’s fi rst transaction was the rental
of 300 folding chairs for an estate sale in Atlanta.
We made $90 on that deal. In the early years, we
nearly drowned in an ocean of opportunity. At fi rst,
the notion of inventory that could go out into the
marketplace and continue to generate revenue long
after its initial cost had been recouped seemed too
good to be true. And it was. Our business required
constant infusions of fresh capital. The most
important thing in the rental business is pleasing
people though. Over the years, Aaron’s managed to
do both — raise capital and please people.
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