Aarons 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

After about 10 years of operation, more
and more people began to ask about
renting furniture and our business shifted.
Our furniture rental business grew rapidly
and soon we found that the traditional
furniture manufacturing industry could
not meet our needs for large shipments on
short notice. So, we began to manufacture
our own furniture. For us to serve our
customers well, we had to have greater
control over our sourcing. Aaron’s now
produces nearly $80 million of furniture
a year at cost. Of course, with our current
buying power, manufacturers of all types
of products from big-screen televisions to
recliners to computers now work closely
with us on product styling, availability
and price.
The initial public offering in 1982
provided the access to capital to
signifi cantly grow the business and, by
1984, Aaron’s was the largest furniture
rental company in America with annual
revenues of more than $80 million. We
grew through acquisitions as well as
developing our own store locations.
As the rental industry changed, the
Company developed the sales and lease
ownership model, which is the foundation
of our business today. As a boy in
working-class Atlanta, what I wanted most
was a chance, a level playing fi eld and an
honest shot. Give me that and you give
me dignity. I’ll take it the rest of the way.
Many of Aaron’s 1.4 million customers are
not so different from my own childhood
family. The easy phrase is that they are
“credit-challenged,” but the truth is they
want a scrap of dignity, whether it is a
computer, a living room suite or maybe a
set of well-made beds for their kids. Many
of Aaron’s customers have been buffeted by
life, by a variety of circumstances, and are
trying to move forward. We don’t check
their credit or string out their payments.
We give them their shot at ownership. I
see Aaron’s as “making dreams come true”
for families all across this country.
People often ask me how
I came up with the name “Aaron’s.”
The answer is quite simple — I wanted
to be fi rst in the phone book.
— R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr.,
Chairman of the Board
I am most proud of the corporate culture
at Aaron’s — the basis for our success and
the reason for my optimism for the future.
We work hard to remind everyone that
they are more than employees at Aaron’s.
They are truly family. Our associates
are Aaron’s greatest asset; they carry our
culture into their communities. It is a
testimony to our culture that so many
of our key executives have been with the
Company 10, 20 and even 30-plus years.
The depth of our management and the
strength of our corporate culture give me
great confi dence in the future as I step
back from day-to-day management.
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