Thrifty Car Rental 2009 Annual Report Download - page 6

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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Company Overview
General
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“DTG”), owns DTG Operations, Inc. (“DTG
Operations”), Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. and Thrifty, Inc. Thrifty, Inc. owns Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc.
and Thrifty Car Sales, Inc. (“Thrifty Car Sales”). Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. owns Dollar Thrifty
Automotive Group Canada Inc. (“DTG Canada”). DTG operates under a corporate structure that
combines the management of operations and administrative functions for both the Dollar and Thrifty
brands. DTG Operations operates company-owned stores under the Dollar brand and the Thrifty brand,
operates reservation centers for both brands and conducts sales and marketing activities for both brands.
Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. and Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. conduct franchising activities for their
respective brands. Thrifty Car Sales operates a franchised retail used car sales network. The Company
has two additional subsidiaries, Rental Car Finance Corp. (“RCFC”) and Dollar Thrifty Funding Corp.,
which are special purpose financing entities and have been consolidated in the financial statements of the
Company. Dollar Rent A Car, Inc., the Dollar brand and DTG Operations operating under the Dollar
brand are individually and collectively referred to hereafter as “Dollar”. Thrifty, Inc., Thrifty Rent-A-Car
System, Inc., Thrifty Car Sales, the Thrifty brand and DTG Operations operating under the Thrifty brand
are individually and collectively referred to hereafter as “Thrifty”. DTG, Dollar and Thrifty and each of their
subsidiaries are individually or collectively referred to herein as the “Company”, as the context may
require.
The Company is the successor to Pentastar Transportation Group, Inc., which was formed in 1989 to
acquire and operate the rental car subsidiaries of Chrysler Group, LLC, the new legal entity following the
restructuring of Chrysler LLC (formerly known as DaimlerChrysler Corporation) (such successor or
predecessor entity, as the context may require, and its subsidiaries and members of its affiliated group
are hereinafter referred to as “Chrysler”). DTG Operations, formerly known as Dollar Rent A Car
Systems, Inc., was incorporated in 1965. Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. was incorporated in 1950 and
Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. was incorporated in December 2002. Thrifty, Inc. was incorporated in December
1998.
Operating Structure
Dollar and Thrifty and their respective independent franchisees operate the Dollar and Thrifty vehicle
rental systems. The Dollar and Thrifty brands represent a value-priced rental vehicle generally appealing
to leisure customers, including foreign tourists, and to small businesses, government business and
independent business travelers. As of December 31, 2009, Dollar and Thrifty had 613 locations in the
U.S. and Canada of which 296 were company-owned stores and 317 were locations operated by
franchisees.
In the U.S., Dollar's main focus is operating company-owned stores located in major airports, and it
derives substantial revenues from leisure and tour package rentals. Thrifty focuses on serving both the
airport and local markets operating through a network of company-owned stores and franchisees. Dollar
and Thrifty currently derive the majority of their U.S. revenues from providing rental vehicles and services
directly to rental customers. Consequently, Dollar and Thrifty incur the costs of operating company-owned
stores, and their revenues are directly affected by changes in rental demand and pricing. While Dollar
and Thrifty have franchisees in countries outside the U.S. and Canada, revenues from these franchisees
have not been material to results of operations of the Company.
5