Aarons 2005 Annual Report Download - page 6

4
The 1950s
The story of Aaron Rents began half a century ago
with the vision and determination of founder
Charlie Loudermilk.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, Loudermilk became a highly successful
salesman for a major pharmaceutical company. But he
dreamed of his own rental business. He returned to his
hometown of Atlanta in 1954 to help his mother open
anew restaurant, and the next year he started his rental
business on the proverbial shoestring, choosing the name
Aaron Rents to get first listing in the Yellow Pages, the
main source of customers.
The first order was for 300 chairs for an estate sale in
Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead section. Charlie agreed to
rent chairs he didn’t have for 10 cents apiece per day.
With the order in hand, he borrowed $500 from a bank
and recruited a salesman friend to invest $500 as partner
in the new enterprise. They rented a truck, bought 300
Army surplus folding chairs, delivered and set up the
chairs under a tent, then picked them up — hard work in
the midsummer heat. It was too much for the partner. He
sold his interest to Loudermilk, who was undaunted by
work or heat and determined to make his dream a reality.
The strategy from the start was the same as it is today —
to let the customers dictate the products. “Aaron Rents
Almost Everything” was the slogan. The business found a
The 1950s were a time of great
advances in consumer convenience—
Clarence Birdseye introduced frozen
vegetables and Diner’s Club intro-
duced the first credit card. Color
television, Silly Putty and the golden
The
Aaron’s Story
arches of McDonald’sappeared on
the landscape. “I Love Lucy” and
“Wagon Train” entertained families
each week. A young man from
Mississippi, Elvis Presley, signed
acontract with Sun Records, and
teenaged girls across the country
fell in love.
300 chairs
could be rented for
10 cents per day
ready market for folding chairs and party supplies, then
patient care equipment and television sets. For the first
seven years of operation, all profits were reinvested in
inventory, and Charlie Loudermilk continued to work
part-time at his mother’s restaurant, the Rose Bowl.
The business outgrew its first building within a few
years and moved into a larger facility. The product line
continued to expand in response to customer needs. As
ahistorical footnote, the Company rented four outdoor
tents to the civil rights marchers on the historic Selma
to Montgomery march in 1965.
It was the post-World War II job boom in the Atlanta
area that changed Aaron’s market focus to furniture —
first, apartment furniture rented for a three-month
minimum for newly arrived workers and, ultimately,
longer term rentals of residential and office furniture.
Longer rental terms resulted in lower operating costs.
The Company’s first furniture only rental store opened
in 1964.
Focusing on furniture, the Company was able to develop
astronger corporate image and a more defined target
market. During the 1960s, consumers’ credit options
were somewhat limited. Credit cards were in the early
stages of development and primarily a tool for business
expenditures. Demand for furniture was strong, and the
development of a furniture rental concept allowed Aaron
Rents to service customers who liked the flexibility of
renting as well as consumers who had few financing
And in 1955, Charlie Loudermilk was
working in Atlanta, helping his mother
run a restaurant. With a partner and
a$500 loan, Loudermilk bought 300
chairs from an Army surplus store
and rented warehouse space and a
truck to make deliveries. The Company
was named Aaron Rents to guarantee
first listing in telephone directories.
Within a month, the partner wanted
his investment back, and Aaron
Rents was solely owned by Charlie
Loudermilk. The corporate strategy
was to offer for rental whatever
customers desired, including party
supplies, exercise equipment, seating
and patient health careequipment.
Appropriately, the Company’s slogan
in those early years was “Aaron
Rents Almost Everything.”