Aarons 2006 Annual Report Download - page 8

6
Todd Evans
Vice President, Franchising, Aaron’s Sales & Lease
Ownership Division
Years with Company: 16
We have put some extra focus on our franchise sales effort in order to meet the corporate growth goal.
We now have a development team of six people and are
working hard in secondary and tertiary markets where the
national franchisee solicitation advertising is less effective.
We actually visit local markets and meet with chamber of
commerce members and economic development authorities.
We are looking for pillars of the community, people who
really know their towns. The screening criteria are the
same, but the development tactics are different.
There really is not a typical franchisee. We have CPAs,
restaurateurs, managers and retailers within our franchise
group. We are looking for people who have built value in
their organizations and understand the commitment to
growth. Our largest franchisee has 56 stores and is still
opening new units. Fortunately, we are still finding plenty
of qualified franchisees.
Our big new opportunity is conversions. With the con-
solidation in the marketplace over the past few years, it
is harder and harder for small operators to thrive, even
survive. We have had great luck converting some small
chains to franchisees. Robert Briley and Kelly Sayre,
industry leaders in Texas, recently became franchisees,
converting their stores, which resulted in a net gain of
17 franchised stores. We are proud to have these well-
respected operators on our team. Over time, we expect
close to half of our store growth to come from the
franchise system.
Company Revenues
From Franchising
Company Pretax Profit
From Franchising
0
5,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
$35,000
10,000
30,000
2004 2005 20062002 2003
($ in thousands)
0
5,000
15,000
$25,000
10,000
20,000
2004 2005 20062002 2003
($ in thousands)