Aarons 2015 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the "Company," "we," "us," "our"
and similar expressions are references to Aaron’s, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Established in 1955 and incorporated in 1962 as a Georgia corporation, Aaron’s, Inc., is a leading specialty retailer of furniture, consumer electronics,
computers, appliances and household accessories. Our store-based operations engage in the lease ownership and retail sale of a wide variety of products such
as televisions, computers, tablets, mobile phones, living room, dining room and bedroom furniture, mattresses, washers, dryers and refrigerators. Our stores
carry well-known brands such as Samsung®, Frigidaire®, Hewlett-Packard®, LG®, Whirlpool®, Simmons®, Philips®, JVC®, Sharp® and Magnavox®.
On April 14, 2014, the Company acquired a 100% ownership interest in Progressive Finance Holdings, LLC ("Progressive"), a leading virtual lease-to-own
company. Through our Progressive business, we offer lease-purchase solutions to the customers of traditional retailers on a variety of products, including
furniture and bedding, mobile phones, consumer electronics, appliances and jewelry. Progressive provides lease-purchase solutions in 46 states.
On October 15, 2015, the Company acquired a 100% ownership interest in Dent-A-Med, Inc., d/b/a the HELPcard®, (collectively, "DAMI") which is based in
Springdale, Arkansas. DAMI partners with merchants to provide a variety of revolving credit products originated through a federally insured bank to
customers that may not qualify for traditional prime lending. These are commonly referred to as "second-look" credit products. Together with Progressive,
DAMI allows the Company to provide retail and merchant partners one source for financing and leasing transactions with below-prime customers. The
acquisition of DAMI is expected to drive long-term incremental revenue and earnings growth at Progressive, and DAMI will benefit from Progressive's
proprietary technology, infrastructure and financial capacity.
As of December 31, 2015, we had 2,039 stores, comprised of 1,305 Company-operated stores in 28 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, and 734
independently-owned franchised stores in 47 states and Canada. Included in the Company-operated store counts are 1,223 Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership
stores (our monthly and semi-monthly pay concept) and 82HomeSmart stores (our weekly pay concept).
We own or have rights to various trademarks and trade names used in our business including Aaron’s, Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership, Progressive,
HomeSmart, Dent-A-Med, the HELPcard® and Woodhaven Furniture Industries. We intend to file for additional trade name and trademark protection when
appropriate.

Like many industries, the lease-to-own industry has been transformed by the internet and virtual marketplace. We believe the Progressive acquisition is
strategically transformational for the Company in this respect and will strengthen our business. We also believe the lease-to-own industry has suffered in
recent periods due to economic challenges faced by our traditional lease-to-own customers. In response to these changing market conditions, we are
executing a strategic plan for the traditional lease-to-own store-based ("core") business that focuses on the following items and that we believe positions us
for success over the long-term:
• Profitably grow our stores – Despite year-over-year declines in same store revenues, our price increases, inventory reduction, and cost efficiency
initiatives led to improvements in operating margins for our stores in 2015, and we remain committed to driving profitable growth.
• Accelerate our omni-channel platform – We believe Aarons.com represents an opportunity to provide a unique offering in the lease-to-own
industry. We are focused on engaging customers in ways that are convenient for them by providing them a seamless, direct-to-door platform through
which to shop across our product offering.
• Promote communication, coordination and integration – We are focused on driving executional excellence through enhanced communication,
coordination and integration between our stores and support centers. We also believe we can continue to improve our store operations by facilitating
the re-lease or resale of returned product from customers of Progressive and Aarons.com.
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