The Aaron's Company
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ISIN | US0025353006 |
| Industry | Furniture |
| Founded | June 19, 1955 |
| Founder | R. Charles Loudermilk |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Area served | North America |
Key people | |
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  US$3.94 billion (2019)[1] |
 US$105.87 million (2019)[1] | |
| US$31.47 million (2019)[1] | |
| Total assets | US$3.29 billion (2019)[1] |
| Total equity | US$1.73 billion (2019)[1] |
Number of employees | 9,400 (2020) |
| Website | www |
The Aaron's Company, Inc. is an American lease-to-own retailer. The company focuses on leases and retail sales of furniture, electronics, appliances, and computers. The company sells through the company-operated and franchised stores, e-commerce platform (Aarons.com)[2][3]
Locations
As of 31 December 2020[update], the Aaron's Company has 1,340 stores: 1,092 company-operated stores (in 43 states and Canada) and 248 independently owned and operated franchised stores in 35 states and Canada.[4]
History
Aaron Rents, Inc. was founded by R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. in 1955.[5]
In September 2008, Aaron's announced the sale of its Corporate Furnishings division to CORT Business Services, part of Berkshire Hathaway. Aaron's Corporate Furnishings division, which operated 47 stores, recorded revenues of approximately $99 million in 2007.[6]
As of December 31, 2016, Aaron's had 1,864 stores located in 28 states and the District of Columbia and Canada. In addition, they had 699 independently owned franchised stores in 46 states and Canada.[2]
On July 29, 2020, Aaron's Holdings Company, Inc. announced plans to split into two companies: PROG Holdings, Inc. and The Aaron's Company, Inc.[7] PROG Holdings, with the ticker symbol "PRG" (NYSE: PRG), remained in the S&P Midcap 400 stock index but its Global Industry Classification Standard was changed to "Consumer Finance". The Aaron's Company continued to trade under the ticker symbol "AAN" (NYSE: AAN) but was moved into the S&P Smallcap 600.[8]
In April of 2022, Aaron's purchased Brandsmart USA, a regional appliance and consumer electronics retailer, for $230 Million.[9]
Controversy
In February 2013, customers sued Aaron's for allegedly using spyware on rented computers to send over 185,000 emails to the rental company, including customers' Social Security numbers, passwords and captured keystrokes, as well as explicit images.[10] The Aaron's Company officials had previously said that the company had not installed the spyware, and individual franchisees were responsible.[10] In October 2013, Aaron's agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that limited how it used monitoring technology and ordered it to delete customer information that had been improperly collected.[11]
Sponsorships
- NASCAR racing: Aaron's entered NASCAR jumping in between multiple teams and drivers, sponsoring drivers such as Johnny Benson Jr., Kenny Wallace, and Hermie Sadler. In 2008, Aaron's then became the full-time sponsor for the team Michael Waltrip Racing in NASCAR's Monster Energy Cup Series for a couple of years, sponsoring drivers such as David Reutimann, Michael McDowell, Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, and David Ragan in a scheme that was named the "Aaron's Dream Machine". Aaron's was also the namesake of the spring race at Talladega Superspeedway, the Aaron's 499, along with the Xfinity Series spring race at the track, the Aaron's 312, from 2002 to 2014. Aaron's also sponsored Clint Bowyer for a single race in Atlanta during the 2016 season. The year after, Aaron's sponsored Michael Waltrip in his last race.
- National Hot Rod Association racing: Aaron's sponsored Don Schumacher Racing in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series. They sponsored Funny Car driver Jack Beckman and Top Fuel driver Antron Brown.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "US SEC: Form 10-K Aaron's, Inc". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
- ^ a b "AAN - Aaron's Company Inc Profile". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
- ^ "CORRECTED-Aaron's acquires Progressive Finance Holdings for $700 mln". Reuters. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
- ^ "Aaron's 10K SEC Filing" (PDF). aarons.com.
- ^ "Aaron Rents, Inc. Changes Name to Aaron's, Inc". PR Newswire. CCBN/Thomson Reuters. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved 2011-05-04.
Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's has been publicly traded since 1982.
- ^ "Aaron Rents, Inc. Sells Aaron's Corporate Furnishings Division to CORT Business Services". Reuters. 2008-09-15. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01.
- ^ "Aaron's Holdings To Spin-Off The Aaron's Company On November 30, 2020". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ^ "Concentrix Set to Join S&P MidCap 400; AMC Networks & The Aaron's Company to Join S&P SmallCap 600" (PDF). SPGlobal. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
- ^ https://www.jonesday.com/en/practices/experience/2022/04/aarons-company-to-acquire-brandsmart-usa-for-230-million
- ^ a b "185,000 spyware emails were sent to Aaron's computers". NBC News. February 28, 2013. Archived from the original on March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
- ^ Leon Stafford (October 23, 2013). "Rental business Aaron's admits role in spying on customers". Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
Sources
- Plunkett, Jack W. (December 2007). Plunkett's Retail Industry Almanac 2008. ISBN 978-1-59392-101-9.
External links
- Official website
- Business data for The Aaron's Company:
- Aaron's Rent to Own and Lease Ownership website
- Home Staging by Aaron's Archived 2019-05-11 at the Wayback Machine - Home Staging Furniture Fulfilled by Aaron's
- HOMESMART Archived 2012-12-28 at the Wayback Machine - Subsidiary of Aaron's Inc.
- Aaron Inc SEC Filings