Rent-A-Center, Inc. Reports June Key Operating Metrics
Core U.S.
- Same Store Sales: (7.7%)
- Delinquencies: 7.1%, 60 basis points unfavorable versus prior month
- Average Monthly Rate of New Agreements: 5.7% favorable versus prior year
- Co-worker Turnover: 86.1% and 19.5 percentage points favorable versus prior year
Acceptance NOW
- Same Store Sales: 8.6%
- Delinquencies: 8.1%, 90 basis points unfavorable versus prior month
In the Core U.S. segment, June same store sales improved sequentially as the initiatives put in place continue to make a positive impact on the size and quality of the rental portfolio. Delinquencies, which were favorable by 410 basis points versus prior year, were higher sequentially primarily due to seasonality. In addition, while there were some calendar differences on a monthly basis throughout the quarter versus prior year, second quarter 2017 same stores sales were approximately 350 basis points ahead of the low point in fourth quarter 2016.
Looking ahead, the Company’s new assortment strategy of providing access to aspirational products will continue to build, given the average product stays in the system for over eighteen months. For example, in the second quarter the Company’s inventory purchases were comprised of over 65 percent aspirational products but only half of the sales made in second quarter 2017 were aspirational products. Both of these data points were well ahead of prior quarters. The Company is also leveraging its more stable workforce to improve the customer experience through a new mystery shopper program that will provide the sales force feedback on in store, web and phone based customer interactions. In addition to this pointed feedback, detailed training is being integrated into the tool to further improve on those opportunities.
In Acceptance NOW, same store sales remain higher than last year due to a larger portfolio in those respective locations. The growth of the portfolio is being aided by a younger, still maturing store base and stronger average ticket driven by actions taken to optimize the value proposition. As a reminder, the same store sales store base is comprised of only about 40% of Acceptance NOW locations due to the recent Conn’s and HH Gregg closures. Delinquencies were unfavorable month over month primarily due to the higher seasonality and the transferred agreements from closed stores.
Metric Definitions
Core U.S.
- Same Store Sales - year over year revenue performance on comparable stores
- Delinquencies - percent of customer agreements greater than 7 days past due
- Average Monthly Rate of New Agreements - average monthly rental rate for agreements originated in the period
- Co-worker Turnover - annualized year to date store co-worker turnover
Acceptance NOW
- Same Store Sales - year over year revenue performance on comparable stores
- Delinquencies - percent of customer agreements, in staffed locations, greater than 32 days past due
About
A rent-to-own industry leader,
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and the guidance above contain forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking
statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “could,”
“estimate,” “should,” “anticipate,” “believe,” or “confident,” or the
negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. The
Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are accurate. However, there can be no assurance that such
expectations will occur. The Company's actual future performance could
differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the
general strength of the economy and other economic conditions affecting
consumer preferences and spending; factors affecting the disposable
income available to the Company’s current and potential customers;
changes in the unemployment rate; difficulties encountered in improving
the financial and operational performance of the Company’s business
segments; the Company’s chief executive officer and chief financial
officer transitions, including the Company’s ability to effectively
operate and execute its strategies during the interim period and
difficulties or delays in identifying and/or attracting a permanent
chief financial officer with the required level of experience and
expertise; failure to manage the Company’s store labor and other store
expenses; the Company’s ability to develop and successfully execute
strategic initiatives; disruptions, including capacity-related outages,
caused by the implementation and operation of the Company’s new store
information management system, and its transition to more-readily
scalable, “cloud-based” solutions; the Company’s ability to develop and
successfully implement digital or E-commerce capabilities, including
mobile applications; disruptions in the Company’s supply chain;
limitations of, or disruptions in, the Company’s distribution network;
rapid inflation or deflation in the prices of the Company’s products;
the Company’s ability to execute and the effectiveness of a store
consolidation, including the Company’s ability to retain the revenue
from customer accounts merged into another store location as a result of
a store consolidation; the Company’s available cash flow; the Company’s
ability to identify and successfully market products and services that
appeal to its customer demographic; consumer preferences and perceptions
of the Company’s brand; uncertainties regarding the ability to open new
locations; the Company’s ability to acquire additional stores or
customer accounts on favorable terms; the Company’s ability to control
costs and increase profitability; the Company’s ability to retain the
revenue associated with acquired customer accounts and enhance the
performance of acquired stores; the Company’s ability to enter into new
and collect on its rental or lease purchase agreements; the passage of
legislation adversely affecting the Rent-to-Own industry; the Company’s
compliance with applicable statutes or regulations governing its
transactions; changes in interest rates; adverse changes in the economic
conditions of the industries, countries or markets that the Company
serves; information technology and data security costs; the impact of
any breaches in data security or other disturbances to the Company's
information technology and other networks and the Company’s ability to
protect the integrity and security of individually identifiable data of
its customers and employees; changes in the Company’s stock price, the
number of shares of common stock that it may or may not repurchase, and
future dividends, if any; changes in estimates relating to
self-insurance liabilities and income tax and litigation reserves;
changes in the Company’s effective tax rate; fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; the Company’s ability to maintain an effective
system of internal controls; the resolution of the Company’s litigation;
and the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170718005440/en/
Source:
Rent-A-Center, Inc.
Daniel O’Rourke, 972-801-1104
VP -
Finance, Investor Relations and Treasury
InvestorRelations@rentacenter.com