Rent-to-own News

Rent-to-own News - Premier Dealer Jim Ratner joins APRO board

October 6, 2011

Jim Ratner

The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations Board of Directors last month, elected Jim Ratner, a three-store Premier franchisee, to the board after accepting the resignation of William McCrae, former president of Buzz's Lease Purchase Sales.

Ratner will complete McCrae's two-year term on the board of the national trade association for the rental industry to which he was elected this summer in Little Rock at the APRO Convention.

McCrae -- who owned seven stores in Texas and Louisiana -- stepped down from the board after Aaron's purchased Buzz's stores this fall.

Ratner has a long and colorful rent to own career which includes stints for both Rent-A-Center and ColorTyme.

In 1986, Ratner became owner of a Rent America franchise in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He moved to Portland, Maine, in 1989 to open a store, sold his interest in the Massachusetts stores and eventually sold his Portland store to Aaron’s in 2004.

In 2007, he opened a Premier Rental-Purchase franchise in Westbrook, Maine, with his partner, John Reichnenbach. This past spring in Sanford, Maine, Ratner and Reichnenbach opened their third Premier Rental-Purchase store.

“I’ve worked for 20 store chains and I’ve owned one huge independent store,” he says. “I can relate to the challenges each scenario presents. My unique perspective will allow me to represent every sized business in the association. As a board member, I will make sure that every APRO member’s interest is considered with the utmost respect.”

Married for 27 years to his wife, Cindy, the Ratners have a 21-year-old son, Eli, and an 18-year-old daughter, Delaney (see RTOHQ: The Magazine, September–October 2010, page 30). Currently, the Ratners own four dogs and one very dog-savvy cat. His wife and daughter actively compete in dog agility events at the national level.
About APRO
The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations is the official voice of the rent-to-own industry and the most accurate and trustworthy source of rent-to-own news in the industry. Founded in 1980, APRO is the national, nonprofit trade association advocating and representing the rent-to-own industry before the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, courts, media and the public.

For more information, visit www.rtohq.org.

2012 APRO Convention and Trade Show

July 24-26, Memphis, TN

Attendee Information

Exhibitor Information

Thank you APRO 2012 Sponsors

Watch RTOHQ Rent to Own videos on YouTube!

Featured APRO Photo:
From the KLQ 2011, August 18-19, Tacoma, Washington Album
KLQ 2011, August 18-19, Tacoma, Washington
View All RTO Photos
in the RTOHQ.org gallery

RTOHQ: The Magazine
RTOHQ: The Magazine is the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations' award-winning rent-to-own industry magazine, and it's available here.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR DIGITAL RTOHQ: THE MAGAZINE

RTOHQ: The Magazine’s upgraded digital format

APRO's new, mobile-ready magazine is now available in addition to our print edition. The digital format provides the same informative content as our printed magazine, but also offers tools to make the reading experience more enriching. Access the table of contents page with one click or tap. Get additional information from advertisers by clicking on the links in their ads. The interface is easy to navigate and requires no special app—read our magazine on your computer, digital table or smartphone. Click here to access the digital version of RTOHQ: The Magazine March-April 2012.

A New Rent-to-Own Experience

by Neil Ferguson

Here’s the lowdown on APRO’s 2012 Convention and Trade Show, July 24-26 in Memphis. The RTO industry’s big event will offer many valuable experiences, including insights on how to turn your stores into “experiences”–the good kind for consumers

Who Is Your Competition?

by Bill Keese

In order to expand your customer base, you can learn a lot by observing your competitors. But first, you need to figure out just who they are. If you think your only competition is the rent-to-own store down the street, you’re not considering the bigger picture. APRO’s executive director offers a big-picture perspective.

A Review of Online Customer Complaints

by Ed Winn III

While rent-to-own companies have not cornered the market on negative reviews posted on consumer complaint websites, it’s no surprise that there are cyberspace beefs against RTO. APRO’s general counsel reviews some of them in search of a pattern and he considers appropriate response to online complaints.

Rent-to-Own Families, Part VIII

by Kristen Card

Our series of family-run rent-to-own businesses continues with profiles of the Homeiers in Kansas and two Texas-based sets of kindred colleagues, the Spangles and the Weisblatts.

Future issues of APRO's magazine will be available in this same new format. Click here to access past issues that are not yet archived in the new interface.

Association of Progressive Rental Organizations
1504 Robin Hood Trail
Austin, Texas 78703
800/204-2776, ext. 103
Fax 512/794-0097