Our business model seems to work well in the inner city as well as outlying areas.
Tim Hector, Purchasing and Marketing Manager, National Rent-to-Own

Photo RTO Online

Tim Hector, Purchasing and Marketing Manager for 33 store chain National Rent to Own, at this week's ALMO Expo in St. Louis, Missouri. See RTO Online's videocast interview with Hector here.

National Rent to Own operates 33 locations from Peoria, Illinois to central Missouri. Tim Hector, National's Purchasing and Marketing Manager told RTO Online that the Bridgeton, Missouri based company is the only independent operator left in St. Louis.

Watch RTO Online's new videocast interview with Tim hector, filmed at the third annual Almo Expo in St. Louis Wednesday.

How has National been able to succeed where other independents have not? By never taking their eyes off the ball. The company has earned a reputation for world-class customer care. "We've been here a long time and our customers know we insist that they are taken care of."

The Independent Independent

National has been serving St. Louis for 24 years. "I've been here 12 years and I've seen a dozen independent rent-to-own companies come and go," Hector said.

Most independents focus on one type of market and stick to that model. But National defies being pigeon-holed, operating stores with equal success in St. Louis - population 2.8 million - and Farmington Mo. - population 15,000. "Our business model seems to work well in the inner city as well as outlying areas." The average National Rent to Own is 5,500 sq. ft. with some locations as large as 10,000.

More RTO Online videocast interviews from the ALMO Expo in St. Louis, Mo.

Joel Biterman, Midwest Regional Sales manager for ALMO. the nation's largest distributor of major appliances and electronics.

Interview with Mark Alexander, Owner of Alexander and Ray's in Olathe Kansas.

More Knobs for the Dollar

National focuses on higher end appliances. "There are 6 price points in front-load laundry. There is only one higher than the unit rented by National."

Hector says staying with premium models gives "More knobs per dollar."

"We buy it right and get the biggest bang for the buck. When it comes to front load laundry, we went as high as necessary to get the features our customers wanted. We focus on one piece but we do bug numbers with that piece."

APU Rising

"There's no doubt that APUs are rising. With the economy the ways it's been recently, rates are trickling back down, but that's because were making the deals to keep customers on the books."

Hector believes that, when the economy improves, APUs will rise again. "People are willing to pay a little more per week or per month to have nice things in their home."

Retail and Rent to Own

Hector believes that there could be a time when traditional retailers utilize an RTO transaction. "Many Ashley Home Stores have added rent-to-own kiosks. What I don't like about that is they tend to only use the transaction for credit-strapped customers. In some ways it hurts the industry. It gives us the reputation that we only service credit-strapped people and that's not at all true."

Other interviews from Wednesday's ALMO Expo