ColorTyme Franchisees Tell Story Of Commitment, Growth

In 2006, ColorTyme franchisees Scott Brown and Louis Garcia were pleased with the growth of their two-year-old Landover Hills, Md., store. When a fellow franchisee approached them about purchasing three existing ColorTyme stores in the Baltimore area, the pair expressed interest and apprehension. They weren’t sure their young, one-store franchise could support three struggling stores. But the partners took the opportunity, and with the help of ColorTyme’s financing, acquired the stores. Brown and Garcia are now on track to open one store each year through 2010.

“We didn’t endure a complicated approval process. We had a simple conversation with the guys at ColorTyme’s headquarters,” Brown explains. “Bob Bloom and Pat Sumner support us, and ColorTyme provided financing so we could rapidly expand our business. It’s been a terrific investment and the stores now produce the largest revenues they’ve ever experienced.”

ColorTyme franchisees have access to 100 percent inventory financing through Wells Fargo Foothill or Texas Capitol Bank. It’s the backing independent dealers need to take business to the next level with higher-end inventory to attract customers. That same financial backing is available for new stores as well.

For years, Pat Hunt worked as an independent RTO owner. After he opened his own store in 1995, his business grew steadily until customers requested higher quality and quantity of inventory than Hunt had the capitol to finance. By 1999, he had a successful but limited business.

“Because banks don’t understand RTO, they wouldn’t provide the financing I needed to offer high end, big ticket merchandise for my customers,” Hunt explains. “Though my business was financially sound, I was unable to expand beyond one store without capitol financing. After I converted my store to ColorTyme, their financing enabled me to open five more locations in eight years. With ColorTyme, there is no corporate bureaucracy; my stores are still a small town business.”

Franchisees Rick Rineberg and Roy Rickoric found themselves in a similar situation before they opened their first location. While researching locations in Manhattan, Kan. in 2006, for their first ColorTyme store, Rineberg and Rikoric bought an existing store in Junction City, Kan. It wasn’t their original plan, but provided a valuable jump start to build their franchise into multiple stores.

“I was skeptical about small business ownership. But after seeing the success my friends in RTO experienced as franchisees, I had to try,” Rineberg says. “I appreciate the freedom entrepreneurship offers.”

Rineberg and Rikoric take advantage of ColorTyme’s centralized ordering process, eliminating transactions with 10+ vendors which saves both time and money. ColorTyme’s partnership with Rent-A-Center also gives ColorTyme franchisees the buying power of 3,500+ stores and solves service problems to ensure every piece of merchandise performs like it’s brand new. Service trucks pick up products in need of repair and deliver 80 percent back to franchisee stores the next week.

ColorTyme franchisees also credit the ColorTyme training program as another reason they succeed. The company has one of the most comprehensive training programs through ColorTyme University (CTU). More than 20 different courses cover positions from delivery drivers to account managers, and a range of topics from washer and dryer installation to cash flow calculation.

Franchisee Shelli Shealy says she appreciates CTU because it reinforces the basics of RTO which help her build her business. “If you provide the tools your employees need for success, and do the job right, customers will be happy and your company will perform efficiently.”
Shealy opened her first store in Middleburg, Fla. last year after spending 18 years with Rent-A-Center.

“I had the experience to be a business manager, but the team at ColorTyme’s headquarters helped me become a business owner,” Shealy says. “The entire team was just a phone call away and happy to guide me through site selection, lease negation, and build out. I’ve learned so much from Pat Sumner. He’s always there to answer my questions.”

Sumner, ColorTyme’s Director of Franchise Development, and the entire staff at ColorTyme’s headquarters answer questions from RTO professionals interested in pursuing business ownership. Pat can be reached at 1-800-411-8963 or psumner@colortyme.com and all inquiries are confidential.

Mike and Jill Houseworth - Two stores in Texas
I knew very little about RTO when I started as a manager trainee for another ColorTyme franchisee in 1982 but I did know that I wanted to find an industry with opportunity for advancement. It didn’t take long to recognize that RTO was a fun business full of opportunity with people who share ideas and recipes for success.

After just five years in the business, I was able to open my own ColorTyme franchise and live the American dream.

With ColorTyme, my passion and dedication have directly affected my level of success. I’m surrounded by people who have created their own destiny - going from manager trainees to franchise owners because of their work ethic and passion for this business.

We treat our customers with respect and focus on quality, high-end products that other chains don’t provide. We build relationships with our clients because at the end of the day, we want them to be proud to say they’re ColorTyme customers.

Tom Smith - Three stores in Maryland and Pennsylvania
As a former multi-store RTO manager and now as a business owner I firmly believe "everything is about the customer". Our constant focus is extraordinary customer service that goes above and beyond what is expected.

The same is true for ColorTyme. In fact, I frequently hear the home office say "we are in business to help our franchisees succeed" and they demonstrate that commitment every day through responsive and total support when I need it.

In two short years as a ColorTyme franchisee I have built three of my own ColorTyme stores and fully intend to have 10 stores in the next five years.

Why can I say that with such confidence? Because I have the ability to run the store as I see fit but also draw on the support of an entire company through training, financing and marketing programs that give me a clear advantage over independent operators. ColorTyme has purchasing down to a science which means we have better, higher-end products for our customers at lower prices – a perfect match for our ‘above and beyond’ approach to customer service

Mike Harwood - 37 stores in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
When I first got into RTO more than 20 years ago, it was at the urging of some friends as an investment opportunity. Though my original investment was just three stores, ColorTyme’s franchisee support has allowed me to not only build my business into 37 stores, but to offer my employees what RTO gave me so long ago – a rewarding career.

My most important goal as a franchisee is to provide the training my employees need to excel and enable them to take true ownership over each stores’ success. Because of ColorTyme’s flexible franchising, I’m able to let each of my managers determine their stores’ inventory, pricing, and even local marketing plans. All of these help us meet our ultimate goal – to build lasting relationships with our customers.

In fact, those customers allow me to continue building my franchise while ColorTyme provides the ultimate support system with inventory selection, marketing programs and ColorTyme University. We can offer our customers hometown, friendly service with luxury merchandise they’d expect to see in a big city, an option that’s both convenient and affordable.

Gary Hughes - 8 stores in Hawaii, Washington and Idaho
Before becoming a ColorTyme franchisee in 1990, I was a rent-to-own novice. Nonetheless, ColorTyme supported me when I decided to launch customer services in my stores beyond traditional RTO such as check cashing and Pay Day Loans.

Providing those options for my customers gave them the level of respect they deserve. And it turned each of my stores into a community center offering complete banking services with wire transfers, money orders, and bill payment centers.

The combination of banking services and ColorTyme’s financing programs enabled me to open 32 stores in just 15 years, even opening a ColorTyme store every 90 days for six years. Being a ColorTyme franchisee has not only allowed me to live my dreams, but also to support my employees in establishing their careers and realizing their own dreams.

After deciding to ‘retire’ and sell most of my stores to Rent-A-Center in 2005, I wanted to maintain ownership of 8 stores as part of minority partnerships with former employees of mine. My success in ColorTyme partnered with ColorTyme’s financing programs turned into franchising success for many franchisees.

Steve Dami & Zach Routh
Partners Steve Dami and Zach Routh, former Rent-A-Center (RAC) district managers, bring more than 26 years combined experience in rent-to-own to their franchise. The partners signed a deal with ColorTyme because of their familiarity with ColorTyme’s business model and the low start-up costs associated with ColorTyme stores.

"ColorTyme offers a phenomenal deal for franchisees," Dami said. "We have the freedom now to get the products our customers request, whether it’s a lawn mower or a flat screen TV. It’s such a reward to see a customer pay for a piece of merchandise they couldn’t otherwise afford. That responsibility and success rolls over into other areas of their lives and I’m thrilled to provide that kind of opportunity for our customers."

The partners both achieved top performer status with RAC before leaving the company, and plan to use their same motto for success in their ColorTyme franchise: "Customer service is everything. If we say we’re going to do it, we’re going to get it done no matter what it takes," Routh says.

"We want our customers to know how much we care for and respect them," he explains. "We look forward to building relationships with our customers, rather than having a quick 30-second visit with a hello and goodbye. When we see them once a week for their payments, we want to know when their son wins a ball game, and when their daughter has a ballet recital."

Though Routh and Dami have an agreement for three ColorTyme stores, they hope to open at least five: two each in Greensboro and Winston-Salem and one in High Point.

ColorTyme History
Founded in 1978, ColorTyme, Inc. is the oldest franchised rent-to-own or rental purchase company in the United States with 275 stores. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, ColorTyme offers customers the opportunity to own the things they want and need in a way they can afford, just as founder Willie Talley envisioned ColorTyme 28 years ago.

The company got its start when Talley began selling Curtis Mathes color televisions and realized many of his customers couldn’t afford to buy a new TV in one payment. A new concept and brand was born. Today, the company provides the same value for its customers and for its franchisees with superior systems, programs and processes through each step of business development. The company is driven by the successes of its more than 80 franchisees who lead the industry in customer service and respect.

In 2004, ColorTyme launched an aggressive franchise development plan and is on track to grow significantly in the next five years with many of its newest locations being developed by rent-to-own professionals with years of RTO experience. Franchisees have access to inventory and 100 percent capitol financing through Wells Fargo Foothill and Texas Capitol Bank; buying power of 3,500+ stores through a strategic partnership with Rent-A-Center; centralized merchandise ordering and repair services; the industry’s most comprehensive training program, ColorTyme University (CTU); nationwide marketing support; and pay day loan programs.

ColorTyme franchisee Pat Hunt may have put it best, “I firmly believe ColorTyme has the best franchisee support in our business for everything from inventory pricing to training programs without forcing franchisees to deal with corporate bureaucracy.”

ColorTyme’s executive team, lead by President and CEO Bob Bloom, has more than 115 years of RTO and franchise relations experience. Vice President of Operations Tim Hogan has vast experience in store, regional and divisional turnarounds and is well-known for progressive operational execution. Director of Franchise Development and Finance Pat Sumner spearheads the company’s franchise growth initiative alongside Bloom which led to 33 new franchisee signings in the last 3 years. Controller Thomas Seago plays a vital role in the growth and stability of ColorTyme and secures comprehensive financing for franchisees. Rhonda Davis, Director of Purchasing, began her career with ColorTyme just one year after its founding, and works one-on-one with franchisees to facilitate their stores’ product needs. Director of Marketing Amy Woods, with over 20 years experience in advertising and franchise marketing, is the newest member of ColorTyme’s executive team and in just a year with the company has overhauled and launched new consumer and franchisee Web sites for ColorTyme - http://www.colortyme.com.

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