Item 1. Business.
History of Rent-A-Center
Unless the context indicates otherwise, references to “we,” “us”, “our”, and the "Company" refer to the consolidated business operations of Rent-A-Center, Inc., the parent, and any or all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. For any references in this document to Note A through Note V, refer to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8.
We are a leading lease-to-own provider with operations in the United States, Puerto Rico and Mexico. We provide a critical service for a large portion of underserved consumers by providing them with access to, and the opportunity to obtain ownership of, high-quality, durable products via small payments over time under a flexible lease-purchase agreement with no long-term debt obligation. Through our Rent-A-Center Business, we provide a fully integrated customer experience through our e-commerce platform and brick and mortar presence. Our Preferred Lease business offers lease-to-own solutions through retail partners in stores and online enabling our partners to grow sales by expanding their customer base utilizing our differentiated offering. We were incorporated in the State of Delaware in 1986, and our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “RCII.”
Our principal executive offices are located at 5501 Headquarters Drive, Plano, Texas 75024. Our telephone number is (972) 801-1100 and our company website is www.rentacenter.com. We do not intend for information contained on our website to be part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The Lease Purchase Transaction
The lease purchase transaction is a flexible alternative that provides freedom for consumers who wish to obtain use and enjoyment of brand name merchandise with no long-term obligation and without having to pay the full price up front. Generally, our customer has the right, but is not obligated, to acquire title to the merchandise either through an early purchase option or through payment of all lease renewals that would be required to obtain ownership.
The unit economics of the lease purchase transaction vary depending on the length of time customers take to obtain ownership of the product. In same-as-cash option transactions, a customer pays the full price of the merchandise within a designated period of time following the initial lease and generally pays the retail price of the product plus a premium to the cost. Full term lease-to-own transactions involve the customer leasing our merchandise through a lease structured with multiple lease renewal terms and ultimately obtaining ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of the final lease renewal term. Due to the longer term of these transactions along with the other benefits that are part of the lease-to-own transaction, full term transactions involve a higher total cost compared to the cost of the general retail price of the product if it was purchased upfront. Customers primarily take ownership of the merchandise through same-as-cash options or early purchase options, where the customer pays off outstanding amounts prior to the final lease renewal at a discount. In the Rent-A-Center Business, the product is often rented more than one time before a customer ultimately obtains ownership.
There are differences in the unit economics between our Rent-A-Center Business and Preferred Lease segments, as we purchase our merchandise at wholesale prices for our Rent-A-Center Business segment and at retail prices for our Preferred Lease segment. Historically, operating margin for our Preferred Lease segment has benefited from the lower overhead cost associated with the virtual options employed at many third party locations.
Key features of the lease purchase transaction include:
No long term obligation. A customer may terminate a lease purchase agreement at any time without penalty. Once the product is returned to us, the customer has no obligation for remaining payments other than any outstanding balances to the date of return.
Convenient payment options. Our customers make payments on a weekly, semi-monthly or monthly basis in our stores, at our retail partner locations, online or by telephone. We accept cash, credit or debit cards and payment via certain electronic platforms (such as PayPal and Venmo). Rental payments received at our store or retail partner locations are generally made in advance. Rental payments together with applicable fees, constitute our primary revenue source. Approximately 77% and 93% of our rental purchase agreements are on weekly terms in our Rent-A-Center Business and our Mexico segments, respectively. Payments are generally made on a biweekly or monthly basis in our Preferred Lease segment.
Flexible options to obtain ownership. Ownership of the merchandise generally transfers to the customer if the customer continuously renews the lease purchase agreement for a required period of between seven and 30 months, depending upon the product type, or exercises a specified early purchase option.
Reinstatement. If a customer is temporarily unable to make payments on a piece of rental merchandise and returns the merchandise, that customer generally may later re-rent the same piece of merchandise (or, if unavailable, a substitute of comparable quality, age and condition) on the terms that existed at the time the merchandise was returned, and pick up payments where they left off without losing credit for what they previously paid.
No formal credit needed. Generally, no established credit score or credit history is required. In the Rent-A-Center Business segment, we typically verify a customer’s residence and sources of income, and may utilize other sources to verify certain information contained in the lease purchase order form. In our Preferred Lease segment, which provides an on-site lease-to-own option at a third-party retailer's location, customers complete the application process through a variety of resources, including online digital waterfall technology, retail partner electronic portals and online e-commerce websites, and a robust proprietary automated decision engine process is used to confirm certain customer information for approval of the lease purchase agreement.
Brand name merchandise. In our store locations and through our retail partnerships, we offer merchandise from a large number of well-known brands such as Ashley home furnishings; LG, Samsung, and Sony home electronics; Frigidaire, Whirlpool, Amana, and Maytag appliances; HP, Dell, Acer, Apple, Asus, Samsung and Toshiba computers and/or tablets; and Samsung and Apple smartphones.
Delivery and set-up included. We generally offer same-day or next-day delivery and installation of our merchandise at no additional cost to the customer in our lease-to-own stores. Our Preferred Lease locations rely on our third-party retail partners to deliver merchandise rented by the customer. Our third-party retail partners typically charge us a fee for delivery, which we pass on to the customer.
Product maintenance and replacement. We provide any required service or repair without additional charge, except in the event of damage in excess of normal wear and tear and certain other limited circumstances. The cost to repair the merchandise may be reimbursed by the vendor if the item is still under factory warranty. If the product cannot be repaired at the customer’s residence, we provide a temporary replacement while the product is being repaired. If the product cannot be repaired, we will replace it with a product of comparable quality, age and condition.
Our Strategy
Our strategy is focused on growing our business model through emphasis on the following key initiatives:
•executing on market opportunities and enhancing our competitive position across both traditional and virtual lease-to-own solutions;
•accelerating the shift to e-commerce, expanding product categories, including into emerging product categories, and improving the fully integrated customer experience;
•using technology to support frictionless partner onboarding with seamless integration to retail partner platforms;
•continuing to generate repeat business while expanding our potential customer base;
•leveraging the integration of the Acima decision engine and expanding digital payments and communication channels; and
•generating favorable adjusted EBITDA margin and strong free cash flow to fund strategic priorities and deliver and return capital to shareholders.
As we pursue our strategy, we may take advantage of merger and acquisition opportunities from time to time that advance our key initiatives, and engage in discussions regarding these opportunities, which could include mergers, consolidations or acquisitions or dispositions or other transactions, although there can be no assurance that any such activities will be consummated.
For additional information regarding the acquisition of Acima in the Merger, see “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation—Recent Developments”.
Our Operating Segments
We report financial operating performance under four operating segments. To better reflect the Company's current strategic focus, our retail partner business operations are reported as the Preferred Lease segment (formerly Acceptance Now), which includes our virtual, staffed and hybrid business models; and our company-owned stores and e-commerce platform through
rentacenter.com are reported as the Rent-A-Center Business segment (formerly Core U.S.). In addition, we report operating results for our Mexico and Franchising segments. Additional information regarding our operating segments is presented in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” contained in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and financial information regarding these segments and revenues by geographic area are provided in Note T to the consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Substantially all of our revenues for the past three years originated in the United States.
Rent-A-Center Business
Rent-A-Center Business is our largest operating segment and includes our company-owned stores in the United States and Puerto Rico and our e-commerce platform rentacenter.com. As of December 31, 2020, we operated 1,845 company-owned stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, including 44 retail installment sales stores under the names “Get It Now” and “Home Choice.” We routinely evaluate the locations in which we operate to optimize our store network. Our Rent-A-Center Business segment comprised approximately 66% of our consolidated net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. Approximately 80% of our business in this segment is from repeat customers.
Preferred Lease
Our Preferred Lease segment operates in the United States and Puerto Rico and provides an on-site lease-to-own option at a third-party retailer’s location, including staffed options, unstaffed or virtual options or a combination of the two (the hybrid model). Our Preferred Lease operating segment includes Preferred Dynamix, a proprietary digital platform that leverages new decisioning technology and a portfolio of new lease-to-own solutions to expand the ways that consumers and retailers interact. In the event a retail purchase credit application is declined, the customer can be introduced to an in-store Preferred Lease representative at our staffed locations, or work with a representative of the third party retailer or directly with our virtual solution to initiate the lease-to-own transaction to obtain the merchandise. Because we neither require nor perform a formal credit investigation for the approval of the lease purchase transaction, we use a proprietary automated process to confirm certain customer information for approval of the lease purchase agreement. We believe our Preferred Lease model is beneficial for both the retailer and the consumer. The retailer captures more sales because we buy the merchandise directly from them. We believe consumers also benefit from our Preferred Lease model because they are able to obtain the products they want and need without the necessity of credit. We generally pay the retail price for merchandise purchased from our retail partners and subsequently leased to the customer. Through certain retail partners, we offer our customers the option to obtain ownership of the product at or slightly above the full retail price if they pay within 90 days. In some cases, the retailer provides us a rebate on the cost of the merchandise if the customer exercises this 90-day option.
Our Preferred Lease operating model is highly agile and dynamic because we can open and close locations quickly and efficiently. Generally, our Preferred Lease staffed locations consist of an area with a computer, desk and chairs. We occupy the space without charge by agreement with each retailer. In our virtual locations, transactions are initiated through an electronic portal accessible by retail partners on their store computers, on our retail partners' e-commerce sites or through our mobile application. Accordingly, capital expenditures with respect to new Preferred Lease locations are minimal.
We rely on our third-party retail partners to deliver merchandise rented by the customer. Such third-party retail partners typically charge us a fee for delivery, which we pass on to the customer. In the event the customer returns rented merchandise, we pick it up at no additional charge. Merchandise returned from a Preferred Lease location is subsequently offered for rental at one of our Rent-A-Center Business stores.
We intend to combine Acima's virtual capabilities with our Preferred Lease platform to provide retailers and consumers an expanded set of innovative solutions to enter into lease-to-own transactions. Our virtual offering will allow consumers to enjoy the benefits of the Company’s flexible lease-to-own solutions across e-commerce, digital, and mobile channels. Beginning in the first quarter of 2021, the Preferred Lease Segment will include the results of Acima and will be renamed the Acima Segment.
Mexico
Our Mexico segment consists of our company-owned lease-to-own stores in Mexico. As of December 31, 2020, we operated 121 stores in Mexico.
Franchising
The stores in our Franchising segment use our Rent-A-Center, ColorTyme or RimTyme trade names, service marks, trademarks and logos, and operate under distinctive operating procedures and standards. Franchising's sources of revenue include the sale of merchandise to its franchisees who, in turn, offer the merchandise to the general public for rent or purchase under a lease-to-own transaction, and royalties collected from franchisees based on a percentage of revenue.
As of December 31, 2020, we franchised 462 stores in 33 states operating under the Rent-A-Center (398 stores), ColorTyme (29 stores) and RimTyme (35 stores) names. These lease-to-own stores primarily offer high quality products such as furniture and accessories, consumer electronics, appliances, computers, wheels and tires.
As franchisor, Franchising receives royalties of 2.0% to 6.0% of the franchisees’ monthly gross revenue and, generally, an initial fee up to $10,000 per new location.
The following table summarizes our locations allocated among these operating segments as of December 31 of each of the years indicated below:
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2020
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2019
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2018
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Rent-A-Center Business
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1,845
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1,973
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2,158
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Mexico
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121
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123
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122
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Franchising
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462
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372
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281
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Total locations(1)
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2,428
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2,468
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2,561
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(1) Does not include locations in our Preferred Lease segment.
The following discussion applies generally to all of our operating segments, unless otherwise noted.
Rent-A-Center Operations
Store Expenses
Our expenses primarily relate to merchandise costs and the cost of operating our stores, including salaries and benefits for our employees, occupancy expense for our leased real estate, advertising expenses, lost, damaged, or stolen merchandise, fixed asset depreciation, and other expenses.
Product Selection
The stores in our Rent-A-Center Business, Mexico, and Franchising segments generally offer merchandise from certain basic product categories: furniture and accessories, appliances, consumer electronics, computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition, in the Rent-A-Center Business segment, we have recently expanded into other product categories including tools, tires, handbags and other accessories. Although we seek to maintain sufficient inventory in our stores to offer customers a wide variety of models, styles and brands, we generally limit merchandise to prescribed levels to maintain strict inventory controls. We seek to provide a wide variety of high quality merchandise to our customers, and we emphasize products from name-brand manufacturers. Customers may request either new merchandise or previously leased merchandise. Previously leased merchandise is generally offered at a similar weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly lease rate as is offered for new merchandise, but with an opportunity to obtain ownership of the merchandise after fewer lease payments.
Our furniture products include dining room, living room and bedroom furniture featuring a number of styles, materials and colors. Accessories include lamps and tables and are typically rented as part of a package of items, such as a complete room of furniture. Showroom displays enable customers to visualize how the product will look in their homes and provide a showcase for accessories. Appliances include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dryers, and ranges. Consumer electronic products offered by our stores include high definition televisions, home theater systems, video game consoles and stereos. We offer desktop, laptop, tablet computers and smartphones.
The merchandise assortment may vary in our non-U.S. stores according to market characteristics and consumer demand unique to the particular country in which we are operating. For example, in Mexico, the appliances we offer are sourced locally, providing our customers in Mexico the look and feel to which they are accustomed in that product category.
Preferred Lease locations offer the merchandise available for sale at the applicable third-party retailer, primarily furniture and accessories, consumer electronics and appliances.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, furniture and accessories accounted for approximately 45% of our consolidated rentals and fees revenue, appliances for 16%, consumer electronic products for 14%, computers for 5%, smartphones for 3% and other products and services for 17%.
Product Turnover
On average, in the Rent-A-Center Business segment, a rental term of 16 months or exercising an early purchase option is generally required to obtain ownership of new merchandise. Product turnover is the number of times a product is rented to a different customer. On average, a product is rented (turned over) to multiple customers before a customer acquires ownership. Merchandise returned in the Preferred Lease segment is moved to a Rent-A-Center Business store where it is offered for rent. Ownership is attained in approximately 41% of rental purchase agreements in the Rent-A-Center Business segment. The average total life for each product in our Rent-A-Center Business segment is approximately 15 months, which includes the initial rental period, all re-rental periods and idle time in our system. To cover the higher operating expenses generated by the key benefits of rental purchase transactions and product turnover, rental purchase agreements require higher aggregate payments than are generally charged under other types of purchase plans, such as installment purchase or credit plans.
Collections
Store managers use our management information system to track collections on a daily basis. If a customer fails to make a rental payment when due, store personnel will attempt to contact the customer to obtain payment and reinstate the agreement, or will terminate the account and arrange to regain possession of the merchandise. We attempt to recover the rental items as soon as possible following termination or default of a rental purchase agreement. Collection efforts are enhanced by the personal and job-related references required of customers, the personal nature of the relationships between our employees and customers, and the availability of lifetime reinstatement. Currently, we track past due amounts using a guideline of seven days in our Rent-A-Center Business segment and 30 days in the Preferred Lease segment. These metrics align with the majority of the rental purchase agreements in each segment, since payments are generally made weekly in the Rent-A-Center Business segment and monthly in the Preferred Lease segment.
If a customer does not return the merchandise or make payment, the remaining book value of the rental merchandise associated with delinquent accounts is generally charged off on or before the 90th day following the time the account became past due in the Rent-A-Center Business and Mexico segments, and during the month following the 150th day in the Preferred Lease segment.
Purchasing
In our Rent-A-Center Business and Mexico segments, we purchase our rental merchandise from a variety of suppliers. In 2020, approximately 20% of our merchandise purchases were attributable to Ashley Furniture Industries. No other brand accounted for more than 10% of merchandise purchased during these periods. We do not generally enter into written contracts with our suppliers that obligate us to meet certain minimum purchasing levels. Although we expect to continue relationships with our existing suppliers, we believe there are numerous sources of products available, and we do not believe the success of our operations is dependent on any one or more of our present suppliers.
In our Preferred Lease segment, we purchase the merchandise selected by the customer from the applicable third-party retailer at the time such customer enters into a lease purchase agreement with us.
With respect to our Franchising segment, our franchise agreements with franchisees require the franchised stores to exclusively offer for rent or sale only those brands, types and models of products that Franchising has approved. The franchised stores are required to maintain an adequate mix of inventory that consists of approved products for rent as dictated by Franchising policy manuals. Franchisees can purchase product through us or directly from various approved suppliers.
Management
Our executive management team has extensive lease-to-own or similar retail experience and has demonstrated the ability to grow and manage our business through their operational leadership and strategic vision. Our regional and district managers generally have long tenures with us, and we have a history of promoting management personnel from within. In addition, during 2020, we hired certain key management members in the Preferred Lease segment to lead our strategic efforts in our virtual and e-commerce business solutions, including our Executive Vice President of Preferred Lease, who brings extensive experience and a proven track record of innovation in financial services and financial technology.
We believe our executive management team's extensive industry and company experience will allow us to effectively execute our strategies.
Marketing
We promote our products and services through television and digital radio commercials, print advertisements, store telemarketing, digital display advertisements, direct email campaigns, social networks, paid and organic search, website and store signage. Our advertisements emphasize such features as product and name-brand selection, the opportunity to pay as you go without credit, long-term contracts or obligations, delivery and set-up at no additional cost, product repair and loaner services at no extra cost, lifetime reinstatement and multiple options to acquire ownership, including 180-day option pricing, an early purchase option or through a fixed number of payments. In addition, we promote the “RAC Worry-Free Guarantee®” to further highlight these aspects of the lease purchase transaction. We believe that by leveraging our advertising efforts to highlight the benefits of the lease purchase transaction, we will continue to educate our customers and potential customers about the lease-to-own alternative to credit as well as solidify our reputation as a leading provider of high-quality, branded merchandise and services.
Franchising has established national advertising funds for the franchised stores, whereby Franchising has the right to collect up to 4.5% of the monthly gross revenue from each franchisee as contributions to the fund. Franchising directs the advertising programs of the fund, generally consisting of television and radio commercials and print advertisements. Franchising also has the right to require franchisees to expend up to 3% of their monthly gross revenue on local advertising.
Industry & Competition
According to data released by the Fair Isaac Corporation on September 10, 2019, consumers in the “subprime” category (those with credit scores below 650) made up approximately 28% of the United States population. Two-thirds of U.S. consumers have incomes below $75,000 and may lack access to traditional credit. The lease-to-own industry provides customers the opportunity to obtain merchandise they might otherwise be unable to obtain due to insufficient cash resources or a lack of access to credit.
Our stores, kiosks and other lease-to-own operations compete with other national, regional and local lease-to-own businesses, including on-line only competitors, as well as with rental stores that do not offer their customers a purchase option. With respect to customers desiring to purchase merchandise for cash or on credit, we also compete with retail stores, online competitors, and non-traditional lenders. Competition is based primarily on convenience, store location, product selection and availability, customer service, and lease rates and terms.
The growing lease-to-own industry is contributing to this already highly competitive environment for our business. The lease-to-own industry has experienced steady growth, and revenue gains have accelerated since 2015. The lease-to-own industry is introducing rapid change with the emergence of virtual and kiosk-based operations at retail partner locations, such as our Preferred Lease offering which consists of staffed kiosks at retail partner locations options, unstaffed or virtual lease-to-own options, or a combination of the two (the hybrid model). These new industry participants are disrupting traditional lease-to-own stores by attracting customers and making the lease-to-own transaction more acceptable to potential customers. In addition, banks and consumer finance companies are developing products and services designed to compete for the traditional lease-to-own customer.
Seasonality
Our revenue mix is moderately seasonal, with the first quarter of each fiscal year generally providing higher merchandise sales than any other quarter during a fiscal year. Generally, our customers will more frequently exercise the early purchase option on their existing lease purchase agreements or purchase pre-leased merchandise off the showroom floor during the first quarter of each fiscal year, primarily due to the receipt of federal income tax refunds.
At times during 2020, we also experienced increased merchandise sales due to government stimulus payments and unemployment benefits received by our targeted consumers as part of the government’s response to COVID-19.
Trademarks
We own various trademarks and service marks, including Rent-A-Center® and RAC Worry-Free Guarantee® that are used in connection with our operations and have been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The duration of our trademarks is unlimited, subject to periodic renewal and continued use. In addition, we obtained the trademarks Acima® and Acima Credit® upon the consummation of the Merger, and have obtained other trademark registrations in Mexico, Canada and certain other foreign jurisdictions. We believe we hold the necessary rights for protection of the trademarks and service marks essential to our business. The products held for rent in our stores also bear trademarks and service marks held by their respective manufacturers.
The Franchising segment licenses the use of the Rent-A-Center® and ColorTyme® trademarks and service marks to its franchisees under its franchise agreements with such franchisees. The Franchising segment owns various trademarks and service marks, including ColorTyme® and RimTyme®, that are used in connection with its operations and have been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark office. The duration of these marks is unlimited, subject to periodic renewal and continued use.
Human Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we employed a total of 14,320 coworkers, the vast majority of which are full time employees. Our employee base is made up of 12,250 coworkers in our U.S. Operations, including Puerto Rico, 1,240 coworkers in our Mexico operations and 830 coworkers at our corporate facilities. The consummation of the Merger on February 17, 2021, increased the number of employees by 530 coworkers.
We continually monitor our demand for skilled and unskilled labor and provide training and competitive compensation packages in an effort to attract and retain skilled coworkers. We believe our coworkers are one of the primary keys to successfully operating our business and achieving our strategic initiatives. Our human capital measures and objectives focus on the successful training and development of our coworkers, in addition to their safety. All of our coworkers are employed at will and are free to end their employment with us at any time.
We also focus on supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. In 2020, we created a new Chief Diversity Officer position that will regularly report to our Board of Directors. We have also implemented a program to deliver unconscious bias training to our employees and have launched and are expanding our Employee Resource Groups to promote a dialogue with our employees regarding our diversity initiatives.
During fiscal year 2020, in connection with our response measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary and partial operational closures throughout the U.S. and Mexico, we temporarily furloughed certain employees at our operating locations and corporate headquarters. As of December 31, 2020, no employees are on furlough as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we make employee safety a priority and have implemented multiple measures within our operation locations, as well as our corporate headquarters, to protect the health and safety of our coworkers during the ongoing pandemic.
Government Regulation
Rent-A-Center Business and Preferred Lease
State Regulation. Currently, 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have rental purchase statutes that recognize and regulate rental purchase transactions as separate and distinct from credit sales. We believe this existing legislation is generally favorable to us, as it defines and clarifies the various disclosures, procedures and transaction structures related to the lease-to-own business with which we must comply. With some variations in individual states, most related state legislation requires the lessor to make prescribed disclosures to customers about the rental purchase agreement and transaction, and provides time periods during which customers may reinstate agreements despite having failed to make a timely payment. Some state rental purchase laws prescribe grace periods for non-payment, prohibit or limit certain types of collection or other practices, and limit certain fees that may be charged. Eleven states limit the total rental payments that can be charged to amounts ranging from 2.0 times to 2.4 times the disclosed cash price or the retail value of the rental product. Six of those eleven states also limit the cash price of merchandise to amounts ranging from 1.56 to 2.5 times our cost for each item.
Although Minnesota has a rental purchase statute, the rental purchase transaction is also treated as a credit sale subject to consumer lending restrictions pursuant to judicial decision. Therefore, we offer our customers in Minnesota an opportunity to purchase our merchandise through an installment sale transaction in our Home Choice stores. We operate 17 Home Choice stores in Minnesota.
North Carolina has no rental purchase legislation. However, the retail installment sales statute in North Carolina expressly provides that lease transactions which provide for more than a nominal purchase price at the end of the agreed rental period are not credit sales under the statute. We operate 86 lease-to-own stores and 45 Preferred Lease staffed locations in North Carolina.
Courts in Wisconsin and New Jersey, which do not have rental purchase statutes, have rendered decisions which classify rental purchase transactions as credit sales subject to consumer lending restrictions. Accordingly, in Wisconsin, we offer our customers an opportunity to purchase our merchandise through an installment sale transaction in our Get It Now stores. In New Jersey, we have modified our typical rental purchase agreements to provide disclosures, grace periods, and pricing that we believe comply with the retail installment sales act. We operate 27 Get It Now stores in Wisconsin and 40 Rent-A-Center stores in New Jersey.
There can be no assurance as to whether changes in the enforcement of existing laws or regulations or the enactment of new laws or regulations that may unfavorably impact the lease-to-own industry would have a material and adverse effect on us.
Federal Regulation. To date, no comprehensive federal legislation has been enacted regulating or otherwise impacting the rental purchase transaction. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank Act”) does not regulate leases with terms of 90 days or less. Because the lease-to-own transaction is for a term of week to week, or at most, month to month, and established federal law deems the term of a lease to be its minimum term regardless of extensions or renewals, if any, we believe the lease-to-own transaction is not covered by the Dodd-Frank Act.
From time to time, we have supported legislation introduced in Congress that would regulate the rental purchase transaction. While both beneficial and adverse legislation may be introduced in Congress in the future, any adverse federal legislation, if enacted, could have a material and adverse effect on us.
Mexico
No comprehensive legislation regulating the lease-to-own transaction has been enacted in Mexico. We use substantially the same rental purchase transaction in Mexico as in the U.S. stores, but with such additional provisions as we believe may be necessary to comply with Mexico’s specific laws and customs.
Available Information
We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, periodic reports on Form 8-K, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The public may obtain copies of these reports and any amendments at the SEC's Internet site, www.sec.gov. Additionally, we make available free of charge on or through our website our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. We also provide electronic or paper copies of our filings free of charge upon request. In addition, our Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to all members of our Board of Directors, as well as all of our employees, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, principal accounting officer and controller. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics forms the foundation of a compliance program we established as part of our commitment to responsible business practices that includes policies, training, monitoring and other components covering a wide variety of specific areas applicable to our business activities and employee conduct. A copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is published on our website at https://investor.rentacenter.com/governance-documents. We intend to make all required disclosures concerning any amendments to, or waivers from, this Code of Business Conduct and Ethics on our website.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Investing in Rent‑A‑Center involves a high degree of risk, and you should carefully consider the risks described in this section and the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making an investment decision. Please note that the headings reflected below are provided solely for convenience of the reader and do not indicate that a given risk applies only to the heading under which it is located. The risks described in this section include, but are not limited to, those highlighted in the following list:
Risks Relating to Economic Conditions
•The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Our Vendors, Suppliers and Products
•We rely on the receipt of information from third party data vendors, and inaccuracies in or delay in receiving such information, or the termination of our relationships with such vendors, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
•We must successfully manage our inventory to reflect customer demand and anticipate changing consumer preferences and leasing trends or our revenue and profitability will be materially and adversely affected.
•Allegations of or actual product safety and quality control issues, including product recalls, could harm our reputation, divert resources, reduce sales and increase costs.
Risks Relating to Our Strategy and Operations
•If we are unable to successfully appeal to and engage with our target consumers, our business and financial performance may be materially and adversely affected.
•Given the nature of the COVID-19 crisis, our proprietary algorithms and customer lease decisioning tools used to approve customers could no longer be indicative of our customers’ ability to perform under their lease agreements with us.
•Failure to effectively manage our costs could have a material adverse effect on our profitability.
•We face risks in our retail partner business and virtual locations that differ in some potentially significant respects from the risks of the traditional lease-to-own business conducted in Rent-A-Center Business store locations. These risks could have a material adverse effect on Preferred Lease, which could negatively impact our ability to grow the Preferred Lease segment and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
•Our strategy to grow the retail partner business depends on our ability to develop and offer robust virtual lease-to-own technology, including algorithmic decisioning programs and waterfall integrations.
•Our operations are dependent on effective information management systems. Failure of these systems could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
•If we fail to protect the integrity and security of customer, employee and retail partner information, we could incur significant liability and damage our reputation and our business could be materially and adversely affected.
•The industries in which we operate are highly competitive, which could impede our ability to maintain sales volumes and pricing and have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
•If we are unable to attract, train and retain managerial personnel and hourly associates in our stores and staffed Preferred Lease locations, our reputation, sales and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Relating to Legal and Compliance Matters
•We may be subject to legal or regulatory proceedings from time to time that result in damages, penalties or other material monetary obligations or material restrictions on our business operations, and our use of arbitration agreements may not allow us to avoid costly litigation.
•Federal and state regulatory authorities are increasingly focused on the lease‑to‑own industry and any negative change in these laws or regulations or the passage of unfavorable new laws or regulations or the manner in which any of these are enforced or interpreted could require us to alter our business practices in a manner that may be materially adverse to us.
•Our lease‑to‑own transactions are regulated by and subject to the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations that vary by jurisdiction, which requires significant compliance costs and exposes us to regulatory action or other litigation.
•Laws and regulations regarding information security and data collection, use and privacy are increasingly rigorous and subject to change, which may cause us to incur significant compliance costs.
•Our reputation, ability to do business and operating results may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents or business partners, including retail partners.
•Our products and services may be negatively characterized by consumer advocacy groups, the media and certain Federal, state and local government officials, and if those negative characterizations become increasingly accepted by consumers and/or our retail partners, demand for our goods and the transactions we offer could decrease and our business could be materially and adversely affected.
•We may be unable to protect our intellectual property, or may be alleged to have infringed upon the intellectual property rights of others, which could result in a loss of our competitive advantage and a diversion of resources and a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness and Other Financial Matters
◦Our indebtedness increased significantly upon consummation of the Merger and may materially and adversely affect us.
◦The amount of borrowings permitted under the ABL Credit Facility (as defined in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation”) is limited to the value of certain of our assets, and Rent-A-Center relies in part on available borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility for cash to operate its business, which subjects it to market and counterparty risk, some of which is beyond Rent-A-Center’s control.
◦Our organizational documents and our current or future debt instruments contain or may contain provisions that may prevent or deter another group from paying a premium over the market price to Rent-A-Center’s stockholders to acquire its stock.
Risks Relating to the Merger
◦The outcome of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s investigation into certain of Acima’s business practices is uncertain and may materially and adversely affect our business.
◦We may be unable to realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger, including synergies, and expect to incur substantial expenses related to the Merger, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The risks described in this section are not the only risks that could materially and adversely affect our business; other risks currently believed to be immaterial or additional risks not currently known to us could also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic (including federal, state and local governmental responses, broad economic impacts and market disruptions) has heightened certain risks discussed below. If any of the events or circumstances described in this section actually occur, our business, operating results, financial condition, cash flows, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risks Relating to Economic Conditions
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and governmental authorities around the world have implemented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These measures have materially and adversely affected workforces, customers, consumer sentiment, economies and financial markets and, along with decreased consumer spending, have led to an economic downturn in many markets. Numerous state and local jurisdictions have imposed shelter-in-place orders, quarantines, executive orders and other similar types of restrictions for their residents to control the spread of COVID-19 or mitigate its effects. Such orders or restrictions have resulted in temporary operational shutdowns for non-essential businesses; imposed limitations on hours of operations and the number of people allowed in stores or warehouses; implemented requirements on sanitation and social distancing practices; enacted certain work stoppages, slowdowns or delays; and imposed certain travel restrictions and cancellations of large scale events. These restrictions have resulted in negative impacts to the markets in which we operate and our operations. While the federal government has enacted various fiscal and monetary stimulus measures from time to time to counteract the impacts of COVID-19, the effectiveness and adequacy of such stimulus measures, as well as their future availability, remain uncertain.
As a result of COVID-19 and related jurisdictional ordinances implemented in the United States beginning in the latter half of March 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19 or mitigate its effects, a significant number of Preferred Lease retail partner locations were temporarily closed, resulting in the initial closure of approximately 65% of our staffed Preferred Lease locations, which operated within those stores. In addition, while the majority of our Rent-A-Center Business stores remained open, due to
government orders in certain jurisdictions, beginning in mid-March 2020, we temporarily shut down operations at a small number of stores, and approximately 24% of our stores were partially closed. Our partially closed locations operated with closed showrooms, conducting business only through e-commerce web orders, and transitioned to a contactless curbside service model or to a ship-from-store model, to the extent permitted by local orders. Some franchise locations and stores in our Mexico operating segment were also temporarily closed or had restricted operations due to COVID-19. All locations in our Rent-A-Center Business, Franchising and Mexico operating segments and staffed Preferred Lease locations temporarily or partially closed at the onset of the pandemic were reopened in the second quarter of 2020. In the latter portion of 2020 and into 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases has increased significantly and certain governmental authorities have imposed or re-imposed restrictions on certain businesses. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, all locations in our Rent-A-Center Business, Franchising and Mexico operating segments and staffed Preferred Lease locations are providing full in-store services subject to local requirements for sanitization, social distancing and capacity limitations and, in Mexico, certain restrictions regarding hours of operation.
In response to the negative impacts to our business resulting from COVID-19, in 2020, we proactively took certain measures to reduce operating expenses and cash flow uses, including implementing temporary executive pay reductions, temporarily furloughing certain employees at our store locations and corporate headquarters, reducing store hours in certain locations, renegotiating real estate leases, reducing inventory purchases and capital expenditures and suspending share repurchases. In addition, we implemented additional electronic payment methods for our Rent-A-Center Business and Preferred Lease customers to facilitate contactless transactions.
There are no assurances that we, or our retail partners, will be able to keep our, or their, stores open as governmental responses to the pandemic progress. As a result, we are unable to accurately predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on our operations going forward, due to the uncertain duration of the pandemic, future governmental restrictions that might be imposed in response to the pandemic, and related uncertainties dictated by the length of time that these business disruptions continue. In addition, we expect to be impacted by the deterioration in worldwide economic conditions, which could have a sustained impact on discretionary consumer spending. Furthermore, deteriorating global economic conditions have created a challenging environment in capital markets and created uncertainty regarding the availability of credit. The combination of reduced consumer spending and volatile credit markets could materially and adversely affect our liquidity. While the rapid development and fluidity of this situation precludes any prediction as to the full impact of COVID-19, our business, financial results and condition have been and may in the future be materially and adversely affected by the various effects caused by this pandemic.
The success of our business is dependent on factors affecting consumer spending that are not under our control.
Consumer spending is affected by general economic conditions and other factors including levels of employment, disposable consumer income, prevailing interest rates, consumer debt and availability of credit, costs of fuel, inflation, recession and fears of recession, war and fears of war, pandemics, inclement weather, tariff policies, tax rates and rate increases, timing of receipt of tax refunds, consumer confidence in future economic conditions and political conditions and consumer perceptions of personal well-being and security. Unfavorable changes in factors affecting discretionary spending could reduce demand for our products and services resulting in lower revenue and negatively impacting the business and its financial results.
Risks Relating to Our Vendors, Suppliers and Products
Disruptions in our supply chain and other factors affecting the distribution of our merchandise could materially and adversely affect our business.
Any disruption in our supply chain could result in our inability to meet our customers’ expectations, higher costs, an inability to stock our stores, or longer lead time associated with distributing merchandise. Any such disruption within our supply chain network could also result in decreased net sales, increased costs and reduced profits. For example, as a result of the impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. and global supply chains and manufacturing operations, we have experienced some delays or other material adverse effects on our timing or ability to obtain desired merchandise for our business.
Our arrangements with our suppliers and vendors may be materially and adversely affected by changes in our financial results or financial position or changes in consumer demand, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
Substantially all of our merchandise suppliers and vendors sell to us on open account purchase terms. There is a risk that our key suppliers and vendors could respond to any actual or apparent decrease in, or any concern with, our financial results or liquidity by requiring or conditioning their sale of merchandise to us on more stringent or more costly payment terms, such as by requiring standby letters of credit, earlier or advance payment of invoices, payment upon delivery or other assurances or credit support or by choosing not to sell merchandise to us on a timely basis or at all. In addition, if demand for our products and services declines, the volume of merchandise we purchase from third party suppliers may decrease, which could result in smaller discounts from our vendors or the elimination of such discounts by our vendors. Our arrangements with our suppliers and vendors may also be impacted by media reports regarding our financial position or other factors relating to our business, including the Merger. Our need for additional liquidity could materially increase and our supply of inventory could be
materially disrupted if any of our key suppliers or vendors, or a significant portion of our other suppliers or vendors, takes one or more of the actions described above, which could result in increased costs of operation and decreased net sales, customer satisfaction and profits.
We rely on the receipt of information from third party data vendors, and inaccuracies in or delay in receiving such information, or the termination of our relationships with such vendors, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
We are heavily dependent on data provided by third-party providers. Our lease-to-own business employs a proprietary decisioning algorithm that determines whether or not an application for a lease submitted by a customer will be approved. This algorithm depends extensively upon continued access to and timely receipt of reliable data from external sources, such as third-party data vendors. Our data providers could stop providing data, provide untimely, incorrect or incomplete data, or increase the costs for their data for a variety of reasons, including a perception that our systems are insecure as a result of a data security breach, regulatory concerns or for competitive reasons. We could also become subject to increased legislative, regulatory or judicial restrictions or mandates on the collection, disclosure or use of such data, in particular if such data is not collected by our providers in a way that allows us to legally use the data. If we were to lose access to this external data or if our access or use were restricted or were to become less economical or desirable, our business would be negatively impacted, which would materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. We cannot provide assurance that we will be successful in maintaining our relationships with these external data source providers or that we will be able to continue to obtain data from them on acceptable terms or at all. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to obtain data from alternative sources if our current sources become unavailable.
We must successfully manage our inventory to reflect customer demand and anticipate changing consumer preferences and leasing trends or our revenue and profitability will be materially and adversely affected.
The success of our Rent-A-Center Business depends upon our ability to successfully manage our inventory and to anticipate and respond to merchandise trends and customer demands in a timely manner. We cannot always accurately predict consumer preferences and they may change over time. We must order certain types of merchandise, such as consumer electronics, well in advance of seasonal increases in customer demand for those products. The extended lead times for many of our purchases may make it difficult for us to respond rapidly to new or changing consumer trends and price shifting, and to maintain an optimal selection of merchandise available for lease at all times. If we misjudge either the market for our merchandise, our customers’ product preferences or our customers’ leasing habits, our revenue may decline significantly and we may not have sufficient quantities of merchandise to satisfy customer demand or we may be required to mark down excess inventory, either of which would result in lower profit margins. In addition, our level of profitability and success in our Rent-A-Center Business depends on our ability to successfully re-lease our inventory of merchandise that are returned by customers of our Rent-A-Center Business or Preferred Lease, due to their lease agreements expiring, or otherwise.
Allegations of or actual product safety and quality control issues, including product recalls, could harm our reputation, divert resources, reduce sales and increase costs.
The products we sell and lease in our Rent-A-Center Business and Preferred Lease business are subject to regulation by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and similar state regulatory authorities and expose us to potential product liability claims, recalls or other regulatory or enforcement actions initiated by regulatory authorities or through private causes of action. Such claims, recalls or actions could be based on allegations that, among other things, the products sold by us are contain contaminants or impermissible materials, provide inadequate instructions regarding their use or misuse or include inadequate warnings, such as those concerning the materials or their flammability. We do not control the production process of the products we sell and lease, and may be unable to identify a defect or deficiency in a product purchased from a manufacturer before offering it for sale or lease to our customers. Product safety or quality concerns may require us to voluntarily remove selected products from our physical locations or from our customers’ homes or cease offering those products online. Such recalls and voluntary removal of products can result in, among other things, lost sales, diverted resources, potential harm to our reputation and increased customer service costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, in the event of such a product quality or safety issue, our customers who have leased the defective merchandise from us could terminate their lease agreements for that merchandise and/or not renew those lease arrangements, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition if we are unable to recover those losses from the vendor who supplied us with the relevant merchandise.
Risks Relating to Our Strategy and Operations
Our success depends on the effective implementation and continued execution of our strategies.
We are focused on our mission to provide cash- and credit-constrained consumers with affordable and flexible access to durable goods that promote a higher quality of living. In 2019, we accelerated our virtual growth strategy through the acquisition of Merchants Preferred and launch of our Preferred Lease offering with a focus towards executing on large market opportunities
through national and regional retail partners. In 2020 and 2021, we have further executed on our virtual growth strategy through, among other things, continued investments in Preferred Lease’s proprietary offerings and technologies, organizational enhancements and our pending acquisition of Acima in the Merger. We intend to capitalize on key differentiators in our Preferred Lease offering, as well as grow our business through expansion in our product verticals, e‑commerce platform and other digital enhancements, improving the customer and retail partner experience and providing consumers with greater opportunities to shop how, when and where they want with the flexibility of our lease-to-own solutions. Our Rent-A-Center Business similarly faces risks associated with its growth strategies and efforts to adapt to changing consumer preferences and shopping behaviors while managing its cost structure.
Growth of our business, including through the launch of new product offerings and our intended significant expansion into virtual lease-to-own offerings, requires us to invest in or expand our information and technology capabilities, engage and retain experienced management, invest in our stores and otherwise incur additional costs, including those associated with the Merger. Our inability to address these concerns or otherwise to achieve targeted results associated with our initiatives could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, or negatively impact our ability to successfully execute future strategies, which may result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.
If we are unable to successfully appeal to and engage with our target consumers, our business and financial performance may be materially and adversely affected.
We operate in the consumer retail industry through brick and mortar stores and digitally. As such, our success depends, among other things, on our ability to identify and successfully market products and services through various channels that appeal to our current and future target customer segments, to align our offerings with consumer preferences and to maintain favorable perceptions of our brands by our target consumers. If we are unable to successfully appeal to and engage with our target consumers, our business and financial performance may be materially and adversely affected.
Given the nature of the COVID-19 crisis, our proprietary algorithms and customer lease decisioning tools used to approve customers could no longer be indicative of our customers’ ability to perform under their lease agreements with us.
We believe our proprietary customer lease decisioning process to be a key to the success of our business, including Preferred Lease and our Rent-A-Center Business. As a result of the shift in operations driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have accelerated the rollout of centralized lease decisioning processes in our Company-operated Rent-A-Center Business stores. We assume behavior and attributes observed for prior customers, among other factors, are indicative of performance by future customers. Unexpected changes in behavior caused by macroeconomic conditions, including, for example, the U.S. economy experiencing a prolonged recession and job losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in consumer behavior relating thereto, could lead to increased incidence and costs related to lease merchandise write-offs. Due to the nature and novelty of the crisis, our decisioning process will likely require frequent adjustments and the application of greater management judgment in the interpretation and adjustment of the results produced by our decisioning tools and we may be unable to accurately predict and respond to the impact of a prolonged economic downturn or changes to consumer behaviors, which in turn may limit our ability to manage risk, avoid lease merchandise write-offs and could result in our accounts receivable allowance being insufficient.
We may take advantage of merger and acquisition opportunities from time to time with the intent of advancing our key initiatives, such as the Merger, but such activities may not prove successful and may subject us to additional risks.
From time to time, we may take advantage of merger and acquisition opportunities intended to advance our key strategic initiatives, such as the Merger. Such merger and acquisition opportunities may involve numerous risks, including the following:
•difficulties in integrating the operations, systems, technologies, products and personnel of the acquired businesses;
•difficulties in entering markets in which we have no or limited direct prior experience and where competitors in such markets may have stronger market positions;
•application of regulatory regimes that have not previously applied to, and may significantly impact, our business;
•diversion of management’s attention from normal daily operations of the business and the challenges of managing larger and more widespread operations;
•the potential loss of key employees, vendors and other business partners of the businesses we acquire;
•the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities and amortization expenses and write‑offs of goodwill in connection with such activities that could harm our financial condition; and
•dilutive issuances of common stock or other equity securities.
Mergers and acquisitions are inherently risky and subject to many factors outside of our control. We cannot assure you that our previous or future acquisitions, including the Merger, will be successful and will not materially and adversely affect our business, operating results or financial condition. Failure to manage and successfully integrate acquisitions, including our acquisition of Acima in the Merger, could materially harm our business and operating results.
We are highly dependent on the financial performance of our Rent-A-Center Business segment.
Our financial performance has historically been highly dependent on our Rent-A-Center Business segment, which comprised approximately 66% of our consolidated net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2020. Although this percentage is expected to decrease significantly upon the completion of the Merger, the Rent-A-Center Business segment will remain important to our consolidated results. Any significant decrease in the financial performance of the Rent-A-Center Business segment may have a material adverse effect on our ability to implement our growth strategies.
Failure to effectively manage our costs could have a material adverse effect on our profitability.
Consumer spending remains uncertain and our continued profitability is largely dependent on our ability to effectively manage our cost structure. We have experienced and may experience in the future increases in the costs of purchasing certain merchandise from suppliers or retail partners as a result of various factors, including supply/demand trends, tariffs, increases in the prices of certain commodities and increases in shipping costs. We may also face increases in labor costs as a result of wage inflation for hourly employees in many regions or increased competition for employees as unemployment rates decline following their increase as a result of COVID‑19. We have limited or no control over many of these inflationary forces. In addition, due to the competitive environment in our industry and increasing price transparency, we may not be able to recover all or even a portion of such cost increases by increasing our merchandise prices, fees, or otherwise. Even if we are able to increase merchandise prices or fees, those cost increases to our customers could result in reduced demand for our products and services. As a result, the failure to manage our overall cost of operations, labor and benefit rates, advertising and marketing expenses, operating leases, charge-offs due to customer stolen merchandise, other store expenses or indirect spending could materially and adversely affect our profitability.
We face risks in our retail partner business and virtual locations that differ in some potentially significant respects from the risks of the traditional lease-to-own business conducted in Rent-A-Center Business store locations. These risks could have a material adverse effect on Preferred Lease, which could negatively impact our ability to grow the Preferred Lease segment and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Our Preferred Lease segment offers the lease-to-own transaction through the stores or websites of third-party retailers. In addition to the risks associated with the Merger, the Preferred Lease segment faces risks different from those that have historically been associated with our traditional lease-to-own business conducted in our Rent-A-Center Business store locations. These potential risks include, among others:
•reliance on the ability of unaffiliated third-party retailers to attract customers and to maintain quality and consistency in their operations and their ability to continue to provide products and services;
•establishing and maintaining relationships with unaffiliated third-party retailers and the concentration of revenues in the Preferred Lease segment, with approximately 72% of the total revenue of the Preferred Lease segment for the year ended December 31, 2020 having been originated at our Preferred Lease kiosks located in stores operated by four retail partners;
•reliance on these unaffiliated third-party retailers for many important business functions, from advertising through assistance with lease transaction applications, including, for example, adhering to Preferred Lease’s merchant policies and procedures, properly explaining the nature of the lease-to-own transaction to potential customers, properly handling customer inquiries made directly to the retail partner and properly explaining that the transaction is with Preferred Lease and not with the third-party retailer;
•potential that regulators may target the virtual lease-to-own transaction or certain products or services and/or adopt new regulations or legislation (or existing laws and regulations may be interpreted in a manner) that negatively impact Preferred Lease’s ability to offer virtual lease-to-own programs or certain products or services through third-party retail partners, and/or that regulators may attempt to force the application of laws and regulations on Preferred Lease’s virtual lease-to-own business or certain products or services in inconsistent and unpredictable ways that could increase the compliance-related costs incurred by us, restrict certain business activities and negatively impact our financial and operational performance;
•reliance on automatic bank account drafts for lease payments, which may become disfavored as a payment method for these transactions by regulators and/or providers, or may otherwise become unavailable;
•more product diversity within Preferred Lease’s merchandise inventory relative to our traditional store-based lease-to-own business, which can complicate matters such as merchandise repair and disposition of merchandise that is returned and which exposes us to risks associated with products with which we have limited experience;
•lower barriers to entry and start-up capital costs to launch a competitor due to the reliance of Preferred Lease and its competitors on the store locations and inventories of third-party retailers, and online connections with retailers, rather than incurring the cost to obtain and maintain brick and mortar locations and in-store or in-warehouse inventories;
•indemnification obligations to Preferred Lease’s retail partners and their service providers for losses stemming from Preferred Lease’s failure to perform with respect to its products and services, to comply with applicable laws or regulations or to take steps to protect its retail partner’s and their customers’ data and information from being accessed or stolen by unauthorized third parties, including through cyber-attacks;
•increased risk of consumer fraud with respect to Preferred Lease’s virtual lease-to-own business and e-commerce business as compared to the traditional store-based Rent‑A‑Center Business;
•increased risk of merchant fraud due to the planned growth in retail partners and other merchants from which customers can select products to lease from Preferred Lease;
•reduced gross margins compared to the Rent-A-Center Business because Preferred Lease purchases merchandise it leases to customers at retail, rather than wholesale, prices;
•operational, financial, regulatory or other risks associated with the development and implementation of new digital technologies that are intended to enhance the customer and retail partner experience and to differentiate Preferred Lease from competing consumer offerings; and
•the ability of Preferred Lease to adequately protect its proprietary technologies.
These risks could have a material adverse effect on Preferred Lease, which could negatively impact our ability to grow the Preferred Lease segment and result in a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, these risks are expected to become more significant as a result of the Merger.
Our strategy to grow the retail partner business depends on our ability to develop and offer robust virtual lease-to-own technology, including algorithmic decisioning programs and waterfall integrations.
Although our retail partner business began as a staffed model, our strategy to grow the retail partner business depends on significantly expanding our unstaffed or virtual lease-to-own solution, either alone or in combination with the staffed model (the hybrid model). The 2019 acquisition of Merchants Preferred’s scalable technology offering, robust decision engine, enhanced infrastructure and experienced management team accelerated the development of our virtual lease-to-own offering. In 2020 and 2021, we have further executed on our virtual growth strategy through, among other things, continued investments in Preferred Lease’s proprietary offerings and technologies, organizational enhancements and our pending acquisition of Acima in the Merger. We may not realize the intended benefits from these investments and initiatives. If we are unable to maintain and continuously improve our technologies and decisioning methodologies, our business and financial results may be materially and adversely affected.
If we are unable to compete effectively with the growing e-commerce sector, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
Competition from the e-commerce sector continues to grow and has been accelerated by trends that developed as a result of social restrictions implemented due to COVID-19. To compete in this e-commerce sector, we must be able to innovate and develop technologies and digital solutions that appeal to our customer. We have launched virtual capabilities within our Preferred Lease and Rent-A-Center Business segments. There can be no assurance we will be successful in developing the technologies and digital solutions necessary to grow our e-commerce business in a profitable manner. Certain of our competitors, and a number of e-commerce retailers, have established e-commerce operations against which we compete for customers. It is possible that the increasing competition from the e-commerce sector may reduce or prevent us from growing our market share, gross and operating margins, and may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations in other ways.
Our operations are dependent on effective information management systems. Failure of these systems could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We utilize integrated information management systems. The efficient operation of our business is dependent on these systems to effectively manage our financial and operational data. The failure of our information management systems to perform as designed due to “bugs,” crashes, computer viruses, security breaches, internet failures and outages, operator error, or catastrophic events, and any associated loss of data or interruption of such information management systems for a significant period of time could disrupt our business. If the information management systems sustain repeated failures, we may not be able to manage our store operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We invest in new information management technology and systems and implement modifications and upgrades to existing systems. These investments include replacing legacy systems, making changes to existing systems, building redundancies, and acquiring new systems and hardware with updated functionality. We take actions and implement procedures designed to ensure the successful implementation of these investments, including the testing of new systems and the transfer of existing data. These efforts may take longer and may require greater financial and other resources than anticipated, may cause distraction of key personnel, may cause disruptions to our existing systems and our business, and may not provide the anticipated benefits. A disruption in our information management systems, or our inability to improve, upgrade, integrate or
expand our systems to meet our evolving business requirements, could impair our ability to achieve critical strategic initiatives and could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to protect the integrity and security of customer, employee and retail partner information, we could incur significant liability and damage our reputation and our business could be materially and adversely affected.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store and process certain personal information provided to us by our customers, including social security numbers, dates of birth, banking information, credit and debit card information and data we receive from consumer reporting companies, including credit report information, as well as certain confidential information about our retail partners and employees, among others. Much of this data constitutes confidential personally identifiable information which, if unlawfully accessed, either through a “hacking” attack or otherwise, could subject us to significant liability as further discussed below.
Despite instituted safeguards for the protection of such information, our systems are subject to significant risk of compromise from increasingly aggressive and sophisticated cyberattacks, including hacking, computer viruses, malicious or destructive code, ransomware, social engineering attacks (including phishing and impersonation), denial-of-service attacks and other attacks and similar disruptions from the unauthorized use of or access to information technology systems. Our IT systems are subject to constant attempts to gain unauthorized access in order to disrupt our business operations and capture, misappropriate, destroy or manipulate various types of information that we rely on, including confidential personally identifiable information (“PII”) or other confidential information. In addition, one of our employees, contractors or other third parties with whom we do business may attempt to circumvent our security measures in order to obtain such information, or inadvertently cause a breach involving such information. Loss or misuse of customer, employee or retail partner information could disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, and expose us to claims from customers, employees, retail partners, regulators and other persons, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Successful data breaches or other cybersecurity incidents at other companies, whether or not we are involved, could lead to a general loss of customer confidence that could similarly negatively affect us, including harming the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures or financial technology in general. Further, if any such compromise, breach or misuse is not detected quickly, the effect could be compounded. In addition, the costs associated with information security, such as increased investment in technology, the costs of compliance with privacy laws and industry standards, and costs incurred to prevent or remediate information security breaches, could materially and adversely affect our business.
Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports, our brand and operating results could be harmed. Additionally, as a public company, we are required to document and test our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 so that our management can certify, on an annual basis, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We are also required to, among other things, establish and periodically evaluate procedures with respect to our disclosure controls and procedures.
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. While we continue to evaluate and improve our internal controls, we cannot be certain that these measures will ensure that we implement and maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise capital, and may also expose us to potential claims and losses. Additionally, any such failure could subject us to increased regulatory scrutiny, which could also have a material adverse effect on our business and our stock price.
The industries in which we operate are highly competitive, which could impede our ability to maintain sales volumes and pricing and have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Certain categories of products we sell and lease from time to time, including furniture, appliances and electronics such as televisions, computers and smartphones, are the subject of intense competition from a number of types of competitors, including national, regional and local operators of lease-to-own stores, virtual lease-to-own companies, traditional and online providers of used goods and merchandise, traditional, “big-box” and e-commerce retailers. These competitors may offer a larger selection of products at more competitive prices than our Rent-A-Center Business and Preferred Lease segment. Our competitors may employ aggressive marketing strategies involving frequent sales and discounts, including the use of certain products as “loss leaders” to increase customer traffic. Engaging in these pricing strategies could cause a material reduction in sales revenue and gross margins. Alternatively, we may be unable to or elect not to engage in these pricing strategies, which
could decrease our sales volumes. The expansion of digital retail has increased the number and variety of retailers with which we compete, and certain online retailers may have greater brand recognition, social media following and engagement and sophisticated websites than does Rent‑A‑Center. The increasing competition from all of these sources may also reduce the market share held by our Rent-A-Center Business and Preferred Lease segments.
The lease-to-own industry faces competition from the retailers and lease-to-own companies mentioned above, including many retailers who offer layaway programs, various types of consumer finance companies, including installment, payday and title loan companies, that may enable our customers to shop at traditional or on-line retailers, as well as rental stores that do not offer their customers a purchase option. Some of these competitors may be willing to offer products and services on an unprofitable basis in an effort to gain market share or be willing to lease certain types of products that we are not willing to or are unable to lease. Additionally, these competitors may be willing to enter into customer leases where services, rather than goods, comprise the significant portion of the lease value, or be willing to engage in other practices related to pricing, compliance, and other areas in which we are not willing to or cannot engage.
Our Preferred Lease business relies heavily on relationships with retail partners. An increase in competition could cause our retail partners to no longer offer the Preferred Lease product in favor of those of our competitors, or to offer the Preferred Lease product and the products of our competitors simultaneously at the same store locations, which could slow growth in the Preferred Lease business and limit or reduce profitability. Furthermore, Preferred Lease’s virtual lease to own competitors may deploy different business models, such as direct-to-consumer strategies, that forego reliance on retail partner relationships that may prove to be more successful.
Rent-A-Center may be unable to retain key employees as a result of the Merger or otherwise.
The success of Rent-A-Center depends in part upon its ability to retain its executive leadership, management team and other key employees (including, following the Merger, former Acima employees). Key personnel may depart because of a variety of reasons, relating to the Merger or otherwise. The loss of these individuals without adequate replacement could materially and adversely affect our ability to sustain and grow our business. The inability to attract and retain qualified individuals, or a significant increase in the costs to do so, would materially and adversely affect our operations. Furthermore, if we are unable to retain key personnel who are critical to the successful integration and future operations of the combined company following the Merger, we could face disruptions in its operations, loss of existing customers, loss of key information, expertise or know-how, and unanticipated additional recruitment and training costs, all of which could diminish the anticipated benefits of the Merger.
If we are unable to attract, train and retain managerial personnel and hourly associates in our stores and staffed Preferred Lease locations, our reputation, sales and operating results may be materially and adversely affected.
Our workforce is comprised primarily of employees who work on an hourly basis. We rely on our sales associates in our store locations and staffed Preferred Lease locations to provide customers with an enjoyable and informative shopping experience and to help ensure the efficient processing and delivery of products. To grow our operations and meet the needs and expectations of our customers, we must attract, train, and retain a large number of hourly associates, while at the same time controlling labor costs. We compete with other retail businesses as well as restaurants for many candidates for employment at our store locations and staffed Preferred Lease locations. These positions have historically had high turnover rates, which can lead to increased training, retention and other costs. Our ability to control labor costs is also subject to numerous external factors and compliance with regulatory structures, including competition for and availability of qualified personnel in a given market, unemployment levels within those markets, governmental regulatory bodies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, prevailing wage rates and wage and hour laws, minimum wage laws, the impact of legislation governing labor and employee relations or benefits, such as the Affordable Care Act, health insurance costs and our ability to maintain good relations with our employees. If we are unable to attract and retain quality employees at reasonable cost, or fail to comply with the regulations and laws impacting personnel, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Acts of nature, whether due to climate change or otherwise, can disrupt our operations and those of our retail partners.
Our store operations, as well as those of our retail partners at Preferred Lease, are subject to the effects of adverse acts of nature, such as winter storms, hurricanes, hail storms, strong winds, earthquakes and tornadoes, which have in the past caused damage such as flooding and other damage to our stores and those of our retail partners in specific geographic locations, including in Mexico, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, and may, depending upon the location and severity of such events, materially and unfavorably impact our business continuity. We cannot guarantee that the amount of any hurricane, windstorm, earthquake, flood, business interruption or other casualty insurance we may maintain from time to time would cover any or all damages caused by any such event.
The success of our Franchising segment is dependent on the ability and success of our third party franchisees, over which we have limited control.
The franchisees of our Franchising segment are independent third party businesses that are contractually obligated to operate in accordance with the operational and other standards set forth in their respective franchise agreements. Although we evaluate potential franchisee candidates before entering into a franchisor‑franchisee relationship with them, we cannot be certain that management of a given candidate will have the business acumen or financial resources necessary to operate successful franchises in their approved territories. Because franchisees are independent businesses and not employees, we are not able to control them to the same extent as our Rent‑A‑Center Business stores, and the ultimate success and quality of a franchise ultimately rests with the franchisee. Certain state franchise laws may also limit our ability to terminate, not renew or modify our franchise agreements. Our franchisees may fail in key areas, or experience significant business or financial difficulties, which could slow our growth, reduce our franchise fees, royalties and revenue, damage our reputation, expose us to regulatory enforcement actions or private litigation and/or cause us to incur additional costs. If we fail to adequately mitigate any such future losses, our business and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Our current insurance program may expose us to unexpected costs and negatively affect our financial performance.
Our insurance coverage is subject to deductibles, self-insured retentions, limits of liability and similar provisions that we believe are prudent based on our operations. Because we self-insure a significant portion of expected losses under our workers’ compensation, general liability, vehicle and group health insurance programs, unanticipated changes in any applicable actuarial assumptions and management estimates underlying our recorded liabilities for these losses, including potential increases in medical and indemnity costs, could result in materially different amounts of expense than expected under these programs. This could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Legal and Compliance Matters
We may be subject to legal or regulatory proceedings from time to time that result in damages, penalties or other material monetary obligations or material restrictions on our business operations, and our use of arbitration agreements may not allow us to avoid costly litigation.
In addition to laws and regulations regarding our lease‑to‑own transactions, we are subject to consumer protection and data privacy laws and other laws and regulations. As we execute on our strategic plans, we may continue to expand into complementary businesses that engage in financial, banking or lending services, or lease-to-own or rent-to-rent transactions involving products that we do not currently offer our customers, all of which may be subject to a variety of additional statutes and regulatory requirements not presently applicable to our operations. We have defended against, and may in the future defend against, legal and regulatory proceedings from time to time, including class action lawsuits alleging various regulatory violations. We have incurred and may in the future incur significant damages, fines, penalties, obligations to post bonds pending appeal or legal fees or expenses in connection with such legal and regulatory proceedings or may pay significant amounts to settle legal or regulatory proceedings, which could materially and adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources. The failure to pay any material judgment would constitute a default under the ABL Credit Facility, the Term Loan Facility (as defined in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation”) and the Notes (as defined in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation”). In addition, we may become subject to significant restrictions on or changes to our business practices, operations or methods, including pricing or similar terms, as a result of existing or future governmental or other proceedings or settlements, any of which could significantly harm our reputation, both with consumers as well as with retail partners and materially and adversely affect our business, prospects and financial condition.
In an attempt to limit costly and lengthy consumer, employee and other litigation, including class actions, we require our customers and employees to sign arbitration agreements, including class action waivers. However, in addition to opt-out provisions contained in such agreements, judicial, regulatory or legislative actions may restrict or eliminate the enforceability of such agreements and waivers. If we are not permitted to use arbitration agreements and/or class action waivers, or if the enforceability of such agreements and waivers is restricted or eliminated, we could incur increased costs to resolve legal actions brought by customers, employees and others, as we would be forced to participate in more expensive and lengthy dispute resolution processes.
Federal and state regulatory authorities are increasingly focused on the lease‑to‑own industry and any negative change in these laws or regulations or the passage of unfavorable new laws or regulations or the manner in which any of these are enforced or interpreted could require us to alter our business practices in a manner that may be materially adverse to us.
Although there is currently no comprehensive federal legislation regulating rental purchase transactions, federal regulatory authorities such as the United States Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) are increasingly focused on the subprime financial marketplace in which the lease-to-own industry operates and adverse federal legislation may be enacted in the future. Any federal agency, or any state regulatory authority, may propose and adopt new
regulations or interpret existing regulations in a manner that could materially increase both our costs of complying with laws and the risk that we could be sued or be subject to government sanctions if we are not in compliance or to alter our business practices in a manner that reduces the economic potential of our operations. Any such new laws, regulations or interpretations could include, by way of example only, those that seek to re-characterize store-based or virtual lease-to-own transactions as credit sales and to apply consumer credit laws and regulations to our business. In addition, federal and state regulators are increasingly holding businesses operating in the lease-to-own industry to higher standards of monitoring, disclosure and reporting, notwithstanding the adoption of any new laws or regulations applicable to our industry. Furthermore, regulators and courts may apply laws or regulations to our businesses in incorrect, inconsistent or unpredictable ways that may make our compliance more difficult, expensive and uncertain. This increased attention at the federal and state levels, as well as the potential for scrutiny by certain municipal governments, could increase our compliance costs significantly and materially and adversely affect the manner in which we operate. In addition, legislative or regulatory proposals regarding our industry, or interpretations of them, may subject Rent‑A‑Center to “headline risks” whereby media attention to these matters could negatively impact our business in a particular region or in general or investor sentiment and may materially and adversely affect our share price. Moreover, an adverse outcome from a lawsuit, even one against one of our competitors, could result in changes in the way we and others in the industry do business, possibly leading to significant costs or decreased revenues or profitability.
Our lease‑to‑own transactions are regulated by and subject to the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations that vary by jurisdiction, which requires significant compliance costs and exposes us to regulatory action or other litigation.
Currently, 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have passed laws that regulate rental purchase transactions as separate and distinct from credit sales. One additional state has a retail installment sales statute that excludes leases, including lease-to-own transactions, from its coverage if the lease provides for more than a nominal purchase price at the end of the rental period. The specific rental purchase laws generally require certain contractual and advertising disclosures. They also provide varying levels of substantive consumer protection, such as requiring a grace period for late fees and contract reinstatement rights in the event the rental purchase agreement is terminated. The rental purchase laws of 11 states limit the total amount that may be charged over the life of a rental purchase agreement and the laws of six states limit the cash prices for which we may offer merchandise. Furthermore, there is currently no comprehensive federal legislation regulating lease-to-own transactions. We have incurred and will continue to incur substantial costs to comply with federal and state laws and regulations, many of which are evolving, unclear and inconsistent across various jurisdictions as described above. In addition to compliance costs, we may incur substantial expenses to respond to federal and state government investigations and enforcement actions, proposed fines and penalties, criminal or civil sanctions, and private litigation, including those arising out of our or our franchisees’ alleged violations of existing laws and/or regulations.
Similar to other consumer transactions, our rental purchase transaction is also governed by various federal and state consumer protection statutes, in addition to the rental purchase statutes under which we operate, that provide various consumer remedies, including monetary penalties, for violations. In our history, we have been the subject of litigation alleging that we have violated some of these statutory provisions and the consumer practices of Acima are currently the subject of an investigation by the CFPB (see “—The outcome of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s investigation into certain of Acima’s business practices is uncertain and may materially and adversely affect our business” below).
Laws and regulations regarding information security and data collection, use and privacy are increasingly rigorous and subject to change, which may cause us to incur significant compliance costs.
The regulatory environment related to information security and data collection, use and privacy is increasingly rigorous, with new and constantly changing requirements applicable to certain aspects of our business, including our collection practices (as well as those of third parties), the manner in which we contact our customers, our decisioning process regarding whether to lease merchandise to customers, our credit reporting practices, and the manner in which we process and store certain customer, employee and other information. All states have adopted laws requiring the timely notification to individuals and, at times, regulators, the media or credit reporting agencies, if a company experiences the unauthorized access or acquisition of PII. Many states have enacted additional data privacy and security laws and regulations that govern the collection, use, disclosure, transfer, storage, disposal, and protection of PII and other information. For instance, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”), which became effective on January 1, 2020, contains, among other things, new disclosure obligations for businesses that collect PII from California residents and affords those individuals numerous rights relating to their PII. The CCPA has changed the manner in which we collect, store and use consumer data and has resulted in increased regulatory oversight, litigation risks and costs of compliance. Furthermore, a California ballot initiative from privacy rights advocates intended to augment and expand the CCPA called the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”) was passed in November 2020 and will take effect in January 2023 (with respect to information collected from and after January 2022). The CPRA will significantly modify the CCPA, including by creating a new state agency that will be vested with authority to implement and enforce the CCPA and the CPRA. Moreover, other states may adopt privacy-related laws whose restrictions and requirements differ from those of California, which could require us to design, implement and maintain different types of state-based, privacy-related compliance controls and programs simultaneously in multiple states, thereby further increasing the complexity and cost of compliance. These costs, including others relating to increased regulatory oversight and compliance, could materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, given that privacy and customer data protection laws may be interpreted and applied
inconsistently and are in a state of flux that varies by jurisdiction, our data protection policies and practices may not be consistent with the most recent interpretations and applications of such laws at all times. Complying with these varying requirements could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with our own privacy policies or with any regulatory requirements or orders or other privacy or consumer protection related laws and regulations could result in proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others, subject us to significant penalties and negative publicity and materially and adversely affect our operating results.
Our reputation, ability to do business and operating results may be impaired by improper conduct by any of our employees, agents or business partners, including retail partners.
While our policies and compliance programs are intended to promote legal and ethical business practices, there is a risk that our employees, agents or business partners, including retail partners, could engage in misconduct that materially and adversely affects our reputation, ability to do business or our operating results or financial condition. For instance, our operations in the U.S. and abroad are subject to certain laws generally prohibiting companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and similar anti-bribery laws in other jurisdictions. Violations by our employees, contractors or agents of policies and procedures we have implemented to ensure compliance with these laws could subject us to civil or criminal investigations in the U.S. and in other jurisdictions, could lead to substantial civil and criminal, monetary and non-monetary penalties, and related shareholder lawsuits, could cause us to incur significant legal fees and could damage our reputation. Other misconduct, including discrimination or harassment in the workplace, illegal or suspicious activity and breaches in the protection of consumer information, could similarly subject us to regulatory sanctions and negatively impact our business, operating results or financial condition. In addition, misconduct by our employees or agents could prompt regulators to allege or to determine based upon such misconduct that we have not established adequate supervisory systems and procedures to inform employees of applicable rules or to detect violations of such rules. Furthermore, alleged or perceived misconduct by our employees, agents or business partners, including retail partners, even if not substantiated, may attract negative publicity that could damage our reputation and impair our ability to maintain and develop relationships with our vendors, customers and other third parties with whom we do business and to attract and retain employees.
Our products and services may be negatively characterized by consumer advocacy groups, the media and certain Federal, state and local government officials, and if those negative characterizations become increasingly accepted by consumers and/or our retail partners, demand for our goods and the transactions we offer could decrease and our business could be materially and adversely affected.
Certain consumer advocacy groups, media reports and federal and state regulators and legislators have asserted that laws and regulations regarding lease-to-own transactions should be broader and more restrictive. The consumer advocacy groups and media reports generally focus on the total cost to a consumer to acquire an item, which is often alleged to be higher than the interest typically charged by banks or similar lending institutions to consumers with better credit histories seeking to borrow money to finance purchases. This “cost-of-rental” amount, which is generally defined as total lease fees paid in excess of the “retail” price of the goods, is from time to time characterized by consumer advocacy groups and media reports as predatory or abusive without discussing the fundamental difference between a credit transaction and a lease transaction, the fact that consumers can return their leased merchandise at any time without penalty or further payment obligations or the numerous other benefits to consumers of lease-to-own programs, or the lack of viable alternatives available to many of these consumers to obtain critical household items. If the negative characterization of lease-to-own transactions becomes increasingly accepted by consumers or our retail and merchant partners, demand for our products and services could significantly decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, if the negative characterization of lease‑to‑own transactions is accepted by regulators and legislators, our business may become subject to more restrictive laws and regulations and more stringent enforcement of existing laws and regulations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The vast expansion and reach of technology, including social media platforms, has increased the risk that our reputation could be significantly impacted by these negative characterizations in a relatively short amount of time. If we are unable to quickly and effectively respond to such characterizations, we may experience declines in customer loyalty and traffic and our relationships with our retail partners may suffer, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, any failure by our competitors, including smaller, regional competitors, to comply with the laws and regulations applicable to the traditional and/or virtual lease-to-own models, or any actions by our competitors that are challenged by consumers, advocacy groups, the media or governmental agencies or entities as being abusive or predatory, could result in Rent-A-Center being perceived as engaging in similar unlawful or inappropriate activities or business practices, merely because we operate in the same general industries as such competitors.
Disputes with or involving our franchisees may lead to litigation with our franchisees, which may materially and adversely affect our relationships with franchisees or our reputation, or cause us to incur significant expenses that materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
As a franchisor, we are subject to regulation by various federal and state laws that govern the relationship between us and our franchisees and the offer and sale of franchises. If we fail to comply with these laws, we could be liable for damages to franchisees and fines or other penalties, as well as the loss of franchise fees and ongoing royalty revenues. Although we believe we generally enjoy a positive working relationship with our franchisees, the nature of the franchisor-franchisee relationship may give rise to litigation with our franchisees in the ordinary course of business for a variety of reasons, including disputes related to alleged breaches of contract or wrongful termination under the franchise arrangements. We may also have disputes with franchisees in connection with transactions whereby we have re-franchised previously company-owned locations and sold them to the franchisee, including disputes regarding our indemnification obligations pursuant to those transaction agreements. Further, we may engage in litigation with franchisees to enforce the terms of our franchise agreements and compliance with our brand standards as determined necessary to protect our brand, the consistency of our products and the customer experience, or to enforce any applicable contractual indemnification rights if we are brought into a matter involving a third party due to an alleged act or omission by the franchisee. In addition, we may be subject to claims by our franchisees relating to our franchise disclosure documents, including claims based on financial information contained in those documents. Engaging in such litigation may be costly, time-consuming and may distract management and materially and adversely affect our relationships with or ability to attract new franchisees. Any negative outcome of these or any other claims could materially and adversely affect our results of operations as well as our ability to expand our franchise system and may damage our reputation and brand. Moreover, federal and state laws that regulate substantive aspects of our relationships with franchisees may limit our ability to terminate our franchise arrangements or otherwise resolve conflicts with our franchisees or enforce contractual duties or rights we believe we have with respect to our franchisees, which could materially and adversely affect our operations.
We may face liability for the actions, omissions and liabilities of our franchisees, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operation.
One of the legal foundations fundamental to the franchise business model has been that, absent special circumstances, a franchisor is generally not responsible for the acts, omissions or liabilities of its franchisees. However, under the franchise business model, we may face claims and liabilities based on vicarious liability, joint‑employer liability, or other theories or liabilities. Expansion of these bases for liability not only could result in expensive litigation with our franchisees or government agencies, but also could make it more difficult to appropriately support our franchisees while managing our risk of liability, all of which could impact our results of operations. For instance, in 2015, the National Labor Relations Board adopted a broad standard for determining when two or more otherwise unrelated employers may be found to be a joint employer of the same employees under the National Labor Relations Act. Although the U.S. Department of Labor announced the rescission of these guidelines in June 2017, there can be no assurance that no future changes in law, regulation or policy will cause us or our franchisees to be liable or held responsible for unfair labor practices, violations of wage and hour laws, or other violations or require our franchises to conduct collective bargaining negotiations regarding employees of our franchisees. If such changes occur, our operating expenses may increase as a result of required modifications to our business practices, increased litigation, governmental investigations or proceedings, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil liability, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.
We may be unable to protect our intellectual property, or may be alleged to have infringed upon the intellectual property rights of others, which could result in a loss of our competitive advantage and a diversion of resources and a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
The success of our lease-to-own model depends in large part on our proprietary decisioning algorithm, our e‑commerce platform and other proprietary technologies that we currently have or may develop in the future. To protect our intellectual property rights, we rely, or may from time to time rely, on a combination of trademark, trade dress, domain name, copyright, trade secret and patent laws, as well as confidentiality and license agreements with our employees, contractors and other third parties with whom we have relationships. However, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights may not be sufficient or effective to prevent misappropriation or infringement of our intellectual property or proprietary information, which could result in a loss of our competitive advantage. In addition, any of our intellectual property rights may be challenged, which could result in their being narrowed in scope or declared invalid or unenforceable. We may litigate to protect our intellectual property and proprietary information from misappropriation or infringement by others, which could be expensive and cause a diversion of resources and ultimately may not be successful.
Moreover, competitors or other third parties may allege that we, or consultants or other third parties retained or indemnified by us, infringe on their intellectual property rights. Given the complex, rapidly changing and competitive technological and business environment in which we operate, and the potential risks and uncertainties of intellectual property-related litigation, an assertion of an infringement claim against us may cause us to spend significant amounts to defend the claim (even if we ultimately prevail). We may also be required to pay significant money damages. In the event of a settlement or adverse
judgment, our results of operation may materially decline if we are prohibited from using the relevant systems, processes, technologies or other intellectual property, especially if we are forced to cease offering certain products or services, or are required to pay to the alleged owner of the relevant intellectual property licensing fees, royalties or technology development expenses. Even in instances where we believe that claims and allegations of intellectual property infringement against us are without merit, defending against such claims may be time consuming and expensive and may result in the diversion of time and attention of our management and employees.
The taxes applicable to our operations can be difficult to determine and are subject to change, and our failure to correctly calculate and pay such taxes could result in substantial tax liabilities and a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
The application of indirect taxes, such as sales tax, is a complex and evolving issue, particularly with respect to the lease-to-own industry generally and our virtual lease-to-own Preferred Lease and e-commerce businesses more specifically. Many of the fundamental statutes and regulations that impose these taxes were established before the growth of the lease-to-own industry and e-commerce and, therefore, in many cases it is not clear how existing statutes apply to our various business activities. Failure to comply with such statutes, or a successful assertion by a jurisdiction requiring us to collect taxes in a location or for transactions where we presently do not, could result in substantial tax liabilities, including for past sales and leases, as well as penalties and interest. In addition, if the tax authorities in jurisdictions where we are already subject to sales tax or other indirect tax obligations were to successfully challenge our positions, our tax liability could increase substantially. For instance, following a United States Supreme Court decision in June 2018, states may require a remote seller with no physical presence in the state to collect and remit sales tax on goods and services provided to purchasers in the state. Our Preferred Lease business may become subject to additional taxes if state or municipal legislatures adopt tax reform that subjects our lease-to-own transactions originated at the locations of Preferred Lease’s retail partners to taxation in that jurisdiction, despite Rent‑A‑Center having no physical presence in that jurisdiction. As governments increasingly search for ways to increase revenues, states may adopt tax reform or take other legislative action designed to raise tax revenues, including by expanding the scope of transactions subject to taxation or by increasing applicable tax rates, or may adversely interpret existing sales, income and other tax regulations. Such changes could subject our business to new or increased tax obligations, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
Risks Relating to Our Indebtedness and Other Financial Matters
Our indebtedness increased significantly upon consummation of the Merger and may materially and adversely affect us.
As of December 31, 2020, our total indebtedness was $197.5 million. In connection with the consummation of the Merger in February 2021, we incurred significant indebtedness to fund the cash consideration payable under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of December 20, 2020, providing for the Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), repay certain indebtedness of each of Rent-A-Center and Acima and its subsidiaries, and pay related fees and expenses. As a result, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the Merger and related financing transactions, our total indebtedness as of December 31, 2020 would have been approximately $1,490 million, and we would have had undrawn commitments available for borrowings of an additional $294 million under the ABL Credit Facility (after giving effect to approximately $91 million of outstanding letters of credit). In addition, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the Merger and related financing transactions, our total indebtedness as of December 31, 2020, the available commitments under the ABL Credit Facility would have been $550 million which, when reduced by outstanding borrowings and standby letters of credit of $256 million outstanding as of such date, would amount to $294 million of availability under such facility.
Notwithstanding the recent increase in our total indebtedness, we expect to continue to evaluate the possibility of acquiring additional businesses and making strategic investments, and we may elect to finance these endeavors by incurring additional indebtedness. Moreover, to respond to competitive challenges, we may be required to raise substantial additional capital to finance new product or service offerings. As a result, our indebtedness could further increase, and the related risks that we face could intensify.
Our level of indebtedness, together with any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future, could materially and adversely affect us in a number of ways. For example, the anticipated level of indebtedness or any additional financing could:
•make it more difficult for us to pay or refinance our debts as they become due during adverse economic, financial market and industry conditions;
•require us to use a larger portion of our cash flow for debt service, reducing funds available for other purposes;
•impair our ability to take advantage of business opportunities, such as acquisition opportunities, and to react to changes in market or industry conditions;
•increase our vulnerability to adverse economic, industry or competitive developments and decrease our ability to respond to such changes as compared to our competitors with less leverage;
•materially and adversely affect our ability to obtain additional financing, particularly as substantially all of our assets will be subject to liens securing certain of our indebtedness;
•decrease our profitability and/or cash flow or require us to dispose of significant assets in order to satisfy our debt service and other obligations if cash from operations or other sources is insufficient to satisfy such obligations;
•increase the risk of a downgrade in the credit rating of us or any indebtedness of us or our subsidiaries which could increase the cost of further borrowings;
•limit our ability to borrow additional funds in the future to fund working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes; and
•limit our financial resources available to continue paying dividends on our common stock, as determined in the discretion of our Board of Directors and subject to the restrictive covenants in our debt agreements.
Although the terms of the indenture that governs the Notes and the terms of the ABL Credit Facility and the Term Loan Facility contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional debt, including secured debt, these restrictions are subject to a number of important exceptions and debt incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial. If we incur significant additional debt, the related risks could intensify.
The amount of borrowings permitted under the ABL Credit Facility is limited to the value of certain of our assets, and Rent-A-Center relies in part on available borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility for cash to operate its business, which subjects it to market and counterparty risk, some of which is beyond Rent-A-Center’s control.
In addition to cash we generate from our business, our principal existing sources of cash are borrowings available under the ABL Credit Facility. Our borrowing capacity under the ABL Credit Facility varies according to our eligible rental contracts, eligible installment sales accounts and inventory, net of certain reserves. In the event of any material decrease in the amount of or appraised value of these assets, our borrowing capacity would similarly decrease, which could materially and adversely affect our business and liquidity. The documentation governing the ABL Credit Facility contains customary affirmative and negative covenants and certain restrictions on operations become applicable if our available credit falls below certain thresholds. These covenants could impose significant operating and financial limitations and restrictions on us, including restrictions on our ability to enter into particular transactions and to engage in other actions that we may believe are advisable or necessary for our business. Subject to certain exceptions, our obligations under the ABL Credit Facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our assets. In the event of a default that is not cured or waived within any applicable cure periods, the lenders’ commitment to extend further credit under the ABL Credit Facility could be terminated, our outstanding obligations could become immediately due and payable, outstanding letters of credit may be required to be cash collateralized and remedies may be exercised against the collateral. Our access to such financing may be unavailable or reduced, or such financing may become significantly more expensive for any reason, including, but not limited to, adverse economic conditions. In addition, if certain of our lenders experience difficulties that render them unable to fund future draws on the facility, we may not be able to access all or a portion of these funds. If our access to borrowings under the ABL Credit Facility is unavailable or reduced, we may not have the necessary cash resources for our operations and, if any event of default occurs, there is no assurance that we would have the cash resources available to repay such accelerated obligations, refinance such indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, or cash collateralize our letters of credit, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
We may not be able to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful. Our failure to meet our debt service obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
As of February 17, 2021, the annual cash interest payments on our indebtedness are approximately $75 million, which could fluctuate depending on changes in interest rates. We depend on cash on hand and cash flows from operations to make scheduled debt payments. We expect to be able to meet the estimated cash interest payments on our indebtedness through our cash flows from operations. However, our ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations and to utilize other methods to make scheduled payments will depend on a range of economic, competitive and business factors, many of which are outside of our control, and there can be no assurance that these sources will be adequate. If we are unable to service our indebtedness and fund our operations, we will be forced to adopt an alternative strategy that may include:
•reducing or delaying capital expenditures;
•limiting our growth;
•seeking additional capital;
•selling assets;
•reducing or eliminating the dividend on our common stock; or
•restructuring or refinancing our indebtedness.
Even if we adopt an alternative strategy, the strategy may not be successful and we may be unable to service our indebtedness and fund our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, the ABL Credit Facility and the Term Loan Facility are secured by liens on substantially all of our and our restricted subsidiaries’ assets, and any successor credit facilities are likely to be secured on a similar basis. As such, our ability to refinance our indebtedness or seek additional financing, or our restricted subsidiaries’ ability to make cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise, to enable us to repay the amounts due under our indebtedness, could be impaired as a result of such security interests and the agreements governing such security interests.
Our inability to generate sufficient cash flows to satisfy our debt obligations, or to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all, would materially and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations. In addition, if we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and lenders under the ABL Credit Facility could terminate their commitments to loan money, holders of the Notes and lenders under the ABL Credit Facility and the Term Loan Facility could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, and lenders under the ABL Credit Facility and the Term Loan Facility could foreclose against the assets securing such indebtedness and Rent-A-Center could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.
Restrictive covenants in certain of the agreements and instruments governing our indebtedness may materially and adversely affect our financial and operational flexibility.
The terms of our indebtedness include restrictive covenants that impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us and may limit our ability to engage in acts that may be in our long-term best interest, including restrictions on our ability to, among other things, (i) create liens; (ii) transfer or sell assets; (iii) incur indebtedness or issue certain preferred stock; (iv) pay dividends, redeem stock or make other distributions; (v) make other restricted payments or investments; (vi) create restrictions on payment of dividends or other amounts by us to our restricted subsidiaries; (vii) merge or consolidate with other entities; (viii) engage in certain transactions with affiliates; and (ix) designate our subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries. In addition, our ability to access the full amount available under the ABL Credit Facility is subject to compliance with a financial maintenance covenant requiring that we maintain at least a specified fixed charge coverage ratio (as such ratio is defined in the ABL Credit Facility). Our failure to comply with any of these covenants could result in reduced borrowing capacity and/or an event of default that, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of certain of our debt, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, and any material deviations from our forecasts could require us to seek waivers or amendments of covenants or alternative sources of financing, or to reduce expenditures. We cannot assure you that such waivers, amendments or alternative financing could be obtained or, if obtained, would be on terms acceptable to us.
A breach of any of the covenants or restrictions could result in an event of default. Such a default, if not cured or waived, could allow our debt holders to accelerate the related debt, as well as any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies, or to declare all borrowings outstanding thereunder to be due and payable. In the event our debt is accelerated, our assets may not be sufficient to repay such debt in full.
Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.
A portion of our indebtedness bears interest at variable rates that are linked to changing market interest rates. As a result, an increase in market interest rates will increase our interest expense and our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness, and our net income and cash flows, including cash available for servicing our indebtedness, will correspondingly decrease. As of December 31, 2020, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to the Merger and related expected financing transactions, approximately $1,018 million of our indebtedness would have been variable rate indebtedness and, assuming all loans were fully drawn, each quarter‑point (0.25%) change in interest rates would result in an additional $2.6 million annualized pretax charge or credit to our consolidated statement of operations. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have not entered into any interest rate swap agreements. In the future, we may enter into interest rate swaps that involve the exchange of floating for fixed rate interest payments in order to reduce interest rate volatility. However, we may not maintain interest rate swaps with respect to all of our variable rate indebtedness, and any swaps we enter into may not fully mitigate interest rate risk.
A change in control could accelerate our obligation to pay our outstanding indebtedness, and we may not have sufficient liquid assets at that time to repay these amounts.
Under the agreements governing our ABL Credit Facility and our Term Loan Facility, an event of default will result if a third party becomes the beneficial owner of 40% or more of our voting stock, in which case our obligations under such facilities may become immediately due and payable. In addition, under the indenture governing the Notes, we are obligated to offer to purchase the Notes at a purchase price equal to 101% of the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest to
the date of the purchase, upon the occurrence of certain changes in control, including, subject to certain exceptions, the consummation of any transaction that results in any person becoming the beneficial owner of at least 50% of our voting stock or a sale of substantially all of our assets. Rent‑A‑Center may enter into additional financing arrangements in the future that require the repayment of outstanding amounts in similar circumstances. If a specified change in control occurs and the lenders or debt holders under our debt instruments accelerate our obligations, we may not have sufficient liquid assets to repay amounts outstanding under such agreements or be able to arrange for additional financing to fund such obligations, which could result in an event of default under the relevant instrument and could cause any other debt that we may have at that time to become automatically due, further exacerbating the adverse impacts on our financial condition.
Our organizational documents and our current or future debt instruments contain or may contain provisions that may prevent or deter another group from paying a premium over the market price to Rent-A-Center’s stockholders to acquire its stock.
Rent-A-Center’s organizational documents contain provisions that classify its Board of Directors, authorize its Board of Directors to issue blank check preferred stock and establish advance notice requirements on its stockholders for director nominations and actions to be taken at meetings of the stockholders. In addition, as a Delaware corporation, Rent-A-Center is subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits persons that acquire, or are affiliated with any person that acquires, more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in any business combination with Rent‑A‑Center for a three-year period following the date of such acquisition, subject to limited exceptions. Furthermore, the terms of our indebtedness include various change in control provisions which, in the event of a change in control, would cause a default under those provisions. These provisions and arrangements could delay, deter or prevent a merger, consolidation, tender offer or other business combination or change in control involving us, whether favored or opposed by our management or our stockholders. For instance, the consummation of any such transaction in certain circumstances may require the redemption or repurchase of the Notes, and there can be no assurance that we or the potential acquiror will have sufficient financial resources to affect such a redemption or repurchase.
Risks Relating to the Merger
The outcome of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s investigation into certain of Acima’s business practices is uncertain and may materially and adversely affect our business.
Prior to the execution of the Merger Agreement, Acima received a Civil Investigative Demand dated October 1, 2020 (the “CID”) from the CFPB requesting certain information, documents and data relating to Acima’s products, services and practices for the period from January 1, 2015 to the date on which responses to the CID are provided in full. The purpose of the CID is to determine whether Acima extends credit, offers leases, or otherwise offers or provides a consumer financial product or service and whether Acima complies with certain consumer financial protection laws. We are fully cooperating with the CFPB investigation and expect to submit responses to all existing requests of the CFPB no later than the end of March 2021. The CFPB has not made any allegations in the investigation, and we are currently unable to predict the eventual scope, ultimate timing or outcome of the CFPB investigation.
On the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, the former owners of Acima have agreed to indemnify Rent-A-Center for certain losses arising after the consummation of the Merger with respect to the CID and certain pre-closing taxes. The indemnification obligations of the former owners of Acima are limited to an indemnity holdback in the aggregate amount of $50 million, which amount was escrowed at the closing of the Merger, and will be Rent-A-Center’s sole recourse against the former owners of Acima with respect to all of the indemnifiable claims under the Merger Agreement. Other than with respect to any pending or unresolved claims for indemnification submitted by Rent-A-Center prior to such time, and subject to other limited exceptions, the escrowed amount in respect of the CID will be released to the former owners of Acima as follows: (i) in respect of the CID, on the earlier of the third anniversary of the closing date of the Merger and the date on which a final determination is entered providing for a resolution of the matters regarding the CID and (ii) in respect of certain pre-closing taxes, on August 18, 2022, the first business day following the date that is 18 months after the closing of the Merger.
There can be no assurance that the CID will be finally resolved prior to the release to the former owners of Acima of the escrowed funds reserved therefor, or that such escrowed amount will be sufficient to address all covered losses or that the CFPB’s ongoing investigation or future exercise of its enforcement, regulatory, discretionary or other powers will not result in findings or alleged violations of consumer financial protection laws that could lead to enforcement actions, proceedings or litigation, whether by the CFPB, other state or federal agencies, or other parties, and the imposition of damages, fines, penalties, restitution, other monetary liabilities, sanctions, settlements or changes to Acima’s business practices or operations that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or reputation.
We may be unable to realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger, including synergies, and expect to incur substantial expenses related to the Merger, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We expect to realize potential revenue and cost synergies as a result of the Merger. In addition to the purchase price we paid in connection with the Merger, we also expect to incur certain one-time costs to achieve these synergies. In addition, while we believe these synergies are achievable, our ability to achieve such estimated synergies and the timing of achieving any such synergies is subject to various assumptions by our management, which may or may not be realized, as well as the incurrence of other costs in our operations that offset all or a portion of such synergies. As a consequence, we may not be able to realize all of these synergies within the timeframe expected or at all. In addition, we may incur additional and/or unexpected costs in order to realize these synergies. Failure to achieve the expected synergies could significantly reduce the expected benefits associated with the Merger and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be unable to successfully integrate Acima’s business and realize the anticipated benefits of the Merger.
Rent-A-Center and Acima operated as independent companies prior to the consummation of the Merger in February 2021. We have devoted, and expect to continue to devote, significant management attention and resources to integrating the business practices and operations of Acima with the other business of Rent-A-Center. Potential difficulties we may encounter in the integration process include the following:
•the inability to successfully combine the businesses of Rent-A-Center and Acima in a manner that permits Rent-A-Center to achieve the cost savings or revenue enhancements anticipated to result from the Merger, which would result in the anticipated benefits of the Merger not being realized in the time frame currently anticipated or at all;
•lost sales and customers as a result of certain customers, retail partners or other third parties of either of the two companies deciding not to do business with us after the Merger;
•the complexities associated with managing Rent-A-Center out of several different locations and integrating personnel from Acima, resulting in a significantly larger combined company, while at the same time attempting to provide consistent, high quality products and services;
•the complexities of consolidating retail partner locations;
•the additional complexities of integrating a company with different products, services, markets and customers;
•coordinating corporate and administrative infrastructures and harmonizing insurance coverage;
•coordinating accounting, information technology, communications, administration and other systems;
•complexities associated with implementing necessary controls for Acima’s business activities to address Rent-A-Center’s requirements as a public company;
•identifying and eliminating redundant and underperforming functions and assets;
•difficulty addressing possible differences in corporate culture and management philosophies;
•the failure to retain key employees of either Acima or Rent-A-Center;
•potential unknown liabilities and unforeseen increased expenses, delays or regulatory conditions associated with the Merger, including litigation relating to the Merger or the ultimate outcome of the CFPB investigation of Acima;
•performance shortfalls at one or both of the two companies as a result of the diversion of management’s attention to efforts to integrate Acima’s operations; and
•a deterioration of credit ratings.
For all these reasons, the integration process could result in the distraction of Rent-A-Center’s management, the disruption of Rent-A-Center’s ongoing business or inconsistencies in its products, services, standards, controls, procedures and policies, any of which could materially and adversely affect our ability to maintain relationships with our customers, retail partners, vendors and employees or to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Merger, or could otherwise materially and adversely affect our business and financial results.
An inability to realize the full extent of the anticipated benefits and cost synergies of the Merger, as well as any delays encountered in the integration process, could have a material adverse effect on the revenues, level of expenses and operating results of the combined company, which may materially and adversely affect the value of Rent-A-Center’s securities.
In addition, the actual integration may result in additional and unforeseen expenses, and the anticipated benefit of our plan for integration may not be realized. Actual synergies, if achieved at all, may be lower than what we expect and may take longer to achieve than anticipated. For example, the elimination of duplicative costs may not be possible or may take longer than anticipated, or the benefits from the Merger may be offset by costs incurred or delays in integrating the companies. If we are not able to adequately address these challenges, we may be unable to successfully integrate Acima’s operations into our other
businesses or, even if we are able to combine such business operations successfully, to realize the anticipated benefits of the integration of the two companies.
Risks Relating to Our Structure or an Investment in Our Common Stock
We are a holding company and are dependent on the operations and funds of our subsidiaries.
We are a holding company, with no revenue generating operations and no assets other than our ownership interests in our direct and indirect subsidiaries. Accordingly, we are dependent on the cash flow generated by our direct and indirect operating subsidiaries and must rely on dividends or other intercompany transfers from our operating subsidiaries to generate the funds necessary to meet our obligations, including the obligations under the ABL Credit Facility, Term Loan Facility and the Notes. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments to us is subject to applicable state laws. Should one or more of our subsidiaries be unable to pay dividends or make distributions, our ability to meet our ongoing obligations could be materially and adversely affected. If we are unable to satisfy the financial and other covenants in our debt agreements, our lenders could elect to terminate the agreements and require us to repay the outstanding borrowings, or we could face other substantial costs.
Our stock price is volatile, and you may not be able to recover your investment if our stock price declines.
The price of our common stock has been volatile and can be expected to be significantly affected by factors such as:
•our perceived ability to meet market expectations with respect to the growth and profitability of each of our operating segments and to timely achieve the expected benefits of the Merger;
•quarterly variations in our results of operations, which may be impacted by, among other things, changes in same store sales, invoice volume or when and how many locations we acquire, open, sell or close;
•quarterly variations in our competitors’ results of operations;
•changes in earnings estimates or buy/sell recommendations by financial analysts;
•how our actual financial performance compares to the financial performance guidance we provide;
•state or federal legislative or regulatory proposals, initiatives, actions or changes that are, or are perceived to be, adverse to our business;
•the stock price performance of comparable companies;
•the unpredictability of global and regional economic and political conditions; and
•the impact of any of the other risk factors discussed or incorporated by reference herein.
In addition, the stock market as a whole historically has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many specialty retailers in ways that may have been unrelated to such companies’ operating performance.
There can be no assurance as to the dividends that we may pay on our common stock.
Holders of our common stock are only entitled to receive such dividends as our Board of Directors may declare out of funds legally available for such payments. Although we have paid quarterly cash dividends on our common stock since 2019, we are not required to declare or pay any dividends and there may be circumstances under which we may be unable to declare and pay dividends under applicable Delaware law or due to the impact of restrictive covenants in our debt agreements. In addition, we may elect to eliminate or reduce our common stock dividend in the future for any reason. Any elimination of or reduction in the amount of our common stock dividend could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
A lowering or withdrawal of the ratings assigned to Rent-A-Center’s debt by rating agencies may increase our future borrowing costs and reduce our access to capital.
Our indebtedness currently has a non-investment grade rating, and any rating assigned to our debt could be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency if, in that rating agency’s judgment, future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, such as adverse changes, so warrant. Credit ratings are not recommendations to purchase, hold or sell any securities of our company. Additionally, credit ratings may not reflect the potential effect of risks relating to any securities of our company. Any downgrade by either S&P or Moody’s may result in higher borrowing costs. Any future lowering of our ratings likely would make it more difficult or more expensive for us to obtain additional debt financing.