Rent-to-own News - APRO Family Reunion draws UK cousins

BrightHouse CEO Leo McKee (L) with company retail director Andrew Parkinson at APRO 2011.

APRO's "Family Reunion" themed convention in Little Rock this week drew rent to own relatives from near and far including rental dealers from Alaska, Australia and the United Kingdom.

One such guest is BrightHouse -- the UK's largest rent to own company -- which is currently in the throes of an accelerated growth campaign with 238 stores on the books and another 400 locations earmarked for expansion.

The company is headed by a quick-witted Scotsman, CEO Leo McKee, who, since taking over the company in 2005, has grown BrightHouse by 97 locations, 9,000 customers and roughly $35 million.

He has done this through a clear and simple vision: "We strive to add value to people's lives everyday."

McKee and BrightHouse Retail Director Andrew Parkinson attended their first APRO Convention this year and said they are taking away a number of "learnings" from various seminars attended. Perhaps what they will take away most is the American independent RTO spirit of shared knowledge and collegiality.

"I'm very impressed with how well the presenters were prepared and the value of the information," McKee said. "The way that it was an open conversation, a dialogue of shared ideas, among competitors mind you, was most impressive. Whether you're a novice or an expert there seems to be a good balance of useful information for everyone. The spirit of the conference is tremendous."

Though BrightHouse's average store are on the small side compared to their U.S. counterparts -- roughly 2,500 square feet -- McKee's focus on getting into the spending minds of his customers was his top priority when he took over the company.

"The first thing we did was customer research on existing and lost customers," McKee said. "We wanted to understand what was 'best-in-class' for our customers and we upgraded the quality of our products and recruited the best buyers we could get our hands on."

He also said he recruits store staff from local community. Especially in the UK where public transportation rules, local is key. The company's rental agreements are approximately 60 percent weekly and 40 percent monthly.

"If you want to be accepted by the communities you serve you have to reach out to those communities," said McKee, who added BrightHouse is actively involved in a number of school outreach programs.

Overall, McKee and Parkinson said they made the hope across the pond to "learn and contribute to the rent to own discussion".

"I did a lot of listening today," McKee said. "We feel part of this family ourselves."

See photos of the APRO 2011 Trade Show here.

See photos of the APRO 2011 Awards Banquet here.