For years, Rent-A-Center (RAC) positioned its brand as a fallback to a credit purchase and never leveraged its benefits as an alternative to credit, including no hidden fees or charges, no obligations or debt perils (return anytime) and delivery, installation and service/loaners included. As RAC expanded its retail footprint, this approach was successful, but market dynamics drove a slow-down in customer growth and a sharp decline in share price. Credit providers eased restrictions, offering greater "access" to credit constrained households. Product deflation in the electronics category, driven by category killers and mass merchandisers, made ownership more accessible. RAC needed a new model for its consumer value proposition.
