RTO World 18 announced at TRIB Group’s Meeting of the Minds

Rent-to-own professionals will experience a world of difference at next year’s industry-wide RTO summer convention. APRO and TRIB Group are joining forces to present RTO World 2018: The National Rent-to-Own Convention and Trade Show, August 21-23 in St. Louis, Missouri. The two organizations are collaborating on a single event that will be unlike any other in the history of the RTO industry, combining the unique assets that each group brings to the table.

“RTO World combines the strengths of both organizations,” says APRO Executive Director Jill McClure. “It will be a larger show, bringing in each organization’s members and vendors, some of whom belong to both APRO and TRIB Group, and will also include new vendors and a larger base of RTO professionals. It’s the right timing for something new and innovative that will re-energize the industry.”

“We are very pleased to host, along with APRO, RTO World 2018,” TRIB Group Executive Director Dennis Shields says. “Its launch is the culmination of many months of discussions and meetings.” APRO members, TRIB Group members and RTO-industry vendors have repeatedly mentioned the increased number of industry events as a concern that drains time and resources. A single summer event hosted by both groups has been an ongoing discussion among industry leaders for several years, and over the past year, representatives from both APRO and TRIB Group ironed out details to make RTO World a reality.

The APRO/TRIB Group committee comprises both organizations’ executive directors and board chairpersons, as well as additional members from both boards: APRO Executive Director Jill McClure, TRIB Group Executive Director Dennis Shields, APRO President Louis Garcia and TRIB Group President Shannon Strunk, along with Larry Carrico, Dan Fisher, David Harrison, Ernie Lewallen and Mike Tissot.

A new name to brand an exciting collaboration of this magnitude was in order. “RTO World conveys that this is the preeminent rent-to-own industry event of the year-one that is inclusive, broader in scope and focuses on ensuring the rent-to-own industry’s health and vitality for years to come,” McClure says.

Mark your calendars now-August 21-23, 2018-and prepare yourself for a whole new world of rent-to-own.

A Look Back at the 2017 Meeting of the Minds

Another Meeting of the Minds is in the books, and this one will go down as one of the most successful. But before we talk numbers, let’s revisit some of the events that make this meeting a value to all who participate.

First, it was great to see many of you for the first time in a while on Sunday at registration and at the cocktail reception on Sunday evening. We were pleased to see so many TRIB members attending the event. Our Monday meetings were fast paced but we got a lot done. We had a changing of the guard of the Board of Directors and we give many thanks to Shannon Strunk for the excellent work he did on behalf of TRIB. We now welcome new President Dan Fisher and are looking forward to his contributions as well. TRIB Group certainly has a deep bench of members that offer quality leadership in their roles on the BOD.

The Monday breakout sessions were fast paced, but designed to give each of you just a few minutes with a vendor so that you can later spend longer, more quality time with those who offer the products and services that interest you the most.

I’ve only heard good things about this year’s Hot Show. The products this year were spot on and the pricing was attractive enough to drive this year’s Hot Show sales total to $9.8 million. Not a record but very close to it. As always, it was a fun event, sales were brisk, the buffet was good, and our members and vendors showed everyone why TRIB Group is “Making Rent to Own Great.” That had become our unofficial theme of this meeting and thanks to King of Promotions for producing red hats advertising that. We also had wrist band bracelets with that theme.

Tuesday saw the continuation of meetings focusing on topics that were found to be the most relevant to the RTO industry and we’d like to complement each speaker for delivering meaningful content on the subject they covered. After lunch, members shopped the show floor, writing orders for furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics and specialty items. Preliminary numbers look as though sales in these areas were brisk also.

We had a few new surprises. One is the addition of The My Pillow Company to the show floor. Mike Lindell was personally on hand to showcase his innovative pillows and has partnered with RTO veteran Rep. Gidget Simmons to facilitate the entry of his company into the RTO marketplace.

Another veteran RTO rep. was in attendance: Rita Haney has joined RTO Solutions to lead the King Koil Mattress Launch. If you’d like to speak to Rita she can be contacted at 919-656-0882.

Last, we want to thank the Sponsors that make these meetings possible. The support these vendors provide to TRIB Group for these meetings and other events are what helps make us the industry’s most successful buying group. After all, TRIB Group is about many things: buying, collaboration, networking, and working toward common goals. It’s the participation of our members and the support of our sponsors and vendors that help to make our goals a reality.