World Franchising
December 2006 Newsletter
 
Earnings Claim Hall of Fame: Aaron's Sales and Lease Ownership
 
 
EARNINGS CLAIMS
Exhibit A to this Offering Circular sets forth certain historical revenue and expense information for ARI-operated Aaron’s Sales & Lease OwnershipSM stores. The success of your Franchise will depend largely upon your individual efforts, and the fi nancial results of your franchise are likely to differ, perhaps materially, from the results summarized in Exhibit A. Substantiation of data used in preparing this information is available upon reasonable request. Except as expressly set forth in Exhibit A, neither ARI nor its affi liates furnishes or authorizes any oral or written information of actual, potential, average or projected sales, costs, income or profi ts of existing or proposed Franchises.
EXHIBIT A
TO FRANCHISE OFFERING CIRCULAR


Earnings Information
ANALYSIS OF AVERAGE REVENUES AND EXPENSES FOR
ARI OPERATED AARON’S SALES & LEASE OWNERSHIP STORES

This Exhibit sets forth certain historical information on revenues and expenses for ARI operated Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership stores and does not include revenues and expenses for franchisee operated Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership stores. ARI has not included the information on franchised stores because ARI cannot verify and control the level or type of expenditures made by individual franchisees. However, ARI recommends that you contact the franchisees listed on Exhibit E to the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (“UFOC”) regarding the operations and financial performance of their Franchised Businesses.

This Exhibit contains two Tables. The Tables reflect the arithmetic mean (average) annual revenues and expenses, as well as the highest, lowest, median, and number and percent of stores higher than the mean, of the stores included therein.

Table 1:

Table 1 contains the average revenues and expenses of ALL ARI operated stores which (i) have opened since January 1, 1998 and operated under the “12 Month Sales & Lease Ownership Plan” since their inception, (ii) were not converted Aaron Rents or Aaron Sells stores, (iii) were not acquired stores and (iv) have been operating one full year (229 stores), two full years (168 stores), three full years (130 stores), four full years (106 stores) or five full years (45 stores), respectively, as of December 31, 2005. ARI has closed some stores or acquired some competitor stores and has merged their revenues into existing revenues with other ARI stores operating in contiguous markets (see item 20). Stores that had not been in operation for at least a full year as of December 31, 2005 are not included, because annual figures were not yet available as of such date. The average revenue and expense information provided in Table 1 by year is also shown by month (by age of store).

Table 2:

Table 2 contains the average revenues and expenses for the year ending December 31, 2005 of ALL ARI operated stores which have been open for at least two full years as of January 1, 2005 and that were still open as of December 31, 2005 (312 stores). Figures are presented for those stores within the following ranges of annual gross revenues: under $800,000 (8 stores); $800,000 to $1,100,000 (62 stores); $1,100,001 to $1,400,000 (104 stores); and over $1,400,000 (140 stores). ARI has closed some stores or acquired some competitor stores and has merged their revenues into existing revenues with other ARI stores operating in contiguous markets. This Table includes stores that were converted at least two full years prior to January 1, 2005 into Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership stores from Aaron Rents, Aaron Sells or acquired competitor stores (see Item 20).

ARI accrues certain expenses from time to time for internal reporting purposes. Thus, in some instances, all of the expenses reflected in a given month may not have actually been paid as of the end of such month. Also, except for depreciation, the expenses listed in the Tables do not reflect any start-up expenses that you may incur (see Item 7 of the UFOC).

The ARI operated stores for which information is included in this Exhibit are substantially similar to franchisee operated stores in appearance, and in the products and services offered. Most of the ARI operated stores included in this Exhibit are located in metropolitan markets where expenses are frequently higher than non-metropolitan markets and those stores generally have to achieve relatively higher revenues to cover higher expenses. The amount of revenues and expenses incurred will vary from store to store, whether ARI operated or franchisee operated and whether located in a metropolitan market or a non-metropolitan market. In particular, the revenues and expenses of a franchise store will be directly affected by many factors, such as: (a) geographic location; (b) competition from other firms in the market; (c) the presence of other stores opened under ARI’s Marks; (d) whether the franchise owner assumes the position of store manager or designates a store manager; (e) lease payments for exterior sign(s); (f) the payment of Continuing License Fees, Ad Production Fees and Regional Media Fees; (g) contractual arrangements with real estate lessors; (h) the extent to which the franchisee borrows working capital and finances inventory purchases, and applicable interest rate(s) on such borrowings; (i) vendor prices or distribution center prices on merchandise; (j) the franchisee’s merchandise lease rates and merchandise prices; (k) whether the franchisee purchases or leases a delivery vehicle; (l) the cost of any other vehicles used in the business; (m) other discretionary expenditures; (n) the quality of management and service at the Franchised Business; (o) the franchisee’s legal, accounting and other professional fees; (p) federal, state, and local income and other taxes; and (q) accounting methods, particularly the rate of depreciation for lease merchandise. In addition, a franchisee likely will not realize certain benefits and economies of scale that ARI realizes as a result of operating several stores in a single market. Therefore, the information contained in this Exhibit should be used by you only as a reference in conducting your own analysis and preparing your own projected income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements. ARI strongly suggests that you consult your own financial advisor or personal accountant concerning any financial projections and federal, state, local income taxes or any other applicable taxes that you may incur in operating an Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership franchise.

The revenues and expenses contained in this Exhibit should not be considered to be the actual or potential revenues and expenses that you will realize. ARI does not represent that you can or will attain such revenues and expenses, or any particular level of revenues and expenses. Moreover, ARI does not represent that you will generate income which exceeds the initial payment for, or investment in, the Franchised Business. The success of the franchise will depend largely upon your individual abilities, and the financial results of the franchise are likely to differ, perhaps materially, from the results of ARI operated stores summarized in this exhibit. Substantiation of the data used in preparing the information in this Exhibit will be made available to you upon reasonable request.

The following notes generally define each line item category shown on the attached Tables, identify some of the reasons why your results may differ, and highlight certain factors that you should be aware of. You should review the attached Tables only in conjunction with the following notes, which are an integral part of the numerical information.

Note 1: Lease Revenue

DEFINED: Lease Revenue is the sum of all revenues received from: all lease fees (for electronics, appliances, furniture, jewelry and other items), renewal fees, damage fees, delivery fees, service plus fees, full lease agreement buyout payments, NSF checks net of NSF collections, and other fees, whether paid in cash, check or credit. Lease Revenue also includes revenue on pager air service, which is pager service income (revenue derived from the service fee for pager airtime only). (ARI no longer carries pagers).

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: Within ARI guidelines, you will determine the merchandise lease rates, pager service rates and other fees for products and services leased and sold from the Franchised Business. Some states have statutes governing merchandise lease rates and fees. The cost associated with activating and maintaining airtime for pagers varies from market to market.

Note 2: Other Revenue

DEFINED: Other Revenue consists of revenue for all retail sales of both new and used inventory, revenue from early buyouts of lease agreements, gain or loss on sales of fixed assets, cell phone commissions, pass code and access revenue, and any other miscellaneous charges or fees, whether paid in cash, check or credit.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: Within ARI guidelines, you will determine the retail sales price and other fees for products sold from the Franchised Business, as well as the price for early buyouts of lease agreements. Some states have statutes governing early buyout amounts. (ARI no longer carries pagers or cell phones).

Note 3: Total Revenue

DEFINED: Total Revenue is the sum of Lease Revenue and Other Revenue.

VARIANCE FOR FRANCHISEE: Within ARI guidelines, you will determine the merchandise lease rates and other fees charged by the Franchised Business. Some states have statutes governing merchandise lease rates and fees.

Note 4: Cost of Sales

DEFINED: Cost of Sales is the net book value of all new and used inventory sold on a retail sale, the net book value of inventory sold on both early and full buyouts of lease agreements, pager service fees and cell phone air time and access fees.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You may elect to depreciate your inventory or fixed assets on a different basis than that used by ARI for tax purposes. Also, certain vendors offer purchase discounts to ARI for quick payment (i.e., a 2% discount on payments made within 10 days). You may not be able to obtain payment terms that are as favorable as those offered to or obtained by ARI. If you are able to obtain quick payment discounts, you must make payments by the early date in order to take advantage of them.

Note 5: Personnel Cost

DEFINED: Personnel Cost is the sum of all store personnel costs, including: salaries and wages for full-time and part-time employees, employer contributions for F.I.C.A. taxes, federal unemployment taxes, state unemployment taxes, workers’ compensation, group health insurance, long term disability, cancer care, 401(k), wages for contracted labor, expense of “help wanted” ads, employment agency fees, employee training expenses, and new hire physical examinations. ARI operated stores generally open with three to six associates.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: ARI store managers are compensated on a draw plus bonus program. The draw ranges from $30,000 to $70,000, with an average draw of approximately $48,000. Personnel Cost also includes ARI’s group health insurance cost. These expenses will vary considerably for you, depending on whether you hire a manager and their compensation program, prevailing wage rates in the area of the Franchised Business, and the types and amounts of non-salary benefits, if any, you provide to employees.

Note 6: Selling Cost

DEFINED: Selling Cost is the sum of all advertising expenses, including: yellow page ads, radio commercials, T.V. commercials, direct mailings, handbills, circulars, brochures, giveaways, sales floor signage, agency fees, exterior sign repairs and exterior sign depreciation.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You will conduct independent advertising programs and will pay an Ad Production Fee of 0.5% of your weekly Gross Revenues (if the Ad Production Fund is established by ARI). You may also pay a Regional Media Fee of $250 or 2% of weekly Gross Revenues, whichever is greater (if the Regional Media Fund is established by ARI). You may be required to spend an amount up to 4.5% of your Gross Revenues on advertising (this includes the payment of any Ad Production Fee and any Regional Media Fee). ARI purchases the exterior wall sign and any exterior pole sign faces for each of its stores and depreciates its signs on a straight-line basis over 5 years. Therefore, the depreciation of signs is included in the calculation of this expense. ARI will purchase the exterior wall sign and any pole sign faces for the Franchised Business and will lease it to you over the first five years of the Franchise Agreement. See Item 7 of the UFOC for estimated lease payments for the exterior sign(s).

Note 7: Occupancy Cost

DEFINED: Occupancy Cost is the sum of all leased building expenses, including: rent, depreciation of leasehold improvements, depreciation of fixtures and equipment, building maintenance, common area maintenance, real estate commissions, real estate taxes, security systems, real estate insurance and utilities.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: The stores used in this Exhibit vary in size from approximately 4,000 to 20,000 square feet. ARI’s recommended square footage for the Franchised Business is between 7,000 and 12,000 square feet. ARI’s lease rate per square foot varies from $4.00 to $10.00 and ARI’s common area maintenance charge (C.A.M.) varies from $0.30 to $1.00 per square foot. The cost per square foot in a strip-type shopping center and freestanding buildings varies considerably, depending on the location and the market conditions affecting commercial property.

ARI operated stores typically pay in full for any portion of leasehold improvements it is responsible for and depreciate the improvements on a straight-line basis over the remaining life of the lease. Therefore, some depreciation of leasehold improvements is included in the calculation of this expense. Occasionally, the landlord will completely build (i.e. carpet, tile, counters, offices, etc.) the space out and increase the rental rate to cover the cost of such buildout. See Item 7 of the UFOC for an estimate of the cost of leasehold improvements.

ARI generally negotiates for deferred rental payments. Therefore, the Occupancy Cost may reflect several months with either no rental payments or reduced rental payments.

Note 8: Inventory Carrying Cost

DEFINED: Inventory Carrying Cost is the sum of all of expenses associated with carrying inventory, including: insurance for inventory in the store and in transit, an allocation of personal property tax on store inventory (on hand at year end), interest expense on inventory financing, depreciation of lease merchandise, bedding transfer costs, repair cost and the cost of replacement parts for repairs or refurbishing, clearance center charge backs and freight charges absorbed by the receiving store on inventory redistribution. Also included in this item is depreciation on office furniture, which is depreciated over 36 months with a 0% salvage value.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: For internal and SunTrust Bank compliance reporting, ARI uses an eighteen month straight line depreciation (with no salvage value) for franchise calculations. Certain high-end electronics (i.e. big screen TV’s) that are normally on twenty-four month agreements are depreciated on a twenty-four month straight-line method (with no salvage value). This method is used mostly to reconcile SunTrust disposition book values with SunTrust amortization schedules. For company operated stores (prior to January 1, 2002), ARI paid in full for its lease inventory and generally began depreciating its lease inventory the month after it was received in the store and depreciated most lease inventory over the agreement period, generally 12-24 months, when on lease, and 36 months when not on lease, to a 0% salvage value (a method often referred to as income forecasting in the Sales & Lease Ownership industry). For company owned stores (effective January 1, 2002), ARI continued to pay in full for its lease inventory, but began depreciating its lease inventory upon the earlier to occur of its initial lease to a customer or twelve months after it was acquired from the vendor. ARI continued to depreciate most lease inventory over the agreement period, generally 12-24 months, when on lease, and 36 months when not on lease, to a 0% salvage value.

The depreciation schedules used by ARI are for ARI’s internal book purposes and SunTrust compliance reporting only. You should seek advice on depreciation from your financial advisor or personal accountant. ARI makes no recommendation as to the method of depreciation to be used by you for tax purposes. Prior to January 1, 2002, ARI allocated total interest cost to the ARI operated stores based on the total inventory cost per store. Effective January 1, 2002, ARI allocated an amount equal to 1.44% of the Sales & Lease Ownership division’s total revenue to the ARI operated stores on a pro-rata basis based on each store’s total inventory cost. ARI believes that this arrangement is substantially different from the arrangement you will have with your financial institution(s) for inventory purchases. ARI believes that your interest rate will be substantially higher, depending on the financing source, the collateral and your credit-worthiness.

Note 9: Delivery Cost

DEFINED: Delivery Cost is the sum of all expenses incurred in delivering and picking up lease inventory, including: vehicle depreciation or lease payments, rental of extra trucks, pro-rata share of vehicle insurance, truck decals, mechanical repairs, washing expense, parking expense, fuel and oil cost, mileage charged on extra trucks, vehicle repair costs incurred as a result of any accident, including insurance deductibles and taxes and vehicle registrations. Delivery cost also includes payments made to freight companies for the shipment of products from distribution centers operated by ARI.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You may, but are not obligated to, participate in ARI’s fleet leasing or fleet purchasing programs. See Item 7 of the UFOC for the estimated cost for a delivery vehicle. ARI depreciates delivery vehicles that it purchases on a straight-line basis over 3 years with a 35% salvage value. Some delivery vehicles are leased and the monthly lease amount appears in this line item. Insurance rates for delivery vehicles will vary depending on the state and type of area (metropolitan or rural) in which the Franchised Business is located, and the amount and types of insurance coverage you maintain.

Note 10: Inventory Write-Offs

DEFINED: Inventory Write-Offs are the net book value of all inventory write-offs due to: customer skips, inventory shortages, inventory that is not picked up when lease agreements are not renewed and inventory that is damaged beyond repair. All fees paid to outside collection agencies for collections on bad debts and all expenses incurred outside of the normal course of business in collecting extremely delinquent lease fees are included in this line item. When calculating cash flow for its internal purposes, ARI does not consider fees that have been paid to outside collection agencies, which range from $500 to $2,000 per store per year, to be a cash expense (see Note 16).

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You may be required to pay to your financial institution any outstanding loan amount on inventory that is written off at the time it is written off, and you may also utilize an outside collection agency more or less frequently than ARI.

Note 11: General Operating Cost

DEFINED: General Operating Cost is the sum of all operating expenses, including: telephone, office supplies, postage, general liability insurance, bank charges, credit card charges, miscellaneous charges, petty cash shortages, miscellaneous legal expenses, local business licenses and permits, store personnel errand and travel expense and generally a division allocation (beginning February 1996) and generally a regional allocation (beginning July 1995).For company operated stores (prior to April 1, 2000), the division/regional allocation was generally determined by calculating ARI’s division/regional cost, and allocating it to ARI’s stores pro-rata, based on the respective amount of revenues generated by such stores. For company operated stores (effective April 1, 2000), ARI began allocating the divisional/regional allocation based on 3% of each store’s total monthly revenue. Beginning January 1, 2004, for company operated stores, ARI allocated the divisional/regional allocation based on 2% of each store’s net revenue (net revenue being defined as total revenue minus cost of sales).

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: Your general liability insurance coverage will vary depending on the state(s) in which the Franchised Business operates, and the amounts and types of coverage you maintain. See Item 7 of the UFOC for an estimate of insurance costs. You will not be required to pay a division/regional allocation. However, you must pay to ARI a Continuing License Fee of 5% or 6% of weekly Gross Revenues.

Note 12: General Office Allocation

DEFINED: ARI operated stores are generally charged a General Office Allocation of 4.5% to 6.5% by the ARI home office. The current General Office Allocation is 5%.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You will not be required to pay a General Office Allocation. However, you must pay to ARI a Continuing License Fee of 5% or 6% of your weekly Gross Revenues.

Note 13: Pre-Tax Earnings

DEFINED: Pre-Tax Earnings is Total Revenue minus the sum of: Cost of Sales, Personnel Cost, Selling Cost, Occupancy Cost, Inventory Carrying Cost, Delivery Cost, Inventory Write-Offs and Collection Fees, General Operating Cost, General Office Allocation and Miscellaneous Other Costs.

Note 14: Depreciation

DEFINED: Depreciation is the total of all depreciation of lease inventory and fixed assets associated with store operations. The depreciation methods and periods are listed under the note for each expense described above which includes a depreciation component. This item does not include the net book value of inventory write-offs. The depreciation schedules used by ARI are for internal book purposes only. You should seek advice on depreciation from your financial advisor or personal accountant. ARI makes no recommendation as to the method of depreciation to be used by you for tax purposes.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You may elect to amortize intangible and depreciate lease inventory and fixed assets on a basis different than that used by ARI (for tax purposes).

Note 15: Net Inventory Purchases

DEFINED: Net Inventory Purchases is the sum of all electronics, appliances, furniture and other lease inventory purchased. These items are reflected in the month the merchandise is received in the store, not when the invoice is paid. These numbers also represent the net of book value of inventory transferred between ARI operated stores and inventory transferred from certain ARI operated stores to ARI operated distribution centers or clearance centers for disposal.

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: You may, but are not obligated to, participate in ARI’s combined purchasing power, and to purchase inventory from ARI’s furniture manufacturing division, MacTavish, for inventory pricing benefits. Your inventory purchases may vary if you have multiple locations and you transfer inventory to and from those locations.

If you utilize the SunTrust Bank inventory financing program, you will pay one eighteenth or one twenty-fourth (depending on the items being financed) of your monthly inventory purchases as a principal payment, and interest on the total outstanding balance, to your financial institution(s) on a monthly basis (see item 10). These payments should be considered in any pro forma income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows for the Franchised Business.

Note 16: Pre-Tax Cash Flow

DEFINED: Pre-Tax Cash Flow is the sum of Pre-Tax Earnings, plus Depreciation, less Net Inventory Purchases, plus Cost of Sales, plus Inventory Write-Offs (see Note 10).

VARIANCES FOR FRANCHISEE: Pre-tax cash flow assumes cash purchases of inventory. You may elect to finance your inventory purchases over a period of time through various lenders (including the eighteen-month SunTrust loan program available for qualified franchisees described in Item 10). In determining cash flow, you may consider other cash payments made that are not directly expensed in the period in which the expenditure occurred.

Click here to see Table 1
Click here to see Table 2