Rent-A-Center Celebrates 50th Anniversary with “50 Days, 50 Drops” Campaign

The campaign begins Monday, July 24 and lasts until Tuesday, Sept. 12

PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rent-A-Center, Inc., an Upbound Group, Inc. company (NASDAQ UPBD), and a leading provider of technology driven and flexible leasing solutions with over 2,100 storefronts, celebrates its 50^th anniversary in 2023 with a 50-day campaign aimed to engage and energize coworkers, celebrate customers and invite new customers to experience the rent-to-own industry.

The campaign, called “50 Days, 50 Drops,” is set to begin Monday, July 24 and will showcase the Rent-A-Center brand to the modern world by creating interest in the industry and offering luxury products for rent from brands never-before-seen at RAC that you’ll have to see to believe. Hot items and offers will drop every day throughout the campaign.

“It’s encouraging and exciting to see how far we’ve come as an industry in just 50 years,” said Anthony Blasquez, EVP – Operations at Rent-A-Center. “The upcoming 50/50 campaign is going to be a great way to introduce the brand to customers who may have never considered the flexibility of rent-to-own before, and we look forward to seeing what the next 50 years has in store as we continue to innovate on our value proposition.”

The rent-to-own industry was created in the early 1960s by a small-town retailer named Ernie Talley, who had a large number of potential customers denied credit to get the products they needed for their homes and families. He believed everyone deserved an opportunity to receive products, no matter their credit, so Talley created an agreement that provided these customers with the opportunity to get new, quality products they might not otherwise be able to by making small weekly or monthly payments on the items, with the flexibility to eventually own those products if they chose to. The Rent-A-Center brand was founded in Kansas City, Missouri in 1973 when Thomas Devlin, one of Ernie Talley’s former employees, established a storefront that solely focused on renting brand-name products. Now, this industry serves millions of customers and continues to grow in size and revenue.

In order to participate in the campaign, customers must text “DROPS” to 94210 to get on the list. Everyone on the list will receive a text message every day of the campaign with a link to the dropped item that is guaranteed to sell out quickly, or an exclusive deal.

Customers shopping in Rent-A-Center stores can also scan the QR code to see prior drops and work with store coworkers to see the full catalog of rent-to-own items.

For more information, please visit rentacenter.com/drops.

About Rent-A-Center, Inc:

Rent-A-Center, Inc., now part of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD), is an omni-channel platform company committed to elevating financial opportunity for all through innovative, inclusive, and technology-driven financial solutions that address the evolving needs and aspirations of consumers. The Company's customer-facing operating units include industry-leading brands such as Rent-A-Center® and Acima® that facilitate consumer transactions across a wide range of store-based and digital retail channels, including over 2,400 company branded retail units across the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Upbound Group, Inc. is headquartered in Plano, Texas.