Aaron’s names new CEO

Aaron’s, the chain of more than 2,100 rent-to-own retails stores in North America, did not have to look too far for its new chief executive. The Atlanta-based brand has named John W. Robinson III, chief executive of Progressive Leasing, as its new CEO. Robinson replaces Gil Danielson in the top post. Danielson remains as Aaron’s chief financial officer after serving as both CFO and interim CEO since August. Since Aaron’s acquisition of Progressive Leasing in April for a reported $700 million transaction, Robinson had also been an executive vice president for Aaron’s. He will now join the company’s board of directors. “The board and management team worked closely with John throughout the past year, before, during and after the acquisition of Progressive,” said Ray Robinson, chairman of Aaron’s. “His experience in the rent-to-own industry and his vision for positioning Aaron’s for continued success will help drive the company forward as we leverage our broad retail footprint, our leadership in virtual RTO and our strong franchisee relationships.” John Robinson joined Progressive in 2012 and brought about exponential growth for the company, which specializes in online rent-to-own transactions. Progressive’s annual revenue increased from $228 million in 2012 to a projected $700 million expected for 2014. “Aaron’s is working hard on creating the best RTO experience available for our customers,” he said. “I’m energized and look forward to continuing the work that we’ve already begun to meet our customers’ changing needs through a fully developed omni-channel platform. We are making good progress on our goals and continue to focus on driving improved results for shareholders.” Costs associated with the Progressive acquisition caused Aaron’s third-quarter earnings to decline 56 percent, offsetting a gain in revenue of nearly $200 million that resulted from Progressive’s contribution to the company’s sales.