1851

Louis Garcia has been in the rent-to-own sector for years. As part of <a href="http://www.racfranchising.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=rent-a-center-signs-another-massive-40-unit-franchise-deal-2708932" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rent-A-Center</a>&rsquo;s re-franchising initiative, he and his investment partners now own 41 stores across the greater Baltimore, MD and Washington D.C. areas.

Rent-A-Center&rsquo;s re-franchising program revolves around partnering great operators with sophisticated franchise investors. &ldquo;Year after year we&rsquo;ve handed out top performance awards to Louis&rsquo;s stores&rdquo; said Cathy Skula, Rent-A-Center&rsquo;s EVP of franchising. &ldquo;I couldn&rsquo;t think of a better-suited operator than Louis for our next big refranchising transaction.&rdquo;

Garcia began his career in the rent-to-own industry in 1981, first working as a driver for an independent rent-to-own dealer. Over the years, he worked for several rent-to-own companies in different capacities until he finally took the chance to get into business for himself in 2004.

&ldquo;I decided it was time to open my own business, so I found a partner and opened a ColorTyme franchise in Baltimore,&rdquo; Garcia said. &ldquo;We started with one location, and then eventually bought three more. Instead of expanding, we directed our focus to making our existing stores bigger and better.&rdquo;

Taking this approach to development paid off handsomely for Garcia, who was able to build his ColorTyme stores to some of the highest-performing in the system. After joining forces with two more business partners to reduce debt and increase the reach of their existing stores, Rent-A-Center approached Garcia&rsquo;s team about converting their ColorTyme locations to the Rent-A-Center brand and they emphatically agreed.

&ldquo;Rent-A-Center is a household name with a lot of great branding, so it made perfect sense for us to convert,&rdquo; Garcia explained. &ldquo;When we first converted, we were competing with Rent-A-Center corporate stores in close proximity to our former ColorTyme locations, but that didn&rsquo;t keep us from growing our business. We became one of the largest revenue producers in the Rent-A-Center system.&rdquo;

In early 2018 Rent-A-Center VP of Franchise Development Michael Landry reached out to Garcia with the idea of materially expanding his successful franchise operation in Maryland by pairing him with one of the many franchise investors interested in Rent-A-Center.

&ldquo;With our current stores in such strong standing, I began discussing expansion with Michael,&rdquo; Garcia said.

Garcia was introduced to a highly successful Texas-based investment group considering Rent-A-Center and other franchise investments. &nbsp;Both quickly realized it was a great opportunity. They retained David Paris partner at <a href="https://www.parisackerman.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=rent-a-center-signs-another-massive-40-unit-franchise-deal-2708932" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Paris Ackerman LLP</a>, who has worked on other Rent-A-Center transactions to help manage the acquisition.

Paris explained that his previous experience working with Rent-A-Center&rsquo;s leadership team was beneficial in getting the transaction completed in the desired timeframe of the parties. He currently represents the largest franchisee in the Rent-A-Center system, so he was able to present the investor with a firsthand perspective on the brand&rsquo;s business model.

&ldquo;We deal with many of the nation&rsquo;s top franchise brands in various industries, so I get to see how franchisors behave and treat their franchisees,&rdquo; Paris said. &ldquo;It goes without saying those relationships can get difficult, but I was very encouraged by how Rent-A-Center treated its franchisees. I like the business model on every level and everything I&rsquo;ve seen from Rent-A-Center points to the fact the brand bends over backward to create a partnership with its franchisees.&rdquo;

It didn&rsquo;t take long for the parties to begin working on the 37 unit corporate transaction and acquisition of Garcia&rsquo;s and his former investment partners 4 franchised stores simultaneously. Now complete, Garcia will have an ownership stake in 41 stores across Maryland and Virginia and is already planning on further growth. He explained that large-scale development with Rent-A-Center was an appealing business venture for a number of reasons.

&ldquo;Franchisees generally run their businesses more intimately than a corporation can,&rdquo; Garcia said. &ldquo;While a corporation does a great job with setup, training and disseminating information, someone immersed in daily operations with their hands on the pulse of the business can make quicker decisions. A corporation is like a battleship, where a franchisee is like a speedboat, capable of instantly changing direction to impact business. This deal gives us a ton of opportunity to make a significant difference in the market.&rdquo;

Paris echoed Garcia&rsquo;s sentiment, saying, &ldquo;I&#39;ve learned that as a lawyer who represents large multi-unit franchisees, my clients are interested in acquiring assets from corporate for that exact reason. Being closer to the business makes them better, more efficient operators. With Rent-A-Center, that is especially important. It&rsquo;s a local business that, at its core, deals in delicate relationships with customers with needs and stories and requires that special touch and feel that can sometimes dissipate when run by the corporate mothership.&rdquo;

For Garcia, the multi-unit deal is an opportunity to harness his rent-to-own expertise and apply what made his existing stores successful on a broader scale, a task he said he&#39;s excited to take on.

&ldquo;We&rsquo;re neighborhood stores, and people are the most important thing for us,&rdquo; Garcia said. &ldquo;Rent-to-own is unique in who we serve, so establishing a personal touch with our customer base will remain our priority. It begins and ends with our people.&rdquo;

Rent-A-Center Signs (Another) Massive 40-Unit Franchise Deal

1851 Franchise

Rent-A-Center Franchisee Louis Garcia will now have an ownership stake in 41 stores across Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

rent-a-center-signs-another-massive-40-unit-franchise-deal

SweatHouz

Science, Wellness, Growth: How SweatHouz CEO Mike Tan is Shaping the Future of Contrast Therapy Franchising

mike-tan-franchising-strategy-sweathouz

Biscuit Belly Franchising

Biscuit Belly Expands Across the Southeast U.S. With Six New Locations

biscuit-belly-expands-across-the-southeast-us-with-six-new-locations

Layne's Chicken Fingers

Photo of exterior of Layne's Chicken Fingers restaurant

Layne’s Chicken Fingers Signs Landmark 44-Restaurant Deal, Shatters Records in Monumental Third Quarter

laynes-chicken-franchise-growth-records

Children's Lighthouse

Why Children’s Lighthouse Is a Great Opportunity for Swim School Franchisees

why-childrens-lighthouse-is-a-great-opportunity-for-swim-school-franchisees

Children’s Lighthouse Closes the Third Quarter with Record Franchise Signings and New School Opening

childrenslighthouse-q3-2025-growth

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Amazon outage, AWS outage, Amazon AWS logo

The Day the Cloud Stalled: How Amazon's Outage Impacted Franchise Economy

amazon-aws-outage-franchise-impact-travel-dining-failure

Thursday 1851 Franchise Agg - NASAA’s Noncompete Push

NASAA’s Noncompete Push Puts Franchise Growth on Uncertain Ground

franchise-noncompete-nasaa-advisory-reasonableness-standard

How a Steady Economy Could Help Franchisors Plan Their Next Move

how-a-steady-economy-could-help-franchisors-plan-their-next-move

Bed Bath & Beyond - Franchise Expansion - Retail Strategy - 1851 Franchise

Bed Bath & Beyond Launches Franchise Model as Part of Comeback Strategy

bed-bath-beyond-franchise-expansion-retail-strategy

Senior Entrepreneurship - Franchising - 1851 Franchise

Senior Entrepreneurship Is Rising — And Franchising Is a Key Outlet

senior-entrepreneurship-franchising-silver-startups

image of franchise deep dive from 1851 franchise on doody calls franchise authority brands

DoodyCalls Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

doodycalls-franchise-deep-dive

image of mellow mushroom deep dive into financials article from 1851 franchise

Mellow Mushroom Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

mellow-mushroom-franchise-deep-dive

How goGLOW Turned Clean Beauty Into a Scalable Franchise and Why It’s Accelerating Now

goglow-clean-beauty-tanning-franchise

Shoot 360 Aims for the Topgolf Model, Using Elite Basketball Tech to Appeal to Players '7 to 70'

shoot-360-franchise-growth-tech-basketball-brad-butterworth

A Practical Playbook: Who To Call First When Franchising Your Business

franchising-your-business-who-to-call-first

image of jerome hanway from right at home Las Cruces, New Mexico 1851 franchise franchisee spotlight

Jerome Hanway Is Building His Right at Home Franchise Around His Mission To Serve

right-at-home-franchise-las-cruces-jerome-hanway

NJCAR v. Ford - New Jersey Supreme Court Limits Standing Under Franchise Practices Act

New Jersey Supreme Court Limits Standing Under Franchise Practices Act

new-jersey-franchise-practices-act-njcar-v-ford

graphic image of an 1851 franchisee spotlight brayden and johnny steven of teriyaki madness

Father-and-Daughter Team Bring Teriyaki Madness to Wichita, Kansas, With Big Expansion Plans

johnny-brayden-steven-teriyaki-madness-wichita

1851 Franchisee Spotlight graphic with photo of Barb Volk and KidStrong logo

Why This Orangetheory Fitness Franchise Owner Is Developing KidStrong Franchises

kidstrong-franchise-owner-barb-volk-2025

Rent-A-Center Signs (Another) Massive 40-Unit Franchise Deal

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS