Need a smartphone to use while yours is out of commission? Want to make monthly payments for a smartphone but don’t qualify to do so through your phone company? If so, you may soon be able to rent a smartphone from your local Rent-A-Center.
With profits for the second quarter now projected to be lower than analysts anticipated, Rent-A-Center is looking for new ways to generate revenue. Rent-A-Center, the country’s largest rent-to-own operator, is planning to roll out the new smartphone program in its 2,800 stores in the United States by the end of this month.
“There’s already a pronounced appetite for smartphones and no-contract airtime plans,” said CEO Robert Davis. “While the roll-out of the smartphone product is part of a plan to address our business performance, we are also in the midst of a multi-year program designed to transform and modernize our operations company-wide in order to improve the profitability of our Core U.S. segment.”
The company will carry several models of the Samsung Galaxy phones, as well as other lesser-known models. The phones will work through carriers like NET 10 Wireless, SIMPLE Mobile and Telcel America.