New Aaron’s Owner to Explore 'Many Markets' for BrandsMart Expansion

Lease-to-own retailer Aaron’s agreed to buy BrandsMart from the Perlman family for $230 million in cash, said the buyer Wednesday. The transaction, which is expected to close in Q2, would give Aaron’s access to BrandMart’s big-box store format and to product assortments it doesn’t currently carry, plus offer BrandsMart customers new “in-house” lease-to-own payment options they didn’t previously have, it said. Aaron’s reported $1.85 billion in 2021 revenue. Privately held BrandsMart had $757 million in 2021 sales, said Aaron’s: “With this transaction, we believe that Aaron's will deliver over $3 billion in total annual revenues.” BrandsMart runs 10 stores in Florida and Georgia, plus has a "growing e-commerce channel," said Aaron's CEO Douglas Lindsay on a Thursday investor call. Its stores average $75 million in annual revenue, and have an average store size of more than 100,000 square feet, he said. "BrandsMart attracts a loyal and diverse customer base by offering hundreds of brands and thousands of products with best-in-class pricing," said Lindsay. The BrandsMart buy "broadens our customer reach and significantly expands our total addressable market," he said. "We expect to operate Aaron's and BrandsMart as separate business segments, each operating under their current brand." The transaction also yields "significant purchasing power and cost synergies," he said. Aaron's plans to open one or two new BrandsMart stores a year "in adjacent geographic areas where BrandsMart enjoys strong brand recognition," said Lindsay: "We will be disciplined in executing the BrandsMart new store-opening initiative as we explore the many markets that could support their store model."