Who Is Ernest Talley A Pioneer In The Rent-To-Own Industry?

Introduction
Ernest Talley is a pioneer in the rent-to-own industry, having founded one of the first rent-to-own chains in 1963. He sold that business in 1974 and went into commercial real estate in Dallas. In 1987, after the Texas real estate crash, Talley and his son Michael started Talley Leasing, which rented appliances to apartment complex owners. Talley bought Vista Rent To Own, a chain of 22 stores in New Jersey and Puerto Rico, in 1989. He upgraded merchandise, increased selection, updated information and data systems, and improved store management. In 1993 the company acquired DEF, an 84-store chain, and repeated the upgrading process. That year the company changed its name to Renters Choice. It went public in 1995 and used the proceeds

In 1996 the company acquired Texasbased competitor ColorTyme, adding another 320 stores (most of them franchises). Renters Choice acquired Trans Texas Capital, another rental purchase enterprise, the following year. In 1998 the company bought Central Rents, owner of about 180 stores, for $103 million and paid $900 million (most of it borrowed) for rival Thorn Americas, which operated some 1,400 stores under the Rent-A-Center, Remco, and UCan-Rent brands. Renters Choice then changed its name to Rent-A-Center. Also that year it settled a class-action lawsuit with 20,000 customers for $12 million; the suit alleged that the company had misled consumers about actual finance costs. Rent-A-Center lost an appeal of another lawsuit in 1999 and was ordered to pay $30 million to 30,000 consumers for charging interest rates as high as 750%. After making no acquisitions in 1999, Rent-A-Center announced in 2000 that it would be adding 100-plus stores annually. The company also began offering Internet service (originally for $5.95 per week through BellSouth and then, in 2001, offering free service through NetZero). Talley retired in 2001 and Mark Speese was named

Two years later Rent-A-Center bought 295 stores (located in 38 states) from rival Rent-Way for just more than $100 million. In 2004 the company acquired Rent Rite (90 stores in 11 states) and Rainbow Rentals (124 stores in 15 states). Also that year Rent-A-Center broke into the Canadian market with the purchase of five stores in Alberta for $2.4 million. The company settled a lawsuit in April 2005 related to its business practices in California -- Benjamin Griego, et al. v. Rent-A-Center, Inc. -- by agreeing to pay the plaintiff's attorneys' fees as well as about $37.5 million cash to eligible customers who entered into rental-purchase agreements with the company between early 1999 and late 2004. In December 2005 the company sold the rental contracts and merchandise of 19 stores to Aaron's for about $4.4 million. Rent-A-Center acquired Rent-Way in 2006 for about $600 million. As a result, Rent-Way became a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the company. In 2007 Rent-A-Center closed or merged about 275 stores. Another dozen or so locations met with a similar fate in early 2008. The closings were designed to relieve oversaturation in some of the company's markets. Store closing continued in 2009 and to a lesser