Aaron’s Gets Boost From BrandsMart Acquisition

Furniture, appliance and electronics retailer Aaron’s says its recent acquisition of BrandsMart U.S.A. will boosted the company’s short- and long-term fortunes, pointing to both quarterly and full year boost in sales and earnings, according to a company press release.

“With the acquisition of BrandsMart U.S.A., consolidated revenues increased in the second quarter, and we are encouraged by the performance of this new business segment,” Aaron’s CEO Douglas Lindsay said in the release, noting that customer demand and payment activity in its flagship brand progressively worsened through the quarter as high inflation took an especially hard toll on lower-income consumers.

“In response to these challenging market conditions, we are leveraging our centralized lease decisioning and digital servicing platforms to maintain relationships with our customers and strengthening actions to control costs,” Lindsay added.

Aaron’s is investing in its growing eCommerce segment, its GenNext store refresh program and the value creation opportunities available through the BrandsMart acquisition, Lindsay added in the release.

“[W]e believe these investments enable us to continue delivering a market leading value proposition to a large and increasingly diversified customer base that will expand our market share and position us for future growth,” he said.

Last week, home furnishings retailer Made.com forecast a decline of 15% to 30% in gross sales this year, sending its stock price plummeting and signaling the era of big-ticket furniture purchases is over while a likely economic recession looms.

Read more: Made.com Lowers Guidance for Second Time This Year as Big-Ticket Sales Stall

Made shares fell as much as 41%, putting them at their lowest level since the company launched its initial public offering (IPO) last year. The company was one of the big winners during the height of the pandemic as people improved their homes while they couldn’t leave them.

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