MR RENTAL REACHES 60 STORE MILESTONE

The Mr Rental franchise, specializing in the rental of white goods and appliances, has this week opened its 60th store.

Sandy and Glenn Travers are the franchisees of the milestone store located in Moonah, which is also incidentally the first Mr Rental store to open in Tasmania.

Mr Rental was founded in 1991 by Glen and Kerrianne Hickman, on Bribie Island, just an hour north of Brisbane on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland.

It was here that they started their first business venture, opening a local video library. They started renting appliances such as VCRs and TVs from their store and soon realized they were making more from appliance rentals than video rentals. They sold the video store and opened Mr Rental.

For ten years, this enterprising husband and wife team built their business in their local community, developing and optimizing their Mr Rental systems. In 2001 they took the bold move to start franchising, with a vision for Mr Rental to become "the world's first choice in home appliance renting".

Within two years they had over 30 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand, growing to 60 stores today.

Mr Rental has always been heavily involved in the local community. The franchise as a whole raised close to $80K in the last 18 months for the Cancer Council through annual conferences, training and Cancer Council events.

Attracting franchisees that are impressed by the strong family culture and lifestyle balance of the organization, Mr Rental is also the Franchise Council of Australia's 2008 Emerging Franchise System of the Year.

Indeed, the service offered by Mr Rental franchises across Australia has grown in demand among local families, due to a trend of renting rather than buying white goods and appliances, particularly in the current economy.

"Renting is an attractive option for families looking to maximise their cashflow by not having to purchase big ticket items outright, while ensuring they're not denying their family's basic needs", Mr Rental General Manager, Alan Payne, said.

"Our franchisees supply fridges, TV's, washers, dryers, televisions, sound systems, game consoles and even furniture within 24 hours and look after any repairs or issues with any of the appliances", says Mr Rental General Manager, Alan Payne.

"Reaching 60 stores is a very special and remarkable milestone for us, and I am blessed to be working with an incredibly supportive and talented network of franchisees, who have shared my vision and helped make this achievement a reality", Mr Hickman said.