Two years after nearly doubling the size of its business with its acquisition of Acima Holdings, Plano-Based Rent-A-Center has adopted a new parent entity name—Upbound Group, Inc.—and is changing its stock ticker. But its Rent-A-Center and Acima businesses will continue to operate under their existing names.

The company will begin to trade under the ticker NASDAQ: UPBD on February 27. It currently operates over 2,400 Rent-A-Center retail units across the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico, as well as Acima’s third-party, virtual lease-to-own solutions and RAC’s Acceptance Now flexible leasing unit.

CEO Mitch Fadel

“Upbound is more than a brand,” CEO Mitch Fadel said in a statement. “It represents a new enterprise operating model to better capitalize on existing synergies and resources, execute commercial operations and cross-brand strategies, and innovate with existing and new products.”

Growing beyond its roots and into a ‘unified, multi-brand platform company’

The company’s growth—and its commitment to enabling “a broader range of consumers to access flexible financial solutions”—motivated the corporate name change, which Fadel sees as a significant evolutionary step.

“Two years ago, Rent-A-Center Inc. closed on its acquisition of Acima Holdings, almost doubling the size of the Company and dramatically changing both organizations,” Fadel said. “We are now a unified, multi-brand platform company that includes more than just the Rent-A-Center business. We’re thrilled to launch Upbound, a new enterprise brand and operating structure that will better serve our business and mission.”

“This announcement is a significant milestone in our evolution and strategic plan, as we strive to offer more inclusive financial solutions that address the changing and growing needs of consumers,” he added.

Upbound aims to help customers move up the credit chain

Upbound CFO Fahmi Karam told the PYMTS news service that Upbound is more than a holding company—it has a philosophy of “moving [customers] up the credit chain, if you will, giving them more financing solutions, more alternatives, and giving them a little bit more financial confidence.”

CFO Fahmi Karam

“Inflation has hit our customers extremely hard,” Karam told PYMTS. ” If you think about who our core customers are, it’s people who typically don’t have traditional credit and can’t get traditional loans or credit cards.”

Despite economic struggles caused by the pandemic and resulting inflation, the company’s debt portfolio has “normalized since the third quarter of 2021, and even peaked above normal in 2022,” Karam told PYMTS. “So, we’ve adjusted, our consumers adjusted as well, and we’re bringing those losses and those delinquencies back into what we consider more normal levels.”

Offering customers ‘a broader set of financial solutions’

Upbound says it will provide strategic planning and shared services for all of its businesses, aiming “to support and lead the development of innovative, inclusive, and technology-driven solutions that address the needs and aspirations of consumers.”

“Based on our experience and relationships with millions of our own customers, we have the data and analytics capabilities to offer them a broader set of financial solutions, including targeted credit and point-of-sale loan products,” CEO Fadel said in the statement. “Upbound can help elevate our customers, providing them with greater access and a path towards financial flexibility.”

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