SEI/Aaron's was founded on April 1, 1995 by Charles Smithgall, Chairman and CEO, and is Aaron's largest franchisee operating over 85 stores located primarily in the Northeast. Aaron's (NYSE:AAN) is the nation's fastest growing specialty retailer of major household goods with over 1,900 stores in 48 states and $2.7 billion in annual revenues.
We opened our first Aaron's store on November 29, 1995 and subsequently developed eight stores in the Kentucky/Indiana area before expanding to the Northeast in 1999. We have continued opening new stores as well as acquiring existing stores from Aaron’s, Inc. and other Aaron’s franchisees.
Dave Edwards, President and COO of SEI/Aaron's, joined the company in 2000 when SEI/Aaron's acquired his franchise company. SEI/Aaron's has been selected by Inc Magazine as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in America, and with over $125 million in annual revenue, SEI/Aaron's is the third largest company in the rent-to-own retail industry.