St. Marys’ newest business, Aaron’s, features a wide variety of name brand of home furnishings available for lease or purchase. The store is celebrating its grand opening today through Saturday.

By Amy Cherry
Daily Press Staff

As St. Marys’ newest business, Aaron’s features a wide variety of home products, all available for leasing or buying. 

Store Manager Rick Butto said the store opened its doors on March 21 and is celebrating its grand opening beginning today through Saturday.

Located on the Million Dollar Highway in a portion of the former Ames building, the interior and exterior of the store have been completely renovated.

Customers will find a vast display of living and bedroom sets, appliances, televisions, computers and small electronics, such as digital and video cameras and GPS units. The store carries top name brands such as Simmons bedding, GE, Maytag and Amana appliances, Dell and Compaq computers, RCA, Sony, ProScan and JVC televisions, as well as Riverside, La-Z-Boy, People Loungers and Southern Motion furniture.

“Aaron’s likes small towns and communities, because the stores are different from big box stores. The stores try to draw from their immediate surrounding communities rather than from a wide geographic area,” Butto said. “Each store is run like its own company.”

At Aaron’s, customers have the choice to lease or purchase items. Butto emphasized the store works with customers to lease to own rather than rent to own. He said the main difference is that other businesses that rent to own, may rent the same item numerous times. When leasing to own, customers pay a monthly fee in shorter terms, with the eventual goal of owning the item.

“We are concerned with the life of the customer, not the life of the merchandise,” Butto said. “We will help the customers through any income crisis they may encounter.”

“Aaron’s managers are under the same agreement that with the unstable economy, Aaron’s offers peace of mind that if customers encounter a financial crisis, the store will help them out,” according to Butto.

He added that the store offers lifetime reinstatement. Should a  customer return merchandise due to inability to make payments, Aaron’s can reinstate their lease agreement picking up where they left off within two years time.

“We want return business from our customers,” Butto said.

Aaron’s also guarantees its price on the same retail make and model from fellow competitors. The store will match competitor’s price if found to be lower than what is offered at Aaron’s.

At Aaron’s, the majority of its furniture is American made by Mactavish based in Atlanta, GA. Butto said this eliminates the middle man markup.

The company is also one of Dell computers only national partners. Butto said the store also offers a two year warranty on all brand name televisions.

If specific merchandise is not available in the showroom, the store can order it from its distributor in Maryland. Butto added the St. Marys store receives new shipments every Monday.

Another facet of Aaron’s is the website www.aaronrents.com. The site features the company’s entire stock of merchandise including tires, rims and corporate furnishing.

Founded in 1955, each of the 1,500 Aaron’s store donates $2,500 annually to the surrounding community through the company’s ACORP - Aaron’s Community Out-Reach Program.