Rent-A-Wreck Rockets Into 25th Year with Record Sales

14 September 1998

Rent-A-Wreck Rockets Into 25th Year with Record Sales

    OWINGS MILLS, Md.--Sept. 14, 1998--As Rent-A-Wreck of America Inc. celebrates its 25th anniversary, recent earnings for the used-car rental company are at their highest level.
    Rent-A-Wreck reported a gain in pre tax income of 26 percent for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1998 over the previous year and has for the first quarter ending June 30, 1998 exceeded the same quarter of the previous year by 22 percent.
    The company also reported a 17 percent increase in the number of franchises for the year ending March 31, 1998 over the previous year and an increase of 21 percent for the first quarter ending June 30, 1998 over the same period in the previous year.
    The numbers sum up what has been a banner year for Rent-A-Wreck on many fronts. In past months, the company's name has been featured prominently on popular national television programs such as Oprah, The Tonight Show and The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
    It has also appeared frequently throughout the print media, in best-selling novels and even as the answer to a clue in the syndicated New York Times Crossword Puzzle.
    With over 500 franchisees throughout the nation and overseas, the company, which has found its niche as an economically-priced, neighborhood alternative for those who don't necessarily need a new vehicle, also has staked its claim as one of the only car rental companies to accept under-25 and cash customers.
    Although the higher earnings can be attributed in part to the public's increased recognition of the company and its longevity, not to be discounted is a new management team that took over in 1993.
    It has, in the past five years, successfully implemented new business philosophies involving a greater emphasis on marketing, stricter cost containment and the modernization of the company's communications systems.
    This year will be capped off with a 25th Anniversary celebration in Las Vegas, dedicated to the 70s and honoring company founder David Schwartz and the franchisees.
    For more information, contact Gene Blum at the company's corporate headquarters in Owings Mills, 800/421-7253, ext. 144.