EZCorp
Encyclopedia
EZCorp is the largest pawn shop operator in the world by market capitalization. It is a publicly traded company based in Austin, Texas
. The company is primarily involved with retail
, payday lending
, signature loans, and pawn lending.
EZCorp lends or provides credit services to individuals to meet their short-term cash needs. The company makes pawn
loans, which are non recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, including jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments. The company also offers signature loans, consisting of payday loans or fee-based credit services, to customers seeking loans from unaffiliated lenders. The company purchased by a New York Private Equity firm in 1989 with 16 pawn shops and now operates over 890 stores in 13 states and Mexico
under the names of EZPAWN, EZMONEY Loan Services, EZMONEY Payday Loans and EZ Loan Services brand names. EZCORP had its IPO on September 6, 1991.
EZCORP also holds approximately 29 percent of the outstanding shares of Albemarle & Bond Holdings, the largest pawnbroker in the United Kingdom
EZCorp also holds around 30 percent of the outstanding shares of Cash Converters
, which has over 550 locations in Australia and in 21 countries.
In late 2008 EZCORP purchased Pawn Plus and ASAP Pawn (two large Las Vegas
based loan providers). In January 2009 EZCORP bought Value Financial, the world's largest privately owned short term credit provider.
In 2007, Business Week named EZCorp on its Hot Growth 100 list.
In 1989, Morgan Schiff & Co.
first invested in the company, leaving Logue as CEO. By 1991, Morgan Schiff had become the majority owner, and had decided to take the company public. With the capital injection from Morgan Schiff and the IPO, EZCorp expanded store fronts. Logue struggled as an executive, and Morgan Schiff brought in Vincent Liambase to be CEO. Liambase had previously been the CEO of Blockbuster. Lambiase created three executive-level positions: chief financial officer, vice-president of operations, and vice-president of marketing and merchandising. At the time he also decentralized certain controls and decision-making responsibilities to the store level, making store managers reported to regional managers. EZCORP used computer technology to facilitate management, with a new point-of-sale computer system and management information systems that allowed regional and central managers to obtain real-time data from individual store systems. EZCORP continued to open new stores but also closed stores that did not meet certain performance standards. At the end 1995 the company closed an additional 18 stores. At the start of 1996 EZCORP operated 245 stores in 11 states: 147 in Texas; 24 in Colorado; 21 in Indiana; 15 in Alabama; nine in Mississippi; nine in Georgia; eight in Oklahoma; seven in Tennessee; three in Louisiana; one in Arkansas; and one in Florida.
To provide another outlet for excess jewelry inventory, EZCORP opened two JewelryLand Outlet stores in Atlanta in September 1996. The 1500 square feet (139.4 m²) stores resembled typical mall jewelry stores but operated like the retail end of a pawnshop. At 60 to 70 percent of actual value, jewelry prices ranged from $10 to $5,000.EZCORP rebounded from its mid-1990s financial difficulties. In 1998, the company closed only one store, acquired three stores, and established 35 new stores, for a total of 286 stores in operation. EZCORP entered three new markets, California, with six stores in Sacramento, and Las Vegas and Raleigh-Durham, with three stores each. The company attempted to reach a wider audience through the Internet with EZPAWN.com. The web site offered over 400,000 items for sale, but was intended primarily to sell its pre-owned, one-of-a-kind jewelry. A "virtual-photo jewelry tray" contained similar styles of jewelry for display upon request at the web site. In August 2000 Joseph Rotunda, after five months as COO, became CEO at EZCORP, while Lambiase became vice-chairman of the board. Rotunda brought experience from Thorn Americas, where he oversaw impressive growth of the Rent-A-Center
, Remco, and U-Can-Rent stores, which increased from a total of 700 to 1,400 stores. EZCorp overtook Friedman's Inc.
as Morgan Schiff & Co.
's largest investment. The company continues to battle government regulation, and is investing abroad.
, giving the company stores in Canada, France, Malaysia, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. Two EZCorp board members will serve on Cash Converter's board. Reg Webb, chairman of Cash Converters
, said about the deal:
“We are very pleased and excited by the prospect of having a cornerstone investor who brings not only financial support but also significant knowledge capital to the table. EZCORP have demonstrated in their relationship with Albermarle & Bond that they have a long term investment strategy and we look forward to their support as we accelerate the transformation of Cash Converters into a substantial store operating Company.”
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The company is primarily involved with retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, payday lending
Payday loan
A payday loan is a small, short-term loan that is intended to cover a borrower's expenses until his or her next payday. The loans are also sometimes referred to as cash advances, though that term can also refer to cash provided against a prearranged line of credit such as a credit card...
, signature loans, and pawn lending.
EZCorp lends or provides credit services to individuals to meet their short-term cash needs. The company makes pawn
Pawnbroker
A pawnbroker is an individual or business that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral...
loans, which are non recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property, including jewelry, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments. The company also offers signature loans, consisting of payday loans or fee-based credit services, to customers seeking loans from unaffiliated lenders. The company purchased by a New York Private Equity firm in 1989 with 16 pawn shops and now operates over 890 stores in 13 states and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
under the names of EZPAWN, EZMONEY Loan Services, EZMONEY Payday Loans and EZ Loan Services brand names. EZCORP had its IPO on September 6, 1991.
EZCORP also holds approximately 29 percent of the outstanding shares of Albemarle & Bond Holdings, the largest pawnbroker in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
EZCorp also holds around 30 percent of the outstanding shares of Cash Converters
Cash Converters
Cash Converters International Limited is a worldwide pawnbroking franchise company. They also offer small financial loans to people. -Australia:Cash Converters International is a franchised retail network listed on the ASX and London Stock Exchange....
, which has over 550 locations in Australia and in 21 countries.
In late 2008 EZCORP purchased Pawn Plus and ASAP Pawn (two large Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
based loan providers). In January 2009 EZCORP bought Value Financial, the world's largest privately owned short term credit provider.
In 2007, Business Week named EZCorp on its Hot Growth 100 list.
History
In 1974 Courtland L. Logue, Jr., opened his first pawn shop in Austin, Texas. He retired as an accountant to build his chain. Logue located these stores near large grocery stores in lower-middle income communities rather than in impoverished neighborhoods. Seeking to counter the stereotype of pawn shops as dingy or seedy, Logue tried to paint his stores in a different fashion.In 1989, Morgan Schiff & Co.
Morgan Schiff & Co.
Morgan Schiff & Co. was an investment house founded by Phillip Ean Cohen which was a prominent Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity firm from its founding in the mid 1980s to the late 1990s. The firm was discontinued after the bankruptcy of Friedman's Inc., the largest jewelry bankruptcy of...
first invested in the company, leaving Logue as CEO. By 1991, Morgan Schiff had become the majority owner, and had decided to take the company public. With the capital injection from Morgan Schiff and the IPO, EZCorp expanded store fronts. Logue struggled as an executive, and Morgan Schiff brought in Vincent Liambase to be CEO. Liambase had previously been the CEO of Blockbuster. Lambiase created three executive-level positions: chief financial officer, vice-president of operations, and vice-president of marketing and merchandising. At the time he also decentralized certain controls and decision-making responsibilities to the store level, making store managers reported to regional managers. EZCORP used computer technology to facilitate management, with a new point-of-sale computer system and management information systems that allowed regional and central managers to obtain real-time data from individual store systems. EZCORP continued to open new stores but also closed stores that did not meet certain performance standards. At the end 1995 the company closed an additional 18 stores. At the start of 1996 EZCORP operated 245 stores in 11 states: 147 in Texas; 24 in Colorado; 21 in Indiana; 15 in Alabama; nine in Mississippi; nine in Georgia; eight in Oklahoma; seven in Tennessee; three in Louisiana; one in Arkansas; and one in Florida.
To provide another outlet for excess jewelry inventory, EZCORP opened two JewelryLand Outlet stores in Atlanta in September 1996. The 1500 square feet (139.4 m²) stores resembled typical mall jewelry stores but operated like the retail end of a pawnshop. At 60 to 70 percent of actual value, jewelry prices ranged from $10 to $5,000.EZCORP rebounded from its mid-1990s financial difficulties. In 1998, the company closed only one store, acquired three stores, and established 35 new stores, for a total of 286 stores in operation. EZCORP entered three new markets, California, with six stores in Sacramento, and Las Vegas and Raleigh-Durham, with three stores each. The company attempted to reach a wider audience through the Internet with EZPAWN.com. The web site offered over 400,000 items for sale, but was intended primarily to sell its pre-owned, one-of-a-kind jewelry. A "virtual-photo jewelry tray" contained similar styles of jewelry for display upon request at the web site. In August 2000 Joseph Rotunda, after five months as COO, became CEO at EZCORP, while Lambiase became vice-chairman of the board. Rotunda brought experience from Thorn Americas, where he oversaw impressive growth of the Rent-A-Center
Rent-A-Center
Rent-A-Center is an American public furniture and electronics rent to own company based in Plano, Texas. The company was incorporated in 1986 and as of 2010 operates 3,007 company-owned stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico, accounting for 38% of the rent-to-own market in...
, Remco, and U-Can-Rent stores, which increased from a total of 700 to 1,400 stores. EZCorp overtook Friedman's Inc.
Friedman's Inc.
Friedman's Inc. was a US company that owned and operated fine jewelry specialty stores under the names Friedman's Jewelers and Crescent Jewelers. The company declared bankruptcy in 2008 and had shuttered all stores by June 2008. The company was established in Savannah, Georgia in 1920. Friedman's...
as Morgan Schiff & Co.
Morgan Schiff & Co.
Morgan Schiff & Co. was an investment house founded by Phillip Ean Cohen which was a prominent Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity firm from its founding in the mid 1980s to the late 1990s. The firm was discontinued after the bankruptcy of Friedman's Inc., the largest jewelry bankruptcy of...
's largest investment. The company continues to battle government regulation, and is investing abroad.
EZPawn
The Company’s pawnshops make pawn loans, which typically are small, non-recourse loans collateralized by tangible personal property. As of September 30, 2008, it had approximately 757,000 loans outstanding. A majority of its United States pawn loans earn 20% per month, or 240% annually. Collateral for its pawn loans consists of tangible personal property, generally jewellery, consumer electronics, tools, sporting goods, and musical instruments. The collateral is held through the duration of the loan, which in most United States locations is 60 days and in Mexico is 40 days. EZPawn also sells electronics, jewellery, tools, musical instruments, and other second hand merchandise.EZMoney
EZCorp offers signature loans, consisting of payday loans or fee-based credit services to customers seeking loans from unaffiliated lenders. Signature loans are unsecured. In determining whether to lend or provide credit services, the Company performs a very limited review of customer information. In Texas stores some services consist of advice and assistance to customers in obtaining loans from unaffiliated lenders. The company does not make, fund, or participate in the loans made by the lenders, but earn a fee for assisting customers in obtaining credit and by enhancing their creditworthiness by issuing a letter of credit.International
EZCorp is also a large shareholder in Albemarle & Bond. Sterling Brinkley, Phillip Cohen, and Joe Rotunda are all on the board of the company. EZCorp recently purchased shares of Cash ConvertersCash Converters
Cash Converters International Limited is a worldwide pawnbroking franchise company. They also offer small financial loans to people. -Australia:Cash Converters International is a franchised retail network listed on the ASX and London Stock Exchange....
, giving the company stores in Canada, France, Malaysia, Spain, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. Two EZCorp board members will serve on Cash Converter's board. Reg Webb, chairman of Cash Converters
Cash Converters
Cash Converters International Limited is a worldwide pawnbroking franchise company. They also offer small financial loans to people. -Australia:Cash Converters International is a franchised retail network listed on the ASX and London Stock Exchange....
, said about the deal:
“We are very pleased and excited by the prospect of having a cornerstone investor who brings not only financial support but also significant knowledge capital to the table. EZCORP have demonstrated in their relationship with Albermarle & Bond that they have a long term investment strategy and we look forward to their support as we accelerate the transformation of Cash Converters into a substantial store operating Company.”