NEW YORK, Jan. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Rent-A-Center, Inc. (“Rent-A-Center” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:RCII) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, and docketed under 16-cv-00981, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Rent-A-Center securities between July 27, 2015 and October 10, 2016, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants’ violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Rent-A-Center securities during the Class Period, you have until February 21, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
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Rent-A-Center operates a network of stores that provides consumer electronics, appliances, computers, smartphones, and furniture, under rental purchase agreements. In the summer of 2015, the Company began implementing a point-of-sale system and customer credit program in an effort to control inventories and increase revenues and profitability.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Rent-A-Center could not properly implement its new point-of-sale system; (ii) the point-of-sale system was performing extremely poorly, and in several instances had suffered complete outages; (iii) as a result, the Company’s Acceptance Now credit system could not be implemented properly; (iv) that the Company could not meet revenue and profitability guidance provided to investors; (v) as such, the Company would need to revise its prior guidance; and (vi) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants’ statements about Rent-A-Center’s business, operations, and prospects, were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
On October 11, 2016, the Company issued a press release entitled “Rent-A-Center, Inc. Announces Selected Preliminary Third Quarter 2016 Financial Information.” Therein, the Company revealed that its estimates for Core U.S. same store sales for the three months ended September 30, 2016 to be down approximately 12%, and Acceptance Now same store sales to be essentially flat following the implementation of a new point-of-sale system, wherein, the Company experienced system performance issues and outages that resulted in a larger than expected negative impact on Core Sales, according to Robert D. Davis, Chief Executive Officer at the Company.
On this news, Rent-A-Center’s share price fell $3.70 per share, or nearly 30%, to close at $9.18 on October 11, 2016, on unusually heavy trading volume.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com