Release Details

Plano, Texas, April 6, 2000 -- Rent-A-Center, Inc. (NASDAQ/NNM:RCII), announced today that its board of directors has authorized an open market share repurchase program of up to an aggregate of $25 million of the Company's common stock. Pursuant to the program, the Company may, from time to time, purchase shares of its common stock, subject to market conditions. J. Ernest Talley, Chairman and CEO, stated, "The new share repurchase plan reflects our belief that, at current prices, our shares are undervalued, particularly in light of our long-term growth opportunities and our successful track record in achieving earnings growth through the improvements made in existing stores." The share repurchase program may be implemented or discontinued at any time by the Company.

The Company, headquartered in Plano, Texas, currently operates 2,073 company owned rent-to-own stores in 49 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The stores offer high-quality, durable goods such as home electronics, appliances, computers, and furniture and accessories to consumers under flexible rental purchase agreements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed-upon rental period. ColorTyme, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, is a national franchisor of 361 rent-to-own stores, 333 of which operate under the trade name of "ColorTyme," and the remaining 28 of which operate under the "Rent-A-Center" name.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," or "believe," or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements will prove to be correct, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The actual future performance of the Company could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its annual report Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as requested by law, the Company is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.