Aaron's (AAN) On Track With GenNext Plan, Opens Two Stores
The Aaron's Company, Inc. AAN announced the opening of two GenNext stores in Live Oak, FL and Rockford, IL. The new Aaron's stores mark the company’s latest expansion of its GenNext store initiative, which aims at transforming the in-store customer experience.
The GenNext program has been receiving positive feedback from customers. As part of this, the company has been remodeling existing stores into the updated format, as well as opening stores in new locations. Since its launch in 2018, Aaron's has converted or opened 38 GenNext stores, bringing the total to 249.
Notably, the new store at Live Oak will remain open from Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Meanwhile, the other store at Rockford is likely to open from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
These stores come with features like larger showrooms, better store layouts, updated signage, expanded product assortment, and enhanced technology-enabled shopping and checkout.
However, the company has been reeling under continued sluggish demand for discretionary products that led to an 11.4% year-over-year revenue decline in third-quarter 2023. Also, weak lease revenues and fees, and drab retail sales at the Aaron's and BrandsMart businesses acted as deterrents.
AAN expects ongoing demand trends to persist in fourth-quarter 2023 and 2024. Consequently, management anticipates 2023 revenues of $2.12-$2.17 billion versus the $2.12-$2.22 billion stated earlier.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
We note that shares of this Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) company have plunged 25.2% in the year-to-date period against the industry’s growth of 6.5%.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked companies are MGM Resorts MGM, Guess GES and lululemon athletica LULU.
Guess currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). GES has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.4%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GES’ fiscal 2023 sales and EPS implies improvements of 3.4% and 9.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s reported levels.
MGM Resorts currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 81%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MGM’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates year-over-year increases of 2.2% and 31%, respectively.
lululemon athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, carries a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. LULU has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.9%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for lululemon athletica’s current financial-year sales and EPS suggests growth of 17% and 18.4%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Aaron's Company, Inc. (AAN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
MGM Resorts International (MGM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Guess?, Inc. (GES) : Free Stock Analysis Report
lululemon athletica inc. (LULU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
