CORT announced that when NBC’s "The Celebrity Apprentice" contestants were tasked with staging an apartment for lease they turned to CORT for fashionable furniture and furnishings.
CORT, a Berkshire Hathaway company, rents high quality furniture to people and businesses that have a temporary need for furniture, such as staging an apartment to help the property sell more quickly.
Cyndi Lauper and Holly Robinson Peete, contestants on "The Celebrity Apprentice," visited CORT’s Manhattan showroom where they shopped for the furnishings and accessories they needed to create a "New York zen" themed environment. CORT’s furniture, delivery team and their signature red trucks were prominently featured during the episode.
CORT is helping stagers and property owners across the country sell homes and apartments. Staging uses the right mix of furniture and accessories to accentuate a property’s best features, and differentiates a home from the many other vacant properties on the market.
Staging can maintain or increase the selling price of a property in markets where home prices continue to fall and reduce the amount of time the property is on the market by up to 50 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. CORT’s own study of 7,800 staged homes finds staged homes sell in an average of 5.5 months, versus 10.4 months for those not staged.
"We were excited to support the Celebrity Apprentice team as they worked to stage an apartment that would ultimately prove most attractive to the consumer," said Hal Hardy, vice president of marketing for CORT. "The program was an ideal opportunity to educate a national audience about the staging industry."
Why People Rent -- The "Rent-to-Rent" Furniture Industry
CORT is in the business of renting furniture and accessories – what is called the "rent-to-rent" segment of the industry, unlike other furniture rental companies in the "lease-to-purchase" business, which are essentially installment purchase services with high interest rates.
CORT has been the nation’s leading "rent-to-rent" business for the past 40 years, providing furniture rental for customers who want the convenience and flexibility of rental furniture, including delivery within 48 hours and pick-up after use. CORT also offers all the furnishings and accessories for customers to feel right at home, from flat screen televisions and stereo systems to cookware, appliances, linens and towels.
In addition to customers with a temporary need for furniture, such as relocating for a job or on a temporary assignment, or hosting a special event such as a wedding or corporate meeting, there are also many reasons why companies with a long-term need for furniture choose to rent furniture. For example, rental provides the flexibility to adjust furniture inventory quickly based on business needs, avoiding operational costs of storage, maintenance, repair and replacement.
CORT has worked with more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and supports more than 75 federal government agencies, including setting up more than 500 offices across the country for the 2010 U.S. Census. CORT is also an emergency services provider for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Red Cross.
About CORT: For the past 40 years, CORT has been a leading provider in rental furniture and has provided services to more than 80 percent of the Fortune 500 companies. CORT is a Berkshire Hathaway company and has offices in every major U.S. market and a global furniture rental network of affiliates in more than 50 countries. CORT also supports businesses and their relocating employees to make transitions as smooth as possible for employees and families, including local market touring services and an online apartment search service,