Household Renews Multimillion Private-Label Credit Card Agreement with Rhodes Furniture

Furniture World Magazine

Household strengthens leadership position in private-label financing for the furniture industry; Household International (NYSE:HI), the $101 billion (managed assets) consumer lender, announced that its retail services business has signed an exclusive five-year agreement to continue managing the Rhodes Furniture private-label credit card program including John M. Smyth's Homemakers, which was recently acquired by Rhodes.As a result of this agreement, Household will manage more than $400 million in private-label credit card receivables for Rhodes, including both in-store and Internet sales. "We have a true partnership between two companies that understand the needs and expectations of today's consumer," said Sandy Derickson, managing director and CEO of Household's retail services business. "Household's private-label credit card gives Rhodes customers a choice of flexible payment options and attractive financing promotions." This agreement extends a successful relationship between Household and Rhodes since 1992. "We have relied on Household to provide quality service to our customers for nearly 10 years," said Joel Dugan, executive vice president/chief financial officer, Rhodes Furniture. "Rhodes, founded in 1875, has been serving customers for generations and the credit facility provided by Household enhances the customer buying experience." Household's retail services business is one of the nation's largest private-label credit card providers, processing over 3.6 billion transactions for 220 merchants annually in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. In addition to Rhodes, Household offers private-label credit cards and sales finance products for retailers and merchants in a variety of industries including consumer electronics, department stores, specialty discount, furniture, and apparel. Household also provides financing for dealers in motorcycles, ATVs, personal watercrafts, and snowmobiles. About Rhodes Atlanta-based Rhodes, which had furniture, bedding and accessories sales of $468.3 million last fiscal year, is ranked 13th of the top 100 furniture stores in the U.S. This privately-held company operates 89 retail store under the names Rhodes, Marks Fitzgerald, and Homemakers, along the southeastern seaboard and into the Midwest. About Household Household's businesses are leading providers of consumer loan, credit card, auto finance and credit insurance products in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. In the United States, Household's largest business, founded in 1878, operates under the two oldest and most widely recognized names in consumer finance: HF and Beneficial. Household is also one of the nation's largest issuers of private-label and general purpose credit cards, including the GM Card and the AFL-CIO's Union Plus card. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.household.com.