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                             For Immediate Release:

           RENT-A-CENTER, INC. COMPLETES OFFERING OF $100 MILLION IN
                          11% SENIOR SUBORDINATED NOTES

                                  ------------

PLANO, TEXAS, DECEMBER 19, 2001 - Rent-A-Center, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCII) today
announced the completion of a private offering under Rule 144A of $100 million
in principal amount of 11% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2008. The Senior
Subordinated Notes were issued at 99.5% of par.

         The securities offered will not be and have not been registered under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the
United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration
requirements. Rent-A-Center intends to use the proceeds of the offering to repay
approximately $30 million in term loans, repurchase approximately $34.7 million
of its common stock from its former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and for
general corporate purposes.




