A nickname born from a Southern Baptist speaking style and a talent for rallying a room might sound like a fun story, but “The Reverend of RTO” is really about substance: value, trust, and relentless follow-through. Larry Sutton joins us to chart an uncommon path from family retail roots to building Champion on a 50-50 handshake, navigating funding shocks when Berg-Warner exited the space, and ultimately selling at a premium before discovering that retirement by golf isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
What pulled him back was the same customer he never stopped rooting for. A tip about rent-to-own “tires” led him to discover an exploding demand for custom wheels—and a bigger mission hiding in plain sight: safer commutes, reliable family travel, and dignity at the point of sale. Larry launched Rent-N-Roll in Tampa and watched lines form. Then came the pivotal insight: the brand shouted “rims,” so tire buyers never walked in. A franchisee’s experiment separating tires from wheels unlocked demand and sparked a smart rebrand to RNR Tire Express—stores that look and feel like top-tier retail, with the flexibility of lease-to-own.
We dig into the operational backbone that makes the value real: lifetime rotation and balance, nitrogen to stabilize pressure and extend tread life, and deep training through TIA and ASE certifications. Larry explains why bringing alignments in-house wasn’t just a margin play, but a safety commitment. He shares the leadership rules that scale—hire people smarter than you, love hard work, and lead from the front—and why the rent-to-own community’s culture of sharing is a competitive advantage most industries don’t understand.
If you care about customer value, brand identity, and finding the right niche at the right time, this story delivers a practical blueprint. Subscribe, share with a builder in your life, and leave a review with the one lesson you’re taking into your next pivot.
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