Birth of a Rental Company
A Rental Maverick Makes a Comeback
by Liese Gardner | Published in April 2006 Focus on Event Rentals
The Los Angeles rental industry can never be accused of being dull. Not in terms of inventory (it has pioneered everything from square tables to black china) and certainly not in terms of industry players. And in July 2005, the story became even more interesting when Richard LoGuercio opened Town & Country Event Rentals, which would be in direct competition with the company LoGuercio began 25 years ago.
While rental companies in this city have merged and morphed, it has been two decades since Los Angeles has experienced a truly new, ground-up rental operation – not since LoGuercio began Classic Party Rentals in 1981 to compete with Regal Rents, at that time the city’s largest rental firm. In 1998 LoGuercio sold Classic to a group of investors and in 2004 that group also purchased Regal Rents.
Starting over did not mean starting small for LoGuercio. The industry veteran is betting on his instinct that the time is right for Town & Country. He started by filling up a 61,000-square-foot warehouse with high-quality rental items and by using all the knowledge he had acquired throughout his career in the rental industry.
Event Solutions visited LoGuercio to find out for ourselves what prompted him to jump back into the fire, knowing he faced a new market and heavyweight competition.
Event Solutions: Retirement sounded nice. What was it that drew you back into the busy world of event rentals?
Richard LoGuercio: To my surprise, I actually enjoyed retirement but when you’ve been in this business as long as I have, you need it. It’s like a drug. So, when my non-compete began approaching an end, I looked into starting up something. I played around with numbers and I researched the market. I also went to a large overseas trade show because I wanted to purchase containers of inventory. It wasn’t until the plane ride back that I made the decision to really do this; it was fun again.
ES: It’s quite an undertaking. Where did you begin?
RL: I made up an inventory list by taking a virtual look in my mind of the perfect warehouse. That was the template for how I ordered things. Then I budgeted how much equipment was needed. I planned on having a lot more than I did when I started Classic. When I did that in 1981, I did so with 4,800 square feet and $175,000 in startup costs. Town & Country is beginning with 61,000 square feet and it is costing about $5 million. But all that education was invaluable. In the past, I made some good purchasing decisions and some bad. Now, I have the chance to make all the right decisions.
While waiting for inventory to arrive, we started to build out the warehouse (which was brand new and had nothing) with AC, walls and offices. Now we are in phase two of construction, which entails building a mezzanine level for more and more inventory. It’s unbelievable but I’d say that 50 percent of my day is taken up with buying new inventory.
ES: What changed in the six years you were away?
RL: People want more variety than before. When I sold Classic, I had five china patterns. Now I am starting up with nine and adding more new lines this year. Also, the willingness of clients outside Southern California to rent from us is new. This summer we are doing jobs in Aspen and San Francisco. We are renting more furniture than before and to this end we installed a metal shop to make some of our own designs for unique bars, tables and buffets, not to mention being able to build our own racks.
ES: Now, we have to ask, how is the competition taking all this?
RL: Well, they don’t like it, of course, but more to the point, what am I doing about the competition? The plan has always been to condense what took 20 years last time and go from zero to 120 in two years. To do that, I believe you need a talented staff that cares. We now have 110 full-time people, of which seven are outside salespeople and 16 are in the office. Everyone is experienced in the rental industry. They’ve taken a pay cut to be here and be part of something new and positive. It’s my job to thank them by making sure that Town & Country is better than anything out there. We will constantly be coming out with new equipment, new ideas and products. We don’t want to be the biggest, just the best.
ES: So how does it feel to be back?
RL: Honestly, there are days when I wonder why I am doing this again, but then there are days that are so amazing and make me remember why I’m in this game.
With that, he’s off and running, on the phone, buying more inventory, talking with clients and answering questions from staff before heading to a site inspection. For some, it might be a balancing act, but for LoGuercio, it’s no act. It’s his life, for the second time around.