Elmen Enterprises is a diverse company, which currently operates rental-purchase stores, retail dollar stores, and mini storage facilities. Elmen Enterprises consists of the following divisions, Appliance & Furniture RentAll, DOLLAR etc., Mini Stor All, and Central Office. Another division Rent to Rent, the original core business from which the company was founded, was sold in June of 1999 to United Rental.

The corporate office is located in Sioux Falls, SD where the original Rent to Rent store was opened by Lloyd Elmen in 1950. Lloyd began the business by renting his personal property to the residents of Sioux Falls. Lloyd’s sons, Bob and Jim, helped part time while they attended college and served in the Armed Forces. Bob began the trend toward expansion in 1954 when he opened a store in Vallejo, California and the first store in Minnesota, Rochester Rent All. During the next several years, stores were purchased in other states. Mini Stor All was being developed during this time. As of June of 1999, the Rent to Rent division had 46 stores in 12 states.

In 1983, Appliance & Furniture RentAll was formed. The division offers consumers furniture, appliances, and electronics on a rental-purchase transaction. The year 1999 brought with it another new venture by Elmen Enterprises, DOLLAR etc. DOLLAR etc. is a super discount variety store where everything is $5 or less.  This division was sold to Loopy’s, in September of 2005.

Some of the Elmen Enterprises success can be attributed to its management approach. A fundamental problem with many management systems is that the owner/stockholder is not able to watch over his/her investment and the operator/manager is not able to provide capital and certain other areas of expertise. Elmen Enterprises tackles this problem by empowering mangers to run their businesses to the greatest extent possible. This formula is rewarding for both managers and stockholders alike. A significant part of a manager’s pay depends upon his/her store’s performance and most managers are stockholders in this company. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the managers to ensure that the company is successful. Stockholders are rewarded because they have high-performing entrepreneurs where the profits are made and they don’t have to payroll an extensive middle management system to oversee the managerial function.