Seeking Alpha: Grupo Elektra Copies First Cash Financial Model - Backwards

I found it curious to wake up this morning to news that Mexico's Grupo Elektra (GLEKY.PK), a Mexican retail and financial services conglomerate, was acquiring American payday lender Advance America (AEA) for $780 million in cash. While it represents virtually no threat at all to First Cash Financial (FCFS), it's an interesting twist on the two companies' growth strategies.

A Familiar Story, Told Backwards
First Cash built a solid pawn shop business in the U.S. by catering to consumers who largely operated outside the traditional banking and credit channels (whether by choice or otherwise). The company then found a new leg to its growth by expanding its pawn shop operations to Mexico - a country that is remarkably more "under-banked" than the U.S. Through a combination of torrid new store building and solid same-store sales growth, Mexico has grown to over half of the company's business and more than half of its growth.

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Grupo Elektra Copies First Cash Financial Model - Backwards