Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Narrative (Details) shares in Thousands, £ in Millions					3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Jul. 27, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 01, 2016 USD ($)	May 13, 2016 USD ($) Store	Jan. 29, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) state	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) franchise state shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2017 GBP (£)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of Businesses Acquired | franchise													13
Franchise royalties and fees					$ 993,184,000	$ 953,071,000	$ 927,859,000	$ 954,809,000	$ 884,627,000	$ 838,883,000	$ 815,644,000	$ 844,554,000	$ 3,828,923,000	$ 3,383,708,000	$ 3,207,716,000
Advertising costs													37,700,000	34,000,000	40,800,000
Amount of cooperative advertising consideration netted against advertising expense													28,300,000	22,500,000	22,200,000
Prepaid advertising asset					1,600,000								1,600,000				$ 1,400,000
Asset Impairment Charges													$ 20,098,000	0	0
Threshold period past due for write-off of lease receivable													60 days
Depreciation expense for property, plant and equipment													$ 61,200,000	54,800,000	53,600,000
Amortization expense													33,000,000	27,700,000	28,800,000
Assets Held for Sale					6,589,000								6,589,000				10,118,000
Proceeds from disposition of business, net of cash acquired													942,000	1,141,000	35,899,000
Impairment of indefinite-lived intangibles		$ 0
Fair value of non-cash consideration													600,000
Settlement of Pre-existing Relationship													$ 5,400,000
Threshold of past due financing receivable that requires allowance													24 months
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Property Plant Equipment														0
Contract with Customer, Liability					80,579,000								$ 80,579,000				68,060,000
Contract with Customer, Liability, Revenue Recognized					$ 1,400,000
Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Amortization expense													$ 14,100,000	$ 11,500,000	$ 9,200,000
Customer Relationships
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													3 years
Reacquired Franchise Rights
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													10 years
Customer Lease Contracts
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													1 year
Restricted stock units
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Anti-dilutive Securities excluded from the computation of earnings per share assuming dilution | shares													347	140	939
Maximum | Non-compete Agreements
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													5 years
Maximum | Buildings and improvements
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													20 years
Maximum | Other depreciable property and equipment
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													15 years
Maximum | Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													10 years
Maximum | Software updates
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													1 month
Minimum | Non-compete Agreements
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													1 year
Minimum | Buildings and improvements
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													5 years
Minimum | Other depreciable property and equipment
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													1 year
Minimum | Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, useful life													5 years
Variable Interest Entity
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Held to maturity securities																£ 15.1	20,400,000
Asset Impairment Charges													$ 20,100,000
Sales and Lease Ownership and HomeSmart | Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of royalty of gross revenue													6.00%
Progressive Leasing
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Threshold period past due for write-off of lease receivable													120 days
Progressive Leasing | Agreement One
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Lease agreement period													12 months
Sales and Lease Ownership
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset impairment charge													$ 200,000	$ 700,000	$ 5,800,000
Sales and Lease Ownership | Agreement One
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Lease agreement period													12 months
Sales and Lease Ownership | Agreement Two
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Lease agreement period													18 months
Sales and Lease Ownership | Agreement Three
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Lease agreement period													24 months
DAMI
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of buildings				$ 13,600,000									$ 2,200,000
Gain on sale of corporate office building													$ 800,000		11,400,000
SEI/Aaron’s, Inc.
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Settlement of Pre-existing Relationship	$ 3,452,000
SEI/Aaron’s, Inc. | Customer Relationships
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)	2 years
SEI/Aaron’s, Inc. | Non-compete Agreements
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)	5 years
SEI/Aaron’s, Inc. | Reacquired Franchise Rights
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)	4 years 1 month 6 days
Progressive Leasing
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of states in which entity operates | state					46								46
Progressive Leasing | Customer Lease Contracts
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													1 year
Progressive Leasing | Acquired Internal Use Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													3 years
Progressive Leasing | Technology
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													10 years
Progressive Leasing | Merchant Relationships
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													12 years
DAMI | Technology
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of intangibles (in years)													5 years
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | HomeSmart
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Disposal group, number of stores | Store			82
Proceeds from disposition of business, net of cash acquired			$ 35,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets to be disposed of														1,100,000
Other operating expense (income) | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | Former Headquarters Building | DAMI
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Gain on sale of corporate office building				$ 11,100,000
Other operating expense (income) | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | HomeSmart
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Charge related to write down of disposal group														4,300,000
Other nonoperating income (expense)
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Foreign currency transaction gains and (losses)													$ (100,000)	2,100,000	(3,700,000)
Initial Franchise Fees
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Contract with Customer, Liability					$ 1,400,000								1,400,000
Initial Franchise Fees | Sales and Lease Ownership and HomeSmart | Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Franchise royalties and fees													50,000
Initial Franchise Fees | Sales and Lease Ownership and HomeSmart | Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Franchise royalties and fees													15,000
Shipping and Handling
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Shipping and handling costs													75,200,000	$ 67,300,000	$ 69,900,000
Restructuring Program 2016 and 2017 | Land and Building [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Gain on sale of corporate office building													400,000
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Asset retirement obligations					$ 2,700,000								$ 2,700,000				$ 2,500,000