“Self storage has moved rapidly to the Web from traditional media like the Yellow Pages, and operators have had to rethink how they do business. The leaders of the industry have invested in new technology to harness this consumer change in buying practices,”
Dallas Dogger, Centreforce managing director.
Self Storage in Oz
Self Storage Views & News
self storage industry in australia…
News from Inside Self Storage…..
Self-storage activity has been quiet in Australia, with occupancies in some cities stagnant, others in slight decline, and some micro-markets experiencing an increase in rentals. Local talk of the “two-speed economy” has some investors spooked, while there’s another view that a number of markets were overbuilt in the 2005-2006 boom times.While the mining industry is selling commodities for record prices, mainly to China, retail businesses report slow if stagnant growth, and new residential housing starts—the precursor of the drive for self-storage—are at their lowest numbers in years. Local self-storage builders report little in the way of new construction, with some operators taking a consolidation approach to development, adding only new spaces needed in existing sites, and many reducing staff in the process.
Let’s see what 2012 has in store for self storage in Australia…
(Source: insideselfstorage.com)
murder trial focus shifted to self-storage facility in perth
self storage in the criminal law news again….. this time relating to a perth self storage facility
[convicted] murderer Cameron Mansell dropped off luggage at a Subiaco self-storage facility two days after he is alleged to have killed [and has been convicted for the murder of] missing millionaire Craig Puddy, a court was told.
story source:
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/mansell-murder-trial-focus-moves-to-self-storage-facility/story-e6frg143-1226149436141
Online Storage Auctions
I was curious if we’d see storage auctions similar to the US here in Australia.
Kennards has chosen to operate them online… interesting move.
Sometimes [a storage] space is abandoned or after lengthy efforts the account remains unpaid. When this happens the storage operator is obliged to sell the contents of the space.
Buying goods at Storage Auctions is actually a popular pastime in the USA. Awareness of the subject has blossomed due to the popularity of TV shows such as “Storage Wars“ and “Storage Hunters“, where groups of potential buyers try to out-bid each other for what might be a treasure trove of items in an abandoned space. They talk of finding collectable cars or recently even a treasure chest containing a collection of Spanish bullion!!!
At Kennards Self Storage we aim to make each experience as simple and user friendly as possible. That’s why we have simplified the auction process and transferred the whole experience online. We’ve done this through the popular auction house - Grays Online.
It might lack a little of the drama and glamour of “Storage Wars” auction scenes but a wider audience of potential winners can view or bid from the convenience of where-ever they are - day or night.
If you are interested in learning more about storage auctions - follow this link Grays-Online and search “storage” or “Kennards”.
I’ve heard reports of a storage company in Melbourne operating auctions on-site, similar to the US, does anybody know which one this is?
A new storage trend in the US?
Owning your own storage space may be the most cost effective way to grow your business or reclaim space! If you have overstock or records storage taking up space? You need to give us a call. Ownership of your Garage Plus space is a business expense you can write off your business taxes. (Double check with your tax accountant) Ownership has its perks!
I wonder if the Sydney storage industry will start to move in this direction?
(Source: garageplusstorage.com)
Police are appealing for witnesses following a fire that destroyed four caravans at a Mascot caravan storage Sydney facility early this morning.
About 1am (Sunday 27 November 2011), emergency services were called to reports of a caravan alight at a storage facility on Coward Street, Mascot.
Police and Fire and Rescue NSW attended the scene where they found four caravans well alight.
The blaze was extinguished, however, the four caravans were completely destroyed and a fifth sustained significant heat damage.No one was injured during the fire.
A crime scene was established and will be examined by specialist forensics officers. Detectives from Botany Bay Local Area Command are conducting investigations into the circumstances surrounding the fire which is being treated as suspicious.
(Source: police.nsw.gov.au)
In the self storage industry there is always a concern about meth labs. We’ve found this documentation very helpful and hope you will to.
A bit closer to home, we caught a sniff of a Coffs Harbour Storage provider getting caught up in a meth lab scandal…
You can read more about it here……
http://www.insideselfstorage.com/news/2010/04/drug-laboratory-discovered-in-coffs-harbour-self.aspx
(Source: facebook.com)
The Rise Of Mobile Storage
In the past 12 months, Australia has seen a rapid rise in “mobile storage” - storage operators who bring a portable storage unit to the customer’s premise where goods are loaded, the transported to a secure warehouse.
It seems to be taking off, with providers such as Supercheap offering cheap mobile storage in Sydney, and Taxibox with some of the most competitive mobile storage in Melbourne. And there are at least 5-10 others now operating with a similar service in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and other capital cities.
How will it fare against traditional “bricks n mortar” storage? Only time will tell… But looking at photos such as this one (above) of Taxibox Melbourne’s warehouse.. you have to begin to wonder…
Largest Investment in Australian Storage Industry
In September, Brisbane-based National Storage announced a new joint venture with global real estate investment management firm, Chicago-based Heitman. The joint venture acquired 20 freehold storage properties and businesses valued at more than AU$180 million. The transaction represents the single largest investment in the Australian storage industry.
National Storage, who offer self storage in Brisbane, storage in Sydney, Melbourne storage and storage centres in all other capital cities around Australia are one of the 3 “big guns” in the Australian market, along with Kennards and Storage King.
(Source: insideselfstorage.com)
Self Storage Industry Doing Well World Wide
Self Storage Industry Doing Well World Wide
Article by Winnie Hsiu
