Franchise Spotlight: Storage
Self-storage franchises provide a winning formula in a flourishing sector.
Demand for self-storage services has been significant and steady in recent years, but is getting a boost from soaring ecommerce sales. Industry revenue in Australia was expected to rise by 1.6% in 2020 as Covid-19 supercharged online shopping, according to statistics from market research experts IBISWorld.
The industry’s wider resilience is helped by the breadth of services on offer: residential, commercial, multi-site, vehicle and temperature-controlled storage; secure deposit boxes; office space; and the sale of boxes and other packing materials.
So, customers can include businesses in a wide range of sectors with a variety of needs, and anyone renovating, moving or decluttering homes or storing collectables. The future of the self-storage industry looks bright given certain industry trends, not least the likely persistence of the global ecommerce boom for some time yet.
Franchise industry analysis
The logistics of finding and fitting out huge premises and establishing what is a fairly sophisticated operation are daunting.
Buy a self-storage franchise, however, and you get help with everything from procuring forklifts and installing CCTV and passenger lifts to providing insurance cover and alerting customers to the arrival of deliveries via SMS and email.
Storage King, which has operated for more than two decades, promises franchisees a high-profile brand, help with facility design, unit mix and layouts, and a strategy for effective search engine optimization, among other things.
Super Easy Storage, meanwhile, claims to be Australia’s largest mobile storage provider, loading items from customers’ homes or premises and storing them in a secure warehouse. Prices vary depending on whether customers choose the self-load or comprehensive premium service.
It’s also worth mentioning Howards Storage World, which isn’t a self-storage provider, but a franchised retailer of kitchen storage, shoe racks, shelving, and various other home storage solutions with 35 stores across Australia.