Europe's Self Storage Industry Expands

Around the world today, the self storage industry plays an important role in providing a safe place for safekeeping of valuable items. Families and businesses are taking advantage of this facility and their number is growing.

The U.S. remains to be a leader in self storage. An estimated 50,000 facilities are in place there as of the moment while some 10,000 are located in other countries.

In Europe, data gathered in 2007 showed the continent had 1,270. A big chunk of self storage facilities in Europe are located in the U.K. considered to be a mature market when it comes to self storage. The growth rate there is estimated at 10 to 15 percent every year and the industry is generating a revenue of 360 million sterling pounds.

Currently, some 250 companies are operating facilities in the country. The biggest storage chains in the United Kingdom are Safestore and Big Yellow while two thirds of customers are private individuals including business people and those who are in the process of moving.

Shurgard Europe is also in the list of major players with 149 facilities in seven European countries. These are in the U.K., Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands.

Other countries where self storage is thriving are Spain and Germany. The facilities are concentrated in the capital cities such as Paris and Madrid. As of 2005, France had 112 storage facilities, Spain had 57 as of 2002 and Germany had 33 as of 2007.

The storage industry in Europe is worth $550 million as of 2010. Many companies are also selling insurance, packing materials and other accessories to customers as a way to increase their sales.

Another country in the continent that has showed recent development is Hungary in the eastern part. Euro Mini Storage is planning more expansion projects in other locations including Bucharest. This provider is currently the largest in Romania and Hungary. It also recently spent 150,000 Euros to expand existing facilities.

Experts have observed that the economy in Eastern Europe might be improving the reason for this expansion project. In the early years of the self storage facilities in Romania and Hungary, occupancy was not high compared to the situation in the U.S.

However, the companies involved including Euro Mini Storage have been doing their marketing well and have even gone online uploading videos and sharing them to raise awareness about the business. In fact, Euro Mini Storage in Hungary had already won the 2009 CIJ Best Warehouse/Logistics Award. It has ventured as well in environment friendly campaigns and charitable acts.

The Federation of European Self Storage Associations (FEDESSA) covers the national associations in 13 European countries. It helps each member country set up its own organization of operators and provides them with a common voice to important legislative bodies to include the European Commission, European Parliament and Council.

The FEDESSA is looking forward to the growth of Europe's self storage industry. Together with its member associations, the umbrella organization is positive that more operators will venture into this field.

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The State Of Australia's Self Storage Industry

Australia is a developed country yet the self storage sector there has yet to grow. It has existing storage facilities but the number remains way below that of the U.S.

Data in 2011 showed that rentals were slow and occupancies in some areas were even stagnant. There were areas, however, that had increase in rentals. In addition, construction of local self storage facilities was few with some of them even reducing employees.

A positive development in the country was the joint venture of National Storage and Heitman, a real estate investment management firm based in Chicago, Illinois. This project, considered the biggest investment in Australia's storage industry, led to the acquisition of some 20 storage properties and businesses with a total worth of AUD $180. Established in 2000, National Storage currently has 60 facilities.

This joint venture covers 11,000 storage units. They are situated in various locations such as in Brisbane, Hobart, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Sunshine Coast.

Many providers in Australia are covered under the Self Storage Association of Australasia (SSAA). More than 80 percent of operators are members including the major companies such as Rent a Space, Fort Knox, Kennards, Storage Kind and National Storage.

Similar to those in the U.S., self storage facilities in Australia also come in different types and sizes. There are units meant for household items, documents, vehicles, wines and there's also the business storage type. In terms of size, the smallest is the locker style unit. There are also the double garage sizes and larger ones.

Terms and policies are almost the same as well. Many operators offer flexible terms which means a customer can rent a unit for as long as he or she needs to store his personal items there. Payment option is normally on a monthly basis and the contract can be renewed upon expiration depending on the tenant.

A 2010 study on the demand for self storage in Australia and New Zealand found that there was a 17 percent increase compared to the previous years. The research that looked into the factors that led people to use self storage also showed that half of the potential customers would normally use the internet to look for an ideal facility.

In addition, nearly 40 percent of customers had used the same facility before. The rate is 20.4 percent up from the 2008 figure. Majority or 87.7 percent also expressed satisfaction over the service provided to them by their preferred facility.

Another study that focused on traffic patterns and parking requirements suggested specific rates for the different sizes of rental units. The research found that there's low traffic as there's really no peak time or day at any facility. Also, most sites were found to have no proper layout for automatic traffic counters.

Most sites were also found to be using the security gate system to control the vehicles coming in and out of the sites. The issue identified here pertains to tailgating which the researchers claimed could be solved through the use of the so-called "door data."

With these facts presented, it's noteworthy that the self storage sector in Australia is in a favorable state.

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