Nascent Self-Storage Sector Unpacked

Many things come to mind when one thinks about the pandemic: lockdowns, restrictions, masks, working from home, online meetings.

But for most, ‘self-storage’ is not at the front of mind.

Often considered the ‘ugly duckling’ of the investment sector, self-storage has emerged as a growth sector after the events of the past two years, thanks to the changing behaviours of Australians.

When we aren’t baking banana bread or watching daily press conferences, Aussies have picked up three hobbies during the pandemic: moving house, online shopping and-or starting their own small business, all of which have injected activity into the self-storage sector.

With a huge migration trend sweeping the nation, more people are on the move than ever.

But, taking into consideration strict border restrictions and the rental crisis, this has left many Australians stranded in transit.

Having nowhere to go, we’ve had to downsize, recruit roommates or even move back in with the parents, which has meant decluttering and moving things, like grandma’s couch, into storage.

And what Covid divided, the internet united. Pushed by a combination of consumers embracing online shopping and a record number of new businesses launching onto the market, ecommerce has grown aggressively during the past two years.

Lounge rooms and kitchens have quickly become over-crowded with stock, packaging and paperwork, so the business savvy have reclaimed their homes by renting storage units or mini warehouses to help grow their ecomm empires.

Before the pandemic, the self-storage industry boasted an annual income of $1.5 billion. Those in the industry now expect to see this number increase by 2.7 per cent in 2021 due to growing consumer demand.

Self-storage as an investment

No one wants to dive into a new market without a game plan, so how can you learn everything you need to know about the self-storage industry before the ROI ship has sailed?

The Self-Storage Symposium will be held on October 21 and 22, a 100 per cent live virtual event, is for anyone interested in, or already operating in, the self-storage sector.

With speakers who have been there and done it themselves, across the two days it will deep dive into:

• How demographic trends of the past two years have resulted in the rise, and continued rise, of the self-storage sector with renowned demographer Bernard Salt AM, executive director of The Demographics Group;

• A newcomer’s guide to the self-storage industry with Olympian Grant Hackett and dual Rugby World Winner Tim Horan;

• Attracting the right customer, driving enquiry and the marketing mistakes to avoid with Matt Kelly, founder of Just Media Design, and Jasmine Smart from Storco;

• Overcoming the challenges in self-storage design and construction—a panel discussion led by Jason Keane from Sentinel Security, with Anthony Regis from Regis Built, Jonathan Layton from Storco and Javier Rezzonico from Storcad;

• Selecting the right location and knowing what characteristics to look for in a site with Simon McDonald, director of the Medley Property Group, and Glen Wright, director of the RE Ventured group;

• Management practices and the importance of choosing the right team with Mark Greig, chief operating officer of the StoreLocal Group, Ben Parsad from Steel Storage and Sally Knight from AON Risk Insurance;

• How to build the best facility and get the most value from your site with Steel Storage's head of design, Michael Bruton;

• Storage building—should you build it? If so, what to build and where with Stefan Kulas, from StoreInvest, and Peter Camphin, head of growth for StoreLocal; and

• What we can learn from the global self-storage industry and global investors with Andrew Work, executive director SSAAsia, Rennie Schafer, chief executive of FEDESSA and Caroline Plowman, chief executive of National Mini Storage NZ.

You can learn more about our sessions and speakers here.

Aside from the live event, the Self Storage Investor Symposium will also be available as a recorded presentation for up to 30 days post-event.

To register for the symposium, book your ticket here or email enquiries@selfstorageinvestor.com.au.

You can register for the full two-day event or daily registrations.

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