What’s In A Brand?

The self-storage industry is seeing yet another major acquisition…and another brand gets bigger.

Los Angeles-based real estate developer Barker Pacific Group, through its affiliate, Union Development Company (UDC), has acquired eight self storage properties from Empire Companies and will rebrand them under its storage operation’s new name – Storage Solutions. The acquisition includes nearly 500,000 square feet of space with 4,000 storage units on 25 acres. UDC paid just over $30 million for the portfolio. The properties are located throughout Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

Notice here that Storage Solutions is rebranding its acquired properties. Why? They already have a brand presence in their markets. Why mess with what works? Storage Solutions understands that mega brands span regions and territories and give customers comfort. Brands are a promise. A customer who rents storage in one city under one brand will feel comfortable renting from that same brand in another city.

A brand is more than a name and a colorful logo. Is your brand communicating what your business is all about? Storage Solutions has a clear branding scheme. Do you.

Click here to get the nitty gritty details about this self-storage acquisition.

Add comment November 2nd, 2006

FBI Uses Storage Units to Bust Bad Chicago Cops

Community relations can pay dividends in the short-and long-term. A Chicago facility got on the FBI’s good side by helping agents in a sting operation to bust corrupt cops. The FBI busted the bad guys who were allegedly invading homes, stealing valuables and storing them in self-storage.

“In June, undercover agents rented a unit at Grand-Pulaski Self Storage and stored a black bag containing $20,000, according to an FBI affidavit. They then instructed an informant to share the information with two suspected officers, Richard Doroniuk and Mahmoud Shamah, as well as a civilian intermediary, Larry Cross. Cross had supposedly asked the informant for details regarding good targets for theft,” Inside Self Storage reports.

I’m sure the community — and especially those homeowners who were robbed from — are grateful that the self-storage facilities didn’t bury their head in the sand. News like this that demonstrates the industry’s willingness to rid itself of evil doers is good for us all.

Click here to read the rest of this story in Inside Self Storage magazine.

Add comment November 2nd, 2006