Archive for August, 2009
U-Haul, the leader in self-storage, with more than 34 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,075 owned and managed facilities throughout North America, recently introduced the latest in Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul Reuse Centers. U-Haul of Yonkers, 155 Saw Mill River Road, in Yonkers, New York, is now featuring a Self-Storage Reuse Center for customers. The U-Haul Reuse Program was developed to provide a redistribution network for unwanted, gently used household goods, furniture, sporting equipment, bikes and clothing that formerly were destined for landfills.”At U-Haul, we are committed to sustainable development through environmental protection, social responsibility and economic efficiency,” stated Jeff Sonberg, president, U-Haul Company of Manhattan/Bronx. “This program gives U-Haul another opportunity to provide a service which will enhance the self-storage industry by improving the environment for generations to come.”
Items placed in the area are available for reuse, not resale, by the U-Haul community, including U-Haul employees. U-Haul continues to support humanitarian, community-based organizations such as the Salvation Army, Goodwill and the like, by placing clothing-donation bins in close proximity to the designated reuse area so that customers may donate directly to these groups.
Corporate citizenship is U-Haul Company’s commitment to being accountable to the communities in which we live and serve. With nearly 1,100 self-storage facilities conveniently located in North American communities, U-Haul is an innovative leader in the field of shared storage–providing shared spaces which enable local residents to live comfortably in more compact homes and apartments with substantially reduced living expenses, while at the same time being able to store their possessions at another location.
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the best choice for the do-it-yourself mover, with a network of more than 15,800 locations in all 50 United States and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers’ patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 101,000 trucks, 76,000 trailers and 34,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 395,000 rooms and approximately 35 million square feet of storage space at nearly 1,090 owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the consumer’s number one choice as the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul supplies alternative-fuel for vehicles and backyard barbecues as one of the nation’s largest retailers of propane.
U-Haul was founded by a Navy veteran who grew up in the Great Depression. Tires and gas were still rationed or in short supply during the late 1940s when U-Haul began serving U.S. customers. Today, that background is central to the U-Haul Sustainability Program: “Serving the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Our commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle includes fuel efficient moving vans, neighborhood proximity, moving box reuse, moving pads made from discarded material and packing peanuts that are 100 percent biodegradable. Learn more about these facts and others at www.uhaul.com/sustainability.
August 21st, 2009
On September 29, 2009, MiniCo Insurance will present a free webinar for new producers and other independent insurance agents who want to learn sales strategies for writing self-storage risks. The webinar “New Producers: Accelerate Your Sales Through Self‑Storage” will address topics to include the following:
Closing the sale
Distinguishing yourself with the facility owner
Utilizing the MiniCo network to make the sale
Leveraging MiniCo’s brand recognition to your advantage
There are over 59,000 self-storage facilities in the United States, and many will shop their commercial insurance coverage this year. MiniCo’s Customer Care Manager Keith McConnell, Underwriting Team Supervisor Chris Nelson, and Underwriter Christina Cullen will discuss in detail how new producers may leverage the company’s over 35 years of self-storage industry experience and strong name recognition among facility owners to get the competitive advantage in writing self-storage risks.
For more information or to register, visit www.minicoinsurance.com. Online registration is required for this free live event.
August 21st, 2009
Storage Opportunity Partners and Storage Pros Self Storage have acquired two self-storage facilities in southeastern Massachusetts, one in the Cape Cod town of Falmouth and one in Fairhaven, across the Acushnet River from the City of New Bedford.
The acquisition brings StorageOp’s holdings to 13 properties totaling 780,000 rentable square feet, 6,800 units and more than 950 outdoor parking spaces for rent in its initial target markets of New England and southeastern Michigan, all acquired within the last 28 months.
“Once again, our strong investor base and solid financing relationships have allowed us to further implement our acquisitions strategy in New England at a time when the capital markets continue to pose enormous challenges,” says David Levenfeld, co-founder and CEO of StorageOp. “We intend to continue our disciplined growth strategy within our core markets.”The Falmouth facility, located on State Route 28, has 79,495 rentable square feet in five two-story buildings featuring more than 30,000 square feet of climate-controlled space.
The Fairhaven facility has frontage on State Route 240, and consists of 41,500 rentable square feet in six single-story buildings. New ownership will update the Fairhaven facility, including the complete renovation of one of the six storage buildings to convert 6,100 rentable square feet into climate-controlled space. Budget Truck Rental will also be added at Fairhaven.
“We will realize immediate operational synergies by adding these two properties to our existing New England portfolio,” says Ian Burnstein, co-founder and COO. “Our scale allows increasing efficiencies to maximize facility performance at all Storage Pros locations.”
The properties will be rebranded Storage Pros Self Storage, and will be operated by Storage Pros Management LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of StorageOp that also offers third-party self storage property management services.
August 21st, 2009
Door to Door Storage has purchased the container assets and customer agreements from WP Incorporated, the former Big Box Storage® franchisee based in Denver, Colorado.
“We are pleased our customers will be part of national company with strong roots in the greater Denver area and a strong reputation for positive customer relations,” stated Paul McPherson, President, WP Incorporated.”We want to welcome the former Big Box customers to Door to Door™ and want this transition to be a seamless as possible. This acquisition strengthens Door to Door’s position as the market leader in mobile storage and moving in Denver,” said Annette Jacobs, President and CEO of Door to Door Storage, Inc.
The acquisition and related transition was completed earlier this month. Door to Door has operated in Denver, Colorado since January, 2006.
August 18th, 2009
Sovran Self Storage, Inc. (NYSE:SSS), a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT), reported operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.Net income available to common shareholders for the second quarter of 2009 was $6.3 million or $.28 per diluted share. Net income available to common shareholders for the same period in 2008 was $10.5 million or $.48 per diluted share. Funds from operations for the quarter were $.66 per fully diluted common share. One-time costs of almost $1 million associated with a first quarter covenant waiver, higher interest expense associated with the Company’s recent long-term financing, and increased customer move-in incentives were the primary factors leading to lower earnings for 2009’s second quarter.
Occupancy levels at the Company’s 385 storage facilities at June 30 improved to 82.5%, an increase of 360 basis points since March 31. Kenneth Myszka, the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer stated, “In a very challenging environment, we’re pleased to see our marketing and call center efforts take hold. During the quarter, we had a net gain of 9,400 customers on a same store basis, and while we made heavy use of incentives, this got our summer season off to a solid start.”
In early May, the Company announced it had breached a debt covenant with its lenders. David Rogers, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer commented, “During the quarter, we took the necessary steps to fix this problem and to improve our liquidity position. We became even more prudent regarding acquisitions and expansions, reduced the dividend on our common stock, and raised some equity through our DRIP and Stock Purchase Plans. We’ve gained sufficient room concerning the covenant restriction and, at June 30, we have in excess of $60 million in cash and permissible borrowings remaining on our credit line.”
August 8th, 2009
The Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York, Inc. (CIB), the leading professional independent insurance brokers association in the New York Metropolitan area, including Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley, applauds Governor Paterson’s veto of S.3577 (Breslin) / A.4824 (Morelle), a bill to allow the Superintendent of Insurance to issue limited licenses to self-storage facility operators to sell insurance.In thanking the Governor for his disapproval of the bill, CIB President, Anthony Aquilino, said: “CIB was the only major independent insurance broker & agent organization to oppose this bill. We recognized that having untrained counterpersons sell contents coverage would only benefit the self-storage companies. Signing this bill into law would have adversely affected consumers who may already have such insurance coverage under their homeowners or renters policies.”
CIB Legislative Chair, Anthony Calafiore, added that: “CIB has consistently opposed efforts to expand limited licenses to sell insurance. An insurance professional needs to be properly educated and regulated by the State Insurance Department in order to serve the insurance needs of the public. This bill would fly in the face of such pro-consumer protections and would undermine the trust developed between policyholders and their independent brokers.”
August 8th, 2009
Mobile storage business owners are feeling the affects of the recession as are most small businesses around the country. On August 12, 2009, MiniCo Publishing will host a free webinar for mobile storage and self-storage professionals entitled “Three Great Ways to Increase Mobile Business in a Recession.” The webinar will offer tips to help mobile storage business owners identify creative ways to increase their bottom lines during the current recession including the following topics:
· Working with disaster relief organizations
· Long-distance shipping
· Social media mastery for mobile storage operators
James “Dusty” Rhodes, Vice President of Franchise Operations for SMARTBOX; Buck Ramsey, Director of Mobile Storage and Moving Services for Hide-Away Storage; and Derek M. Naylor, President of Storage Marketing Solutions, will be the presenters for the event. The webinar will be moderated by Poppy Behrens, Publisher, MiniCo Publishing, and sponsored by the 2008 Mobile Self-Storage Association annual conference exhibitors and sponsors.
The Mini-Storage Messenger Self-Storage Webinar Series offers informative monthly webinars free of charge to self-storage professionals and other individuals. Registration is required for webinars in this series. Register online at www.ministoragemessenger.com.
MiniCo Publishing, a division of MiniCo, Inc., publishes the “Mini-Storage Messenger,” the leading monthly trade magazine covering the global self-storage industry. Other publications include “Self-Storage Now!,” “Mobile Self-Storage Magazine,” “RV & Boat Storage Today,” “Self‑Storage Canada,” the “Self-Storage Almanac,” the “Self-Storage Development Handbook,” and the “Self‑Storage Buyer’s Guide.”
Since 1974, Phoenix-based MiniCo, Inc. has been a self-storage leader providing superior specialty insurance programs, informative publications and valuable products and services created expressly for the self‑storage industry.
August 6th, 2009
Safeguard Self Storage has expanded its online reservation capabilities by adding online rental and instant online quote capabilities. Smart move in an increasingly competitive environment where consumers are going online to comparison shop. Consider the benefits:
- Instant, online convenience
- Guaranteed availability
- Free lock with online rental
- No credit card required
- Reservation guarantees a specific unit, price and available special for 7 days
- Reservation can easily be converted to a rental on the website
- No commitment required
- Quoted price and available special expires after 7 days
- Can easily be converted to a reservation or rental the website
“At Safeguard, we recognize that people need storage solutions that fit their needs and their lifestyle–and, for a lot of people, that means shopping for and renting a storage unit online. That’s why we have introduced an e-commerce system on our website that allows customer to rent, reserve or simply receive a quote,” says Safeguard’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Linde A. Miscio. “Providing easy-to-use tools and services that helps customers get the information they need to make their storage decisions is what Safeguard is all about and we will continue to look for ways to introduce additional online services.”
August 2nd, 2009
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