People in the United States have taken to the self storage industry since it first popped up in the 1960s. Some use it because they don’t want to clutter up their home; others because they can’t bear to throw away certain things and need the space. Growth in other countries though has been spurned by something else—they are running out of space.
There are roughly 60,000 self storage facilities in the entire world, the vast majority of them in the United States (roughly five of every six). That leaves about 12,000 self storage facilities to serve the needs of over 6.5 billion people while there is roughly seven square feet of space for every person in the U.S.
A large reason for that has been the lack of awareness of the industry; you can’t use what you don’t know exists. However, there are some countries that are getting to know the self storage industry out of necessity because of population growth.
The best example would be the small city-state of Singapore. Although the population is relatively small at 5,183,700 (as of 2010), it is the third most densely populated country/region in the world with 18,943 people per square mile. The United States has just 83 people per square mile.
As the population in Singapore continues to grow, space becomes harder and harder to find. Many people are starting to turn to self storage to get their needs met, both personal and business.
"We see a growing demand for self-storage in Singapore with a population that is increasingly sophisticated and well-paid, living in homes that are limited in space," said Mr Michael Hagbeck, chief executive of Extra Space, a self-storage provider.
Some companies can see the potential for the industry in Singapore, and are looking to take advantage of it early. Store Friendly opened its first self storage facility in Singapore on Friday, 09 December 2011; they have hopes of expanding till there is a self storage facility within a kilometer of every home.
"My estimate is that the industry will be five times bigger than it is today in a decade, and it could double over the next two to three years,” said Mr Jes Johansen, 42, general manager of the Store Friendly facility.
It would not be surprising to see the self storage industry in Japan began to experience similar growth for the same reason. The island nation has the tenth largest population in the world with 127.4 million people, a growth rate of 3.5 percent, and 873 people per square mile (38th in the world). The Japanese Self Storage Association formed a couple of years ago and the organization had its first meeting last January.
Sources Used:
“Boom in self-storage trade as homes get smaller.” AsiaOneBusiness; 09 December 2011.
“Japan's New SSA Becomes Affiliate of U.S. Self Storage Association.” Self Storage Industry News; 06 April 2010.
2011 SSA Fact Sheet; Self Storage Association.