Type “self-storage” into Google and the first entry that comes up is the Safestore website. The company, about the same size as its rival Big Yellow in the UK but with a French arm, spends £5 million a year on the dark arts of website search optimisation, trying to ensure that when customers seek somewhere to park their surplus goods, they latch onto a Safestore in their neighbourhood.
The market is, in the company’s word, “brand-blind” despite the fact that the two biggest players have highly distinctive fascias. It is also relatively undeveloped — more than 70 per cent of Safestore’s new customers have never used self-storage before. This suggests there is plenty of growth to come for all.
One limiting factor is the availability