eKourier July 2012

Kourier Kennards

July 2012

A Lasting Legacy Neville John Kennard Oct 4th 1937 - June 3rd 2012

The impact that he has had extends well beyond our family and deep in to Kennards Self Storage as well as many other people, businesses and initiatives. He has truly occupied an enormous space in the world. In the enclosed Tribute Edition of the Kourier we try to give his full and rich life some explanation. You will learn more about him and the many dimensions of his thoughts and ideas. Many people in Kennards Self Storage know him well and have enjoyed his contribution to their work. Being an enduring family business with strong attachments to our activities, future and teams, makes his loss a deep and emotive event. The expressions of

In this issue Neville John Kennard... Kennards Night of Nights!

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Web Word...

Team Member Profiles

Spotlight On...

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Macquarie Park... Customer Feedback 4 Diploma of Frontline Management 5 Yammer Takes KSS by Storm 5 2012 OCI Results 6 Community Spirit 6 6 Questions... 7 Self Storage Industry in the US 8 First Mt Eden Wine Tasting... 9 Property Development Pipeline 9 Nevs Notes... 10 Training Highlights 11 Home in a Box 11 Congratulations 12 Next issue Deadline: October 5, 2012 Please send contributions to the editor Editor: Sharon Dux Email: sharon@kss.com.au Ph: 02 9764 9801 Distribution: October 19, 2012 Upcoming events 17 - 18/7 - N.E.T. Training 25/7 - Inspirational Leadership Training 8/8 - Royal QLD Show (Brisbane Metro Only) PH Hours 11/8 - 2012 Achievement Dinner 15 - 16/8 - Effective Centre Management Training 5 - 6/9 - N.E.T. Training 12 - 13/9 - Skillbuilder SA 17 - 28/9 - Skillbuilder NSW 1/10 - Labour Day (NSW/ACT/SA) PH Hours 2 - 4/10 - Skillbuilder VIC 9 - 10/10 - Skillbuilder QLD 14 - 20/10 - Skillbuilder NZ 19/10 - Hawkes Bay Anniversary Day 4

M y Dad and founder of Kennards Self Storage passed away on the 3rd June, after a battle with Cancer. He passed away at home with me, my brothers (Jim and Walter) and Gaby by his side.

sympathy and reflections of him have touched our family and are greatly appreciated.

Sam Kennard Managing Director

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Kennards Kourier July 2012

Web Word – If the Customers Got Something Good to Say – Encourage them to Say it Online!

Kennards Night of Nights!

I n April we spoke about the power of Social Media and we’re seeing an example of this internally through Yammer. Social Media for KSS has had a busy month which again has highlighted our next big challenge. Like many forums you are often more motivated to complain when upset than you are to sing someone’s praises when you are happy. Despite nearly 40,000 happy customers and a few thousand positive comment forms on Survey Monkey – the comments on forums such as Google Places, Facebook or True Local don’t always reflect this position. We are committed to being honest with the public and if there is an occasional negative experience these forums give us the chance to respond. With a balance of

has a good experience please keep encouraging them to “Like Us” and comment on Facebook. If they have a Gmail account they have access to Google comments. We’ll keep looking at ways to add simple links and instructions to help customers do this more easily. The more we do the more the true balance will be reflected online. You will have also noticed the new PLAN TO CLOSE cards and AGREEMENTS now have changes to the marketing information so that we can understand their online behaviour more accurately. New categories include Social Media. These categories have been changed in StorMan so our monthly KPI Report will begin to give us a better picture of where they found us and where we should be marketing more. Darryl Hodgson Operations Manager - NSW

It’s fabulous news that we will again be holding the Achievement Dinner in Sydney on Saturday the 11th August 2012. The Achievement Dinner is a great night that has always been enjoyed immensely by those who have attended in previous years. It’s a gesture of appreciation to everyone and an opportunity to recognise outstanding contributions or achievements made in many categories by both individuals and teams throughout the year. It’s about catching up with Team Members from across the Kennards world. You can renew old friendships, make new ones, dress up and have some fun. All Team Members are welcome to attend the Achievement Dinner. It’s the most important day in the Kennards social calendar. Darryl Hodgson and Glen Bayley Operations Managers NSW & QLD The night is your night!

positive and negative any future customer can then make an informed decision about doing business with us. With that in mind it would be ideal (ethically) to gain more positive comments in all of

these forums so that they reflect more of the real world balance. In the centres – if a customer

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Team Member Profiles

Chantal Bastiaans Assistant Manager - Newstead Career background: Manager at Supercheap Auto for 3 years. Manager at Roger David for 5 years. Marital status: I have a partner Any children? No Hobbies/interests: I like going to the movies, dining out, camping and outdoor activities Do you play any sport or have any special talents? Not at the moment! Favourite book: Bryce Courtney - Power of One Favourite movie: Anchor Man

Adam McCoy Assistant Manager - Panorama Career background: Customer Service/ Sales / Call Centre for Telstra. Assistant Manager/ Floor Supervisor at retail level. Marital status: De-facto Any children? No Hobbies/interests: I play the drums, guitar and sing Do you play any sport or have any special talents? I have

played soccer since the age of 4 Favourite movie: A lot to choose from, mostly action and thrillers Favourite restaurant/food: Good pasta, steak and curry prawns Where did you grow up? I grew up in Adelaide. Had a great upbringing with my family Any pets? Not at the moment Favourite holiday destination: Gold Coast. Would love to travel to the U.K.

Favourite restaurant/food: Gomez, Emporium Where did you grow up? Holland, Cairns and Mt Isa. It was interesting Any pets? No Favourite holiday destination: Amsterdam - it’s beautiful

Spotlight On Hoxton Park...

building with 7 driveway units, 13 ground floor units and 759 on upper levels. The driveway units have motorized 4m tall roller doors and ceiling heights of 4.5m. We also have two large lifts side by side that hold 2.5 tonnes each. The building is equipped with large extraction ducts to minimise the affects of smoke damage if any such incident

occupancy back up to over 66%. With strong enquiries and a good conversion rate, occupancy growth for the coming months is looking positive. The Team The Team at Hoxton Park consists of Sam Heneghan - Manager, James Burns - Assistant Manager (below) and Sarah Scanlan - TSM (below), filling in for Sam while on holidays. Team Hoxton Park

History We are not too sure of the previous use, some customers have told us it was a truck depot others have said it was a factory. Old Google Earth pictures show a large warehouse that could have been anything. The property was developed into storage in 2008 by the Medich Corporation. The building is completely constructed of concrete, maintaining temperature very well. As a result this has made it ideal for our Pharmaceutical National Account Customers. Site Features Hoxton Park is purpose built multi level

occurs.

We share the building with HP and Officeworks, they are on the ground floor. We occupy the two floors above. We have great handy neighbours within our complex. Bunning’s for all our maintenance needs, Officeworks and Mc Donald’s. These three offer great exposure. We are located only 5 minutes from Liverpool CBD. Current occupancy is at 64%. After a rough month with 3 ground floors units and a driveway unit vacating, we have secured a reservation which will bring the

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Kennards Kourier July 2012

Macquarie Park: no longer the last unserved market in Sydney?

About the property:

Customer Feedback “I just wanted to give you a little bit of feedback from my experience with the Miranda storage building. From the time I walked in to the time I finished my lease there I could not have been happier. The two gentlemen who worked there were both extremely polite, extremely helpful and extremely efficient. I just wanted to let you know what a good job the boys down there are doing as most people are pretty quick to write complaint letters but not so quick to write good reviews. I will definitely recommend the Miranda store to anyone who asks. We will submit our application to Ryde Council for our storage centre by August. We hope for expeditious consideration and consent, then construct Stage 1 immediately. Stage 1 will be a conversion of the front warehouse to a 2 level storage centre. Sam Kennard Managing Director The 8,000 metre property has 3000 metres of building, including 2 high clearance warehouses. We plan to recycle and re-use the buildings to construct 800 - 1,000 storage spaces. As always with each new development, we use the latest ideas and innovations to showcase the best of the brand and service features. Khartoum Road is not a major arterial road, but well used for local traffic. The new M2 on/off ramps nearby will increase traffic passing the property. What next?

I n further exciting growth activity, we have acquired an 8,000 square metre site in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park. After many years of looking to fill this hole in the Sydney market, we have finally been able to secure a site at a price that makes sense. In previous years, the area has simply been too expensive for our use. In recent times, the market has shifted. This was caused as a result of the REIT sector boom that finally began to unravel in 2008. The boom saw Macquarie Park experience an excessive amount of new A Grade offices and hi tech warehouses constructed. “The 8,000 metre property has 3000 metres of building, including 2 high clearance warehouses” In the years since then, tenants leases expired and they enjoyed compelling new lease offers to upgrade to better premises from the 'motivated' owners. This 'left behind' much B Grade property with few buyers and no tenants -

hence, prices have adjusted. KSS is the beneficiary and suspect this price window will close quite quickly. Macquarie Park is a strong and desirable commercial location - home to many Australasian head offices for multi-national corporations. It has undergone a transformation from simple warehouse and distribution to hi tech, research and development, and office area. It is formerly known as North Ryde. In addition, thousands of apartments are in planning to be built in the next few years. Macquarie University is located within 1km of the property and the shopping centre is even closer.

The last hole in the Sydney storage market?

Mapping all the storage locations in Sydney on map, reveals that Macquarie Park is about the only unserved market. It is at least 4km in any direction to any storage provider - we doubt we have any other location that can boast such an isolated position.

Thanks for a great service!”

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Diploma of Frontline Management

To Study or Not to Study, That is the Question... I have often thought of study as a never ending grind and something a person at my age did not really want.

were really good and offered nothing but encouragement. On completing the Certificate I decided to have a go at the Diploma of Frontline Management. I thought, “well in for a penny, in for a pound” as the saying goes. Of course this was more involved, a lot more work but on successfully completing it I realised a real sense of achievement. Being told that you have achieved the Diploma was a great feeling and one that made me proud of what I had accomplished. I would recommend to all fellow workers to think seriously of enrolling for the Certificate. It is a worthwhile project and once you are in to the swing of things, you are sure to enjoy it and at the same time improve your Frontline Management Skills. Just remember the old saying “You will never know until you have a go!” John Young Newcastle KSS

Customer Feedback “Just moved out after 3 years of storage with the Panorama S.A. Team. Brilliant service, good fees, excellent storage facilities and prompt communication. Will definitely use Kennards again when needing storage - well done guys!” “You cancelled my account straight after I moved out and sent me a refund without me even having to contact you - perfect! I’m impressed, what a great job!” “Service at Yeerongpilly was great! Very friendly staff that treated me as more than just a customer, I felt like a guest being welcomed into a home.” “The Springvale Kennards Storage Team were really helpful and prompt with everything, from filling out forms to providing my storage refund when we no longer required storage. Great customer service.”

I kept thinking of how I would miss my favourite TV shows, watching the football and all the other things I do in my spare time. It was something I thought was not for me. How wrong I was. I saw an opportunity to complete the Certificate of Frontline Management. Still having doubts when I received the paperwork, I launched into it. I found the more I got involved the better it got. My contacts at the Australian College of Management

Yammer Takes KSS By Storm! Y ammer the Social Network for business was recently introduced to KSS as a communication tool that has all the bells and whistles that other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter offer.

Currently there are just under a billion people who are registered on Facebook and 300 million on Twitter. That many people can’t be wrong. Yammer has taken the success of these phenomenons and made a social networking platform for business. Yammer has provided a more personalised approach to communication. People can register as themselves, post a photo, follow conversation streams, ‘like’ something, praise, or engage in the collaboration of ideas and knowledge.

between those individuals has been helpful, enlightening and a lot of fun.

together as a community rather than just a business. Building greater engagement and culture for all our Team Members. There are currently 161 KSS Team Members who have joined Yammer since it started. The conversation

If you are not on it yet, get on board so you don’t miss any of the action. Darren Marshall General Manager

Yammer is helping to bring our people

Kennards Kourier July 2012

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2012 OCI Results

initiated because of concerns regarding a high turnover of people in the company as well as gossip, rumour and politics impacting some areas of the business. Conducting the OCI provided the quantifiable data needed to start change and improve culture. Kennards have been committed to measuring culture every year since. In 2011 we made the radical decision to use a different survey tool called “Perception Survey” from which we achieved a GOLD standard-

without the engagement from our Teams, Kennards wouldn’t be the great company it is today. The survey highlighted the fact that Team Members are prepared to go out of their way to provide superior customer service and that our business responds effectively to meet the changing needs of its customers. Great people and great culture is the edge we have over our competitors - it’s our strength and our point of difference that gives us a strategic advantage. These results are all critical to sustaining the business long term and ensuring that we remain profitable in today’s market. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all Team Members for the outstanding way they contribute, every day, to maintaining a positive work culture. Darren Marshall General Manager

A fter two years hiatus, the Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI) returns as the preferred tool to measure the culture and engagement of our Team Members at KSS. KSS started measuring culture using the OCI back in 1998. This was

a truly great result. It confirmed that the work that has gone into improving the culture at Kennards over the last 14 years using the OCI has had a positive impact. The reason that we measure culture each year is because we understand that people are our greatest asset and Kennards Self Storage was happy to be involved and support the recent “Westpac Chopper Appeal Monster Garage Sale” held in Hastings for the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter. Two weeks prior to the Auction, all sorts of surplus belongings from the Hawkes Bay community were dropped off to Kennards Self Storage in Hastings where they were stored until the Auction day. The Auction held on Saturday 19th May raised over $3,500 to go towards the Chopper Appeal.

Community Spirit...

Great Customer feedback

“Just a quick note to say how fantastic the two ladies are that run the Ultimo branch. Their service is exemplary and nothing is ever an issue for them. I also know others that currently use this branch and think of them as highly as I do. Working in retail myself, I know that it’s sometimes hard to find the positive letters amongst the negatives but I feel that if the rest of the staff at Kennard’s are of this standard, you will have a very successful future and I hope they do at Ultimo as well.”

“I had storage in Palmy for just on two years. I want to say what a great set up you have going there and that I really appreciated the peace of mind that having my stuff in storage at Kennards gave. The accessibility to the store and the friendliness and help from Sue in the office was really good. Thanks again for a great service and should I need to store again or know anyone who needs to store I know who I’ll be recommending!”

The auction was such a success that it will likely

become an annual event and Kennards Self Storage will continue to support and be involved in the future. Andrew Kirkham NZ Operations Manager

Kennards Kourier July 2012

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6 Questions... With Amy Roberts - Customer Care Officer THQ

with my work life, study and being a Mum.

we try to visit her as much as we can. My brother lives close by and I love spending time with his family, I also have a niece and three nephews. We have also adopted two chickens from our neighbours garden! What is your role at Kennards? The great thing about the Customer Care Centre (CCC) is the variety in the role, only 25% of calls are storage enquires. We also respond to customer complaints, general merchandise enquires and where possible we take customer payments and talk to delinquents. We do have Live Chat which is a facility for customers to chat with us on line. These customers contact us from across the globe. One of the main requests we get from customers is to be transferred to centres. While we try and be the one point of call for our customers, some just want to talk to the centres. I think this is a credit to the service the centres provide. I’m also the Kennards Librarian. I send out and do my best to collect all borrowed books, which can sometimes be a challenge. It’s great to read some of our new books, and is such a great resource that Kennards provides. What challenges do you face in your role? Like the Team Members in our centres we build rapport with the customers but it’s hard when we don’t get to see the customers storage experience all the way through. In the CCC we face the daily challenge of moving from screen to screen, using StorMan for our Australian and New Zealand centres, and not always having specific knowledge of all the centres. But it is satisfying to see the end result of customers moving in. Feedback is also an important part of what we do, good or bad. A thank you from our centres or customers is always well received.

Customer Feedback “Really easy and a lot simpler than I thought it would be. Alan at Hastings is a very ‘on to it’ guy and we were all signed up and able to use the lockup within 20 minutes.” “Richard at Frederick Street was extremely helpful, very professional and a pleasure to deal with. I would recommend your facility to others as a result of my experience with him. I also met Leanne briefly to view the space and she was very customer service focussed and a credit to your business as well.” “Your staff are very customer focussed and go out of their way to help. I bought some boxes and the lovely guy at Camperdown carried them to my car in the rain. Great service!” “I Initially dealt with Billy at Abbotsford1 who was excellent and very informative. We visited the following Saturday in which we dealt with Narelle. She was also excellent in explaining pricing and showing us various storage rooms. Both Billy and Narelle were great to deal with. We signed up with Narelle who displayed exceptional customer service skills and answered all our questions.” What goals do you have? I have almost finished my Certificate 4 in Frontline Management and have really enjoyed the course. I am then going on to do my Diploma of Business. I am thankful for the opportunities that Kennards provides to complete these courses. I’d love to take my son to Disneyland and go to Alaska and see the Iditarod, Dog Sled Races one day. A more long term goal is buying a home for my son and I.

Tell us about your work history? I have been in my role with Kennards Customer Care for six years now. Prior to this I was the Manager of Bright Eyes Sunglasses at two stores in Carlingford and then Hornsby. Not many people would know I did live in California, USA with my family, where I worked in a Pizza Arcade Restaurant called Chuck E Cheese. Their motto is “where a kid can be a kid”. Spread across the USA , they did kids birthday parties promoted by coupons etc. It was an incredibly busy role including sales, merchandising and the worst part, cleaning the place after it had hundreds of kids run through it. I did love dressing up as Chuck E himself and doing the birthday dance, it was a great chance to learn some important work principles! What are your hobbies and interests? I look for any opportunity to get outdoors. We have set up and are now reaping the benefits of our own veggie patch. I also enjoy watching my son play soccer and swim. When I have the chance we venture out to a Swans game as I love the AFL. Having a young son I am forever getting organised for school activities and social activities. Tell us about your family? I have a sensational seven year old son, always keeps me on my toes. My mum lives up on the Central Coast and

I am trying to find the right balance

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Self Storage Industry in the US R ecently Jeff and I travelled to the US to attend a Self Storage Association Conference in Orlando, Florida and to spend time with large and medium sized Self Storage Operators. 2009 facilities. An amazing company, their systems and processes are designed to operate each facility efficiently and effectively to achieve the best results across the entire company.

There was a lot to take away from the experience with Public. We were particularly inspired by the average occupancy for all facilities of 91%. This is incredible considering the competition and the poor state of the US economy. Their primary focus is to maintain and grow occupancy to maximise their assets. We then spent a short period of time with Storage Quest, a smaller size operator with a similar number of sites to Kennards. Offering a plush office with computers available free for customers to access the internet, postal service, remote KIOSK for making payments and doing sign ups after hours, conference room, move in truck and stylish building facade. “Self Storage in the USA has been the fastest growing industry in the Real Estate sector for the last 35 years.” We then boarded a plane to Orlando to attend the Self Storage Association Conference. There we heard talks from industry leaders, with one of the better keynote talks delivered by Spencer Kirk the CEO from Extra Space Self Storage, another of the larger Self Storage companies with approximately 800 facilities. What was interesting and again inspiring, was how they approached their Revenue Management. When the GFC hit in 2008 the majority of Self Storage companies placed a hold on rent raising customers for two years. Extra Space went the other way and continued to increase rents throughout the GFC, adopting a seven to nine month rent cycle and surprisingly experienced no loss in occupancy. As a result they out performed all their competitors, an amazing result. The Trade Show floor at the conference was a great opportunity to

The trip provided an opportunity to discover and learn how the industry has developed, changed, improved and is currently performing in a competitive market and an economy that is struggling its way through a slow recovery. Self Storage is big in the USA. To create some perspective on how big it actually is, there are approximately 60,000+ Self Storage facilities Worldwide, 50,000 of which are located across the United States of America. These are round numbers from 2010 and have more than likely grown substantially in recent years. It was explained to us while in the States, that there is on average 7 square feet (2.15 square metres) of Self Storage Space for every man, woman and child in the USA. Total self storage rentable space in the USA in 2010 was 2.22 billion square feet (approximately 210 million square metres). To provide a comparison with Australia, we have 0 .4 square metres of Self Storage space for every Australian, a long way to go to catch up with the States. Self Storage in the US has been the fastest growing industry in the Real Estate sector for the last 35 years. The size and scope of the industry means competition is high. To be successful, Self Storage operators must deliver an exceptional product with exceptional service consistently; innovation and technology also play vital roles. The current state of the US economy has also made operating any business in the US a challenge. Our first visit was with Public Storage, the single largest Self Storage company in the US with

find new suppliers, new products, ideas and technologies. The second half of our trip was spent with Storage Mart who have around 120 facilities across the US and Canada. We visited sites in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano and Mirama. All well presented and well operated Self Storage properties. Storage Mart watch their rates closely and will change rates daily on any unit size according to supply and demand and the market. From here it was on to Atlanta to spend time at Universal Management who manage approximately 49 facilities on behalf of owners. Universal were focused on community involvement on site to drive traffic to their facilities. High end fit outs that included meeting rooms with projector and screen, free Wi-Fi, laptop stations and coffee bars were all part of their point of difference strategy. On our last day we did a surprise visit to an Extra Space Storage facility. The Managers were welcoming and very happy and proud to show us around. The theme of our visit was once again reinforced by the knowledge these two Managers had around dynamic pricing based on supply and demand. Overall there were many positive experiences. The standard of service in the States is amazing. It made me think that Australia has a long way to go to reach their service standards. If you have a competitor nearby, spare a thought for the US, where you could have nine competitors within a three kilometre radius. Consider it as opportunity for you to sharpen the saw and get better at what you do; it’s a good thing for consumers. It all comes down to doing the little things right and the big things will then look after themselves. It’s a win-win situation.

Darren Marshall General Manager

Kennards Kourier July 2012

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First Mt Eden Wine Tasting a Great Success!

to present the Mt Eden Wine Cellar facility to everyone. The Mt Eden Wine Cellar is the only purpose built climate controlled wine cellaring available in Auckland. The feedback was impressive, many long term wine buyers were impressed at the detail, features and benefits we provide for wine storage. The wine community is quite concentrated and a challenge to target and market. Throughout the night, the Mt Eden team of Shane Pearce and Feroz Brouwer manned our own stand, with info packs and give aways of Kennards Wine Openers which were received well. The night created the opportunity for potential customers to experience what

we have to offer and more likely to remember us or recommend us if wine storage comes into mind in the future. Thanks to Lynda Walsh, KSS Wine Development Business Manager, for co-ordinating and coming over to NZ to support us on the night, it was a great team effort! Andrew Kirkham Operations Manager NZ

T eaming up with United Cellars, the first NZ Wine Tasting Event was held at our Mt Eden facility on Wednesday night 9th May. With over 150 reservations received, it was anticipated to be a large turn out. On the night in excess of 100 people enjoyed a varied selection of wines on offer. It created an excellent opportunity

Property Development Pipeline

Belmont Council have approved our DA to extend and link two existing self storage buildings which were acquired last year. Some minor adjustments are currently being made to the design, before the

Frenchs Forest DA has been lodged with Warringah Council for the conversion of an existing office building (built for coke originally in the 70’s). The proposed development will provide approximately 7400sqm of floor area. Klemzig Construction is due to commence on Stage 1 of the new facility with an aim for completion by late December 2012. This initial stage will see the extension and improvement of an existing building which will provide 5900sqm of floor area over two levels. Penrith Our Development Application for Enterprise Spaces has now been approved by council, along with a possible expansion of the existing centre. Construction will commence in the next few months. Rydalmere The fit-out of Enterprise Spaces is now complete and looking great. The centre is also expecting the replacement of four hoists, to be installed by mid July. Wollongong Construction is ongoing and we are still targeting a September 2012 opening despite all of the recent rain. Currently all of the building slabs are in as well as the concrete tilt panels. For regular updates regarding projects under construction follow us on Yammer! Sam Noyes Development & Construction

Wollongong

project is put to tender.

Browns Plains The construction of the new Enterprise Spaces was completed in May 2012. This development will provide 10 Enterprise Spaces as well as 18 undercover car/boat/caravan spaces.

Flemington Works are due to commence on site on the 2nd of August. This development will provide a driveway through the existing vacant building, providing access to large

Rydalmere

driveway units. With a floor above to be fitted out, which will link through to the centres existing building. This will provide approximately 2475sqm of additional storage space. Due for completion late December 2012.

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Nevs Notes... Prosperity vs Growth

Nev enjoyed expressing his ideas in this section of the Kourier. These little gems have been appreciated by many in KSS. We will continue to publish his ideas that we have in stock. Enjoy!

prosperity than a strained growth. If an individual pays off his house, reduces his debt, lives more frugally, he may become more prosperous. The western world has been through a period of extraordinary growth over several decades and we may all be somewhat addicted to the feel-good of such apparent prosperity. For many now, this period is at an end for some time as the borrowings get repaid, the malinvestments corrected, the spend-thrift habits changed. It is time now to become prosperous. Growth can wait. “Relax, kick back, economise, save, invest and become property prosperous.” While politicians and their big government departments want “growth” and exhort us to spend, if we each become prosperous instead, accumulate capital, concentrate on quality of life and have the choices that prosperity brings, we may be less fooled by their promises. Economic growth can be good and bring benefits to many, but not if it is an artificial growth, growth for growth’s sake, rather than founded on sound underlying prosperity. The next several years will bring, I believe, a correction of malinvestment in “growth” and a return, eventually, to real prosperity. Relax, kick back, economise, save, invest and become properly prosperous. Prosperity first, growth second.

But what about “prosperity”? What if “growth” may actually at times reduce “prosperity”? An investment should be made not out of some growth imperative, but out of a hard-nosed financial assessment. An individual, for example, may want to “grow” financially with more assets, but if this requires lots of borrowing it may actually come at the expense of prosperity. He may buy an investment property, borrowing to do so, and be financially stressed for years; he may actually be less prosperous. In the long run the investment property may increase in value, produce good income and relieve

the stress. It may be a good idea, but such an investment should be made not out of some growth imperative, but out of a hard-nosed financial assessment. It should have the prospect to lead to real

prosperity.

W e hear much these days about the “need for economic growth”, who often don’t know much about business, or about proper economics, and they don’t know much about prosperity either. They want growth for the sake of growth, but I am not sure why. They love the economic growth buzzword. Perhaps it is because economic growth papers over the cracks and flaws and blemishes in the system. For a politician, a government -The State - economic growth means more taxes and more spending, the stuff they love. They blindly and positively want economic growth. While the Greens blindly, negatively, want no growth. They don’t even like prosperity. Businesses too, mostly want to grow. There seems to be an unquestioned growth imperative. especially from politicians

A business too, a small company or a big corporation, needs to watch that it is not driven by the growth imperative that actually reduces the prosperity of its owners and investors. Accumulating capital, rather than growing with borrowings, may bring greater prosperity, albeit at the expense of growth. “An individual, for example, may want to “grow” financially with more assets, but if this requires lots of borrowing it may actually come at the expense of prosperity.” But when it comes to governments, to The State, they seem to be driven by the propensity and encouragement of their constituents to spend. Politicians want spending, and borrowing, even though it may reduce the comfort and real prosperity of the wage-earners and businesses in their Nation State. It is prosperity that is important. Lower growth, no growth even, may bring more

September 1st, 2011

Nev Kennard

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Kennards Kourier July 2012

Training Highlights

“Home in a Box” The Mercy Foundation is a Not for Profit Catholic organisation, under the auspices of the North Sydney Sisters of Mercy. It is an organisation committed to social justice and structural change to create greater social equity and inclusion in the Australian community. The primary social justice issue which the Mercy Foundation is currently concerned with is homelessness and its related causes and consequences. These include: affordable housing, poverty, family violence, social exclusion, mental illness, disability, addictions and brain injury. Supporting initiatives which have one or more of the following as their core goal: • Preventing homelessness; • Responding appropriately to homelessness or; • Ending chronic homelessness. Kennards Self Storage has partnered with The Mercy Foundation on a new project called “ Home in a Box ”. Supplying donated storage space and Kennards Boxes to support the initiative. Once homeless people move into permanent housing, many are in need of household items like towels, sheets, crockery, and cutlery to settle into their new home. It is often these items that are the least affordable when living on a budget, but it is these possessions that help make a house a home. Home in a Box was developed in response to this need. By helping to create a sense of home, together with the right support services, people are more likely to stay housed and break the cycle of homelessness. Home in a Box will go a long way to helping formerly homeless people settle into their home. To learn more about The Mercy Foundation go here. http://www. mercyfoundation.com.au/index.cfm

To deliver Skillbuilder in New Zealand the Team travel between sites by various types of transport. They were seen on this trip, high above Rotorua in the most unusual transport - a Gondola! L to R - Bill McClean - Training Manager, Bev Brooking - Relief Manager New Zealand, Andrew Kirkham - Operations Manager New Zealand

Skillbuilder. Back Left - Brad Hampson (Brookvale), Front Left - Gary Longmire (Auburn), Back Right - Mark Rankin (Caringbah), Front Right - Joel Mc Donald (Artarmon)

Wayne took time to check out the CCC while in Sydney for Effective Centre Management Training. L to R - Christina Gregoriou (CCC), Wayne McLaren (Chermside), Katerina Lousi (CCC), Dianne White (CCC)

Left: N.E.T.Training. L to R - Ron Sereno (TSM), Arjuna Segarajasekeran (Fyshwick), Marc Leong (Yeerongpilly), Nathan Roth (Artarmon)

Below: Effective Centre Management Training. L to R - Tony Vuong (THQ), Peter Reid (Moore Park), Nigel Spragg (Huntingdale), Bryan Cole Napier), Duncan Newington (Tauranga), Sarf Khan (Campbelltown1), Carl Spence (Mona Vale), Glen D’Souza (Chermside)

Sharon Dux PA to MD

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Kennards Kourier July 2012

KSS Huddle At Ultimo

The recent Huddle at Ultimo was a great success, showing off their new office relocation and upgrade. L to R: Karen Bell (Ultimo) Michael Macheledt (THQ), Steve Jansen (Castle Hill), Darryl Hodgson (THQ), Roddy Kennard (THQ), Fiona Harding (THQ), Peter Reid (Moore park), Mark Fradd (Miranda), Adam Snowdon (Moore Park), Debbie Jones (Ultimo), Darren Marshall (THQ), Phil Howe (Waterloo), Eric Conliffe (Castle Hill), Helen Tancred (Ultimo), Ian Gatt (Moore Park), David Morgan (Rozelle) Congratulations to Bronwen

Ault from KSS Bankstown on her recent Marriage to John Aouad. The Marriage took place at St Bernadettes Catholic Church Carlton on Saturday 16th June. The reception was held at The Grand Roxy. Jim Dade and Sashnie Reddy from Bankstown attended the Wedding (pictured left).

Customer feedback “Thanks for getting in contact as I fully support the concept of getting in touch with customers to gain insights. I should point out in this instance I did choose to store with you and have since signed up for a unit in your Camperdown NSW facility. I want to make a special mention of the service I received from Dianne at your call centre. I had to speak with her several times over a couple of days and she was friendly, helpful and engaging. I actually got off the phone from her each time and commented to my team about what a pleasure she was to deal with. They were rather shocked as I don’t suffer fools gladly and high praise is hard to come by. Please pass on my thanks to her.”

Sharon Dux from THQ recently completed the 50km Wild Endurance Day Trek in The Blue Mountains. She took a little piece of KSS with her!

“ You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore” Christopher Columbus

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Kennards Kourier July 2012