KSS eKourier October 2022

FEATURE

LEARNING FROM THE BIG GUYS

L to R: Javier Perez (Revenue Manager), Darren Marshall (COO), Sam Kennard (CEO) and Jeff Xanthos (CIO)

T his year, our US learning trip

The US is attractive for the purpose of the trip because it is a large and very competitive market. There are 5 REIT’s of-scale and many private companies with hundreds of storage centres. They are innovative and sophisticated. It is incredible how much diversity in strategy and execution the industry has too.

The openness and generosity of our hosts is always incredible. We get hours of dialogue and time with key people exploring shared opportunities, challenges and strategies. We get to see storage centres and look behind- the-scenes at the systems in operation and how managers get things done. The areas of interest when we visit include Operations, Sales, Service, Training, Digital Marketing, Revenue Management and others. Our first week away is dedicated to the SSA convention and trade show. This is valuable on its own as companies showcase their innovations and it brings all the major operators together. Following this, we headed to New York City where we visited several Manhattan Mini Storage centres and toured the centres with the local leadership of this impressive portfolio. From Manhattan we went to CubeSmart HQ in Malvern, Pennsyl - vania. CubeSmart are a REIT with 1,300 locations and a market capitalisation of almost $10 billion.

resumed after the enforced three-

year gap.

These trips have been an annual event which revolve around the US Self Storage Association Autumn conven- tion each September in Las Vegas. The 2022 Convention was the biggest they have ever held; with 3,400 attendees and over 200 product and service exhibitors in the trade show. The US self storage sector is white hot at the moment. Occupancies have been very high and operators are enjoying exceptionally strong income growth. New investment and new supply is also now coming back to the market at a rapid rate. Indeed some seasoned operators are cautious about what 2023 holds.

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THE TRIP EXPOSES US TO STUFF AND AFFIRMS OUR STRATEGY AND PRACTICES IN MANY WAYS WHILE CHALLENGING US IN OTHERS

My first US convention was in 1988 with my dad, and over the years of my US trips I have made many great storage friends from the US and other parts of the world. This has allowed me to reach out to storage operators and ask to come and visit. ‘

This year, four of us went on the tour; Darren, Jeff, Javier and me.

The purpose of the trip is to learn from large operators in the US and explore product and service innovations. We get to do this at the convention and through a series of company visits.

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6 Kennards Kourier Oct 2022