eKourier April 2015

FEATURES

NZ Expansion Continues

Customer Feedback

“I have had items in storage at Kennards Palmerston North since about 2002. They have always been wonderful to deal with, very professional, yet friendly, personal service. I moved away from the PN area shortly after putting the items in storage, and have never been able to get back to them, as I don’t have a vehicle, but was always happy to leave them in them storage. Recently I was diagnosed with cancer. I will start surgery and treatment shortly, and when I have recovered sufficiently to travel, will moving back overseas to live with family. However I knew I would not be able to get to, or deal with the stuff in storage, so I arranged to have the Salvation Army go in and take what they wanted and dump what they didn’t, and to phone me if there were any problems. I assumed that the storage issue was now dealt with, and one less thing to have to worry about, and Blair and Hayley at Kennards were so nice, and so helpful. But instead, the Salvation Army people went in, picked it over, took what they wanted, left the rest there, and never even bothered to call me to tell me. It was Blair who called to tell me. I really didn’t have time to make any other arrangements, and didn’t know what to do. Blair came to my rescue, arranged skip bins (which of course I was more than happy to pay for), and cleared the locker out himself for me. Blair and Hayley are probably the nicest people I have ever dealt with in any business and I can wholeheartedly recommend Kennards in Palmerston North as the best place to go to for storage!

O ur Mt Eden centre has oped basement level used for car parking has been converted into an additional 78 units. With larger units in high demand the spaces have been welcomed with open arms by the Team. Utilising the existing ramp we ceased upon the opportunity to build some premium driveway units and utilise every square inch of space available. It was pleasing to the see the Team diligently and enthusiastically making reservations for customers as soon they came online. This was the final stage of the Mt Eden project and if historic rent up continues we should see Mt Eden operating as a high performing centre by the second half of 2015. After the acquisition of the Wellington site in 2014 we quickly identified some changes needed to the unit mix to increase revenue. Through our own research and CPA reviews we agreed some large units were required. Fortunately this was as simple as removing the dividing walls between a number of smaller units on the ground floor and upper levels catering the demand of our customers. successfully completed its latest conversion project. The final underdevel-

‘ WITH LARGER UNITS IN HIGH DEMAND THE SPACES HAVE BEEN WELCOMED WITH OPEN ARMS BY THE TEAM As we go to print we have also remedied the necessary paper work to bring our site up to Earthquake standards with the local council. It was a big learning curve for me dealing with council, let’s just say, do not get me started on bureaucracy! ‘ Earthquake strengthening has begun on the adjoining building which will enable us to build four new levels! This planned fit out will see even larger units including our Enterprise Spaces, this will be a nice niche and highly sort after solution in the Wellington market place. While this will be a substantial invest- ment it will place us as the largest and most sophisticated storage facility in the area. It’s has also increased our appetite to expand with more sites in this region. Andrew Kirkham Operations Manager (NZ)

Thank you Kennards, and thank you so much, Blair and Hayley.”

9 Kennards Kourier April 2015