eKourier July 2010

Kourier Kennards

July 2010

Valad Buy-Out Complete - Amazing Chapter Closes W e are thrilled to announce the finalisation of the buy-out of Valads interest

In this issue Valad Buy Out Complete Team Member Profiles Frontline Management A Bit of Fun While Tasting Fine Wines 2010 Culture Survey Results Spotlight on... OrangeAds goes Live 9 Questions... Charity - Aspley State School Charity - HUG Charity - Aberdare Range Primary School Nev’s Notes StorMan, the Way Ahead Congratulations Customer Feedback Next issue Deadline: 1st October, 2010 Please send contributions to the editor Editor: Sharon Dux Email: sharon@kss.com.au Ph: 02 9764 9801 Distribution: 15 October, 2010 Upcoming events 5/8 - NET Training - NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT, SA 11/8 - Royal QLD Show (Brisbane Metro Only) - (QLD) - PH Hours 14/8 - KSS Achievement Dinner 27/8 - Effective Centre Management Training - NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT, SA 28/8 - Royal QLD Show (Gold Coast Only) - (QLD) - PH Hours 2/9 - NET Training - NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT, SA 13 - 17/9 - Skillbuilder - (NSW) 20 - 24/9 - Skillbuilder - (NSW) 1/10 - Skillbuilder - (NSW) 4/10 - Labour Day - (NSW, ACT, SA) - PH Hours 5 - 7/10 - Skillbuilder - (VIC)

in 36 of our assets. On June 30th, we were able to execute and complete on our Option to acquire their remaining 25% investment. This means KSS owns 59 assets outright in our group.

The deal was orginally consummated in June 2008, and provided almost 3 years for us to finalise the acquisition. This extended time frame was fortuitous and important as it enabled us to weather the GFC, and see through the incredible tightening of the finance market that was evident throughout 2009. As the economy emerges from the GFC, we have decided to move early and take Valad out prior to the final deadline. This will greatly simplify the jobs of a handful of people (including me) in the company, as we have had to respond to this third party investor. Valad have been great partners and I genuinely appreciate that they have positively changed our company forever. We teamed with them in 2004 to acquire Millers, which owned 24 storage centres in a deal worth $220 million. They brought in some acquisition experience and courage to do the deal. I am certain, without them we would not have made this leap. This was a real game changer for KSS. In the time of our joint venture we have become more sophisticated in our finance and reporting systems, which we can also thank Valad for their assistance with much of this. They have extended great trust and respect of our expertise, and have told me

that their Kennards Joint Venture is the best one they have had. In our recent negotiations, we have learned that the Banks remain confident and enthusiastic about our business. They have been extremely supportive of our deal to acquire Valads interest and have been encouraging of our future growth post-Valad. This has been a very nice surprise. It has been an exciting and amazing period for the company, but I am really pleased to regain complete independence in our future direction. We now proudly own 100% of this high quality, well located portfolio of self storage centres. The future for KSS will again involve strong pursuit of growth through acquisition of existing storage centres, or new development. We will continue to re-invest the company profits in this endeavour, and are proud to remain a private family owned business.

Sam Kennard

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Team Member Profiles

Rebecca Steinhert Assistant Manager Panorama, South Australia Career background: Mainly retail, Store Manager for 3 1/2 years in the CBD, Handy Person, Contracting. Marital status: Defacto. Any children? No. Hobbies/interests: Walking the dog and quality family time. Do you play any sport or have any special talents? No.

Lenci Taylor Assistant Manager Belmont, Newcastle Region

Career background: Hairdresser, Cafe owner, Retail. Marital status: Married Any children? I have 2 sons - Mitch and Justin. Hobbies/interests: I enjoy playing tennis, spending time with my family and entertaining. Do you play any sport or have any special talents? Tennis Favourite book: Ruth Rendell Mysteries. Favourite movie: Shawshank Redemption. Favourite restaurant/food: Malaysian at Allmalay, Avoca Beach Where did you grow up? Ettalong Beach, it was great! Any pets? Maltese Terrier. Favourite holiday destination: We have a holiday van at One Mile Beach Nelson Bay.

Favourite book: True life stories. Favourite movie: The Notebook. Favourite restaurant/food: Italian, Alfresco. Where did you grow up? Hallett Cove, South Australia, near the beach. It was great! Any pets? Yes, I have a dog and 2 cats Favourite holiday: The Great Ocean Road. Sign up now for Certificate IV Front-Line Management!

C ongratulations to Glen D’souza from Chermside for successfully “ It is very rewarding to be able to complete the course offered through Kennards Self Storage. In my time with the Company, I have developed both professionally and personally and this course is the perfect setting to continue ahead.” Glen says. This is a great way to enhance your skills and benefit your centre at the same time – a great win-win situation! completing the Certificate IV Front-Line Management program, well done Glen!

is critical to the success of teams and the business. This course is an opportunity to help you develop a range of customer service, leadership, administrative, time management and planning skills. For further details and how to register for this program please go to Kosmo/

Learning and Development/Career development/Front- line management or ring Delna on 0408 850 656 for an informal chat.

At Kennards we believe that each and every individual

A bit of Fun While Tasting Fine Wines!

KSS and United Cellars held another 2 wine tasting evenings in the KSS centres of Milton and Abbotsford1. Both nights were a huge success! A big thanks to Kevin, Mark, Gordon,

Gavin and Adam for all their help.

Kennards Kourier July 2010

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2010 Culture Survey Results

Why Measure Our Company Culture?

The media now frequently reflects on the culture of organisations and sporting teams and suggest that it influences the successes or failures they experience. It is widely accepted that unwritten expectations and behavioural norms make a difference to an organisation or group. These intangible “rules” or expectations are quite powerful, often more powerful than the explicit documented ones. The penny dropped for me on this concept in 1997, with KSS suffering some ructions and explosive people issues that I could no longer explain away - these events compelled me to find out more. In 1998, we did our first culture survey and the result was not pretty. It confirmed that the team (if you could call it that) was not happy. It revealed that to be “safe” or “get-ahead” in KSS you had to display Passive Defensive (Green) and Aggressive Defensive (Red) behaviours. The 1998 OCI was enlightening for me personally. I engaged fully in change and renewal, starting with myself. We also challenged our systems and practices to remove any concepts that might be nurturing Red and Green behaviour. In subsequent years, we continued to measure and learn. We have enjoyed the feedback, soaked up the ideas and responded. We have not done everything right, but we continue to pursue ideas that might work. A constructive culture is important as it has proven to be the type that makes an organisation the most successfully durable, innovative and enjoyable to work in. Being Blue means we can be ourselves; share ideas openly; make a difference; feel that what we do matters and many other attributes that make our work enjoyable and customers pleased to deal with us. One example of the impact of Blue Culture was in 2004 it was fundamental in our strength and confidence to pursue the acquisition to buy Millers. I felt confident that our team had the capacity for the challenge and the change. Sam Kennard

Culture starts at the top, but it’s our entire team who live and breathe the culture everyday that has the greatest impact on culture in the business. The 2010 OCI results indicate strongly that our culture is being embraced and I believe this gives us a strong competitive advantage over our self storage rivals. A point of difference that cannot be replicated, imitated or achieved easily without commitment, investment, resources

T he results of the look very similar to the positive results achieved in 2009. But look closer and you will see improvements across all the behavioural styles. The Blue Constructive Styles have increased while the Red and Green Aggressive Defensive and Passive Defensive Styles have decreased. This is a remarkable result when you consider the wonderful outcome in 2009. The 2010 OCI, our 13th consecutive cultural survey is testament to the long running commitment Kennards has made to fostering and maintaining a constructive work environment and a commitment to be the best we can be. Creating a healthy, constructive work environment (being ‘Blue’ as we say) leads to better efficiencies, business processes and committed Team Members. When these combine, they encourage sustainable long term improved performance to the business. 2010 Cultural Survey are in, and at first glance they

and a drive to be an example of excellence.

“Creating a healthy, constructive work environment leads to better efficiencies, business processes and committed Team Members. ”

With a strong culture comes superior customer service, encouragement of ideas and innovation, improved systems and engaged teams. We can achieve this through a powerful message “have a go, make a decision” because it’s okay if you make a mistake. Human Synergistics the authorised agents of the OCI in Australia have nominated Kennards for an award recognising our achievements and long term commitment to culture. We should all be very proud of the result, because it reflects each and every one of us throughout our working day.

Darren Marshall

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Spotlight on Port Melbourne...

Site Features There are three levels with around 9,500 rentable square metres consisting of 1178 units including 238 climate controlled wine units.

History The ‘Port” was purchased in late 2002 and fitted out in 2003. The original floor had to be dug out so as to accommodate a third floor. The centre opened around Christmas 2003 and is situated next to the M1 in the industrial area of Port Melbourne which gives us great exposure (especially with the new paint work). Across the Freeway is the Kraft factory so if you like Vegemite, breathe it in!

Occupancy is Currently at

around 78%. It can be a very demanding centre with all couriers deliveries having to come through the reception area. We have a few competitors surrounding us but find our service, standards and 24 hour access is more suitable to potential customers. The centre is all under cover and we take great pride in the cleanliness of

the centre. It puts a smile on your face when you see the jaw drop on a customers face - didn’t think storage was like this!! The Team Mark Montgomery as Manager and Trudy Iacobucci as Assistant Manager.

Mark Montgomery

OrangeAds Goes Live!!

Chatswood BBQ

KSS Chatswood recently held a get together to catch up with team members and show off one of Kennards newer centres. With plenty

Since the successful completion of OrangeAds first Billboard on the side wall of Kennards Self Storage Rydalmere, Orange Ads has officially begun to advertise their new billboard initiative with their OrangeAds web site.

Right - Leanne Nassif from Artarmon2 and Orhan Guzel from THQ

of food for all, the night was a great success!

Right - Stephan Wandl from Thornleigh with former KSS Team Member Matthew Lees and Brad Hampson from Mona Vale

To view their web site go to www.orangeads.com.au

L to R - Brad Hampson (Mona

Vale), Altan Mehmet (Brookvale), Stephan Wandll (Thornleigh), Lynda Walsh (THQ), David Chapman (Warriewood),

Jim Kennard (Chatswood), Matthew Lees (former KSS Team Member at

Chatswood), Leanne Nassif (Artarmon2).

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Kennards Kourier July 2010

9 Questions... With Warren Eriksson

much like what our kids are now experiencing growing up in Australia. What courses have you completed? I completed my Bachelor of Accounting in 1997 at the University of the Witwatersrand and went on to write the Qualifying Exams in 1998. These exams are the first step in qualification as a Chartered Accountant with the final step being completion of three years of Articles (on-the-job training) with a professional services firm. I completed my articles with KPMG in Johannesburg and on arrival in Australia, completed a six month conversion course in order to be registered as a Chartered Accountant in Australia. Tell us about getting your Australian Citizenship? Quite a long story however after two successive business sponsored visas, we applied for Permanent Residency. The crazy thing was my wife’s father is an Australian however living and growing up in South Africa, separated from her father, her mother never did organise her Australian passport. We had also made the assumption that the cut off for parental citizenship was 18 years of age however by the time we arrived in Australia and established that it was in fact 25, Bernice had just passed that milestone. This meant that we had to go through the process and could not leverage off her dad’s status as an Australian citizen. We had no later lodged our application for PR and the laws were changed and immediately Bernice was entitled to citizenship through her father. This meant that Bernice and our yet to be born daughter would be citizens whilst the remainder of the family still had to apply for PR. The PR process took its course and within 6 months we were granted our new status. As we had been in the country prior to our PR, 3 of the 4 years required for citizenship were counted and we only had a year to go for citizenship. By the time we had served the year, it was October 2008. If you had to sum up kennards in one word, what would it be? Empowering.

school sweethearts and had known each other for over 9 years when we married in 2001. Bernice is an amazing Physiotherapist and a great mother to our kids. I am the middle of three children, one of which lives in Melbourne and the other on the Isle of Wight in the UK. My parents currently live in Johannesburg and are in the process of applying for PR in Australia.

Tell us about your role at Kennards? As the Financial Controller my role is all about control - not really! My role is rather diverse and offers many different challenges on a daily basis. Looking after the finance team is a rewarding experience and I have grown a great deal as a result. Strategically I have always enjoyed exploring better ways of doing things and using technology to make our lives easier and more efficient. Technically, I have had the privilege from learning and growing with the business from the bottom up and as a result have had the opportunity to work on some really interesting projects. Since the acquisition of the Millers portfolio, I have been the main point of contact for Valad (our ex joint venture partner) within KSS and have worked with them largely from a compliance point of view. I attend the KSS & KVSI Board meetings as an external adviser as a great deal of the material covered by the Board in these meetings is finance related. The autonomy within my role has most definitely been an incentive and provided the flexibility and freedom to position the finance function and team within the organisation. What was your work history before Kennards? I have only had one previous employer, namely KPMG. I did my in house training with KPMG in Johannesburg and after four years with them, I was offered a two year assignment with KPMG Sydney. My wife and I arrived in Sydney on the 28th December 2001. What is your everyday environment like at Kennards THQ?. Bit like the temperature of a converted warehouse - it fluctuates a great deal! Tell us about your family? Bernice and I have four children - Corban Joshua (6), Kaylen Grace (4), Tori Lee (2) and Seth Malachi (1). Our life is full with the blessings and challenges that a young family of four presents. Bernice and I were

What are your favourite pass times? We are an active family and like to get out together, whether that is to the park, for a run, down to the beach or for an early dinner at our local fish & chips shop. We really appreciate the simple things in life like playing in the backyard, a beautiful sunset or playing in the waves at the beach. Bernice and I are leaders in a local church in Mosman and currently co-ordinate the Kids program every Sunday morning. We appreciate the kids and teaching them life is extremely rewarding. Where did you grow up? I grew up in a suburb called Northcliff which is part of greater Johannesburg in South Africa. I was born in 1976 and grew up within the Apartheid area. I do recall that we all had servants assisting us and they were very much part of the family. Our helpers either lived on the premises or carried permits to allow them access to the ‘white only’ suburbs and if found in these areas without, they were promptly relocated. During my childhood South Africa was a very segregated nation however it was relatively safe. In terms of lifestyle and freedom, my childhood was very

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Spotlight on Parramatta... History

Parramatta is a three storey building consisting of 599 units ranging from larger commercial units to small residential units with a total of 6118 sqm. We service our customers with 2 large undercover loading docks and 2 large goods lifts to get them upstairs. We take pride in our centre being clean and welcoming to our customers. Being an office hours centre the customers like this as a security feature. We have had a large number of repeat customers over the years. Some of our government customers consist of Police, Fire Brigade and RTA. We also have a large number of customers who are internet based sellers, ranging from shoes to computers. In the last 2 months we have seen a 6% growth in occupancy, and a drop in delinquents.

The Parramatta site is located in the western Sydney region roughly 25km from Sydney. Being close to the heart of the Parramatta CBD it brings in a variety of commercial customers. Today, Parramatta is the geographic and demographic centre of greater western Sydney. It is Sydney’s second most important Commercial and Retail CBD. It’s local population is 137,200. The street we are located on is known as Little India as it consists of dozens of Indian restaurants and retailers. Most of these people being our customers. Site Features Millers first drew up plans to convert the family owned bakery into self storage in 1989. This consists of two Victorian cottages rented out to a travel agency and accountant. Helping HUG KSS recently received an update from Cate Altamura the founder of HUG (Helping Ugandan Generations) telling us of the work being done in Uganda. Cate says, “ I hope you are well. Just letting you know that I am back from Uganda after a 3 month stay. It was amazing handing out the donations to the children and the local community. Thank you again for all of your assistance with the boxes and storage space. Without your constant help I would not be able to do the work that I do in Uganda.”

The Team The Parramatta team have a mixture of youth and experience. Nick joined KSS in March 2009 as assistant manager of Prospect then becoming manager of Parramatta in May 2010. Lee is an original Millers boy since 1990 working at a number of sites including Waterloo, Camperdown and Ultimo. After Kennards acquired Millers he worked at Tempe before moving to Parramatta. Lee also has an antiques store with his wife Kristine. KSS Parramatta

Helping Out Local Communities

“A huge thank you to Kennards who have

donated 3 months free storage space at their Chermside location to assist our school and P&C

during our BER projects and as we prepare for the Aspley 120 Festival. The value of this assistance is over $1000. If you have storage needs, please support the businesses who support us!”

Kennards are proud to be helping HUG.

The children of Aberdare Ranges Primary School would like to thank Kennards Self Storage for your life changing support.

CassandraTreadwell ExecutiveDirector GlobalVolunteerNetworkFoundation Australia www.gvnfoundation.org M:+61 402690442 T:+61 2 99678892 E: cassandra@gvnfoundation.org

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Nev’s Notes... Entrepreneurs are Disruptive... E ntrepreneurs, those people who create something original in business, must The entrepreneur sees something others don’t see. It could be an idea, an invention, the application of an idea, an improvement on something existing. The entrepreneur is often a non-conformist and a contrary thinker, someone who thinks outside the box. Because the entrepreneur is different, he or she is often not appreciated, or the ideas that are put forward are not appreciated. The entrepreneurial person may be socially inept and difficult. Often the person with the new idea, the different slant on things, gets frustrated with the existing order, with the product or service or system and with the administrative and functionary ways that many within a firm go about things, he has to leave and either start something himself, or find a receptive ear outside the firm. When a firm is ”successful” people may not want the boat to be rocked. They may resist new ideas that will It’s hard to imagine it was only this time last year we began deploying StorMan v8 beginning with NZ. v8 brought about much needed change and innovative ways of interacting with our customers, not to mention automation which we are still getting through in terms of implementation. Well, we are about to do it all again and the best is yet to come! Although v8 was somewhat customised for KSS, the next planned major release v8.2 is the product of our development agreement with StorMan and has been in the making since 2008. The roll out will commence later in the year, focusing on front end stability with the big features being turned on necessarily be disruptive.

try out something new, be as open and receptive

necessarily require some change. The people within a successful firm may be comfortable, and they have done things in an established way for a while….. they know ‘how things are done around here’. It can take a crisis or change for a firm to be receptive to something new and necessarily disruptive. A bankruptcy, a new owner, a crisis or a big change are often the catalysts for disruptive new ideas to be considered. Or it requires a culture of continuing change and being receptive to the new and the disruptive. Such a culture is not common in established and reasonably successful firms. Change and trying out new things means making mistakes, trying, testing, trying again. In KSS we like to think we embrace new ideas and are constantly evolving and improving. So the challenge in a so-called successful company is to foster and encourage experimentation and the trying out of new ideas. Ideas can be fragile things. The person with the idea is mostly unsure if it will work and may be easily discouraged. And in a ‘successful’ firm, eventually, “nothing fails like success”.

to it as you can be. Consider if trying it could be a high-class success or a high-class failure, and if it is worth a shot. “Give it a go” is often better than “We’d better not. “ The “Bossleneck Syndrome” can inhibit innovation. The “Its not Policy” syndrome can thwart new ideas. “Entrepreneur, those people who create something original in business, must necessarily be disruptive. The entrepreneur sees something others don’t see...” “Sometimes it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission” is a policy I adopt quite often with bureaucrats and governmental decrees and restrictions; it can also be something in a company that can be adopted, with consideration, to try something new. Weigh up the consequences, then decide if it’s worth the Begging Forgiveness (“Gee, I didn’t know I needed approval to try that. Sorry !”) explanation if you get reprimanded for your initiative. Nev Kennard

So next time there is the opportunity to

StorMan, the Way Ahead

progressively to better manage change. More news to come, in the meantime a glimpse of what we and KSS customers have to look forward to:

Customer Interactive Website | Automated Rent Increases | Auto Direct Debit Payments | Automated National Corporate Solutions | Automated Insurance | Automated EOM | Dynamic Revenue Management | SMS Enhancements | Call Centre Module | Delinquent Recognition | Loyalty and Reward Program |

Promotions Vouchers and Coupons | Automatic Bill Plan Specials | plus hundreds of smaller features and improvements. Jeff Xanthos

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Kennards Kourier July 2010

Great Customer feedback!

“My wife and I together with our 4 children, would like to encourage that when it is time

for you to use a storage facility, use Superman BOB at Warriewood kennards. The bloke is unassuming and when I first meet him I didn’t see a customer service dude in him, but, when we needed him the most, he flew into action like superman of the customer service world and all totally unsupervised. BOB, mate you are a legend, based on your recent performance they should pay you more and from me and my family we THANK YOU and sincerely appreciate ALL your help. To the KING of Kennards, you need more people like Superman BOB, so does Sydney. BOB, you have made our move interstate to WA even better, cheers champion.”

I just wanted to give you some positive feedback.... “Around my experience with your Brookvale office, and in particular Altan Mehmet. I had an urgent need to get a storage space organised today due to an imminent house move. After contacting 2 other storage providers I have used previously earlier this week who this time messed me around and then couldn’t deliver, I was at a bit of a loss of what to do. On contacting Altan, I have to say he could not have been more helpful in getting things organised. He understood my situation, tracked me down over the course of a busy day a number of times, pulled together documentation for me very swiftly, explained everything carefully and appropriately, and got me set up in a new storage facility inside of a few hours. Given I was unable to get to the facility, he even went to the trouble of drawing up a map of where the storage space is, and providing his personal mobile number in case I had any trouble. I’ve got to say that this level of customer service goes way beyond what I had expected, and sets a new benchmark for me in my consumer dealings in the space. I also know from our business that positive feedback is always difficult to get, and even more difficult to get the further you are from the front line, hence I thought it only fair that I took the time to let you know that your guys at the front line are doing an excellent job, and Altan in particular is a credit to your brand.”

Customer Feedback “Today I visited two of your outlets, Kirrawee and Miranda and I wanted to say how excellent the service was. The gentleman that I first saw at Kirrawee was so pleasant and helpful and although he didn’t have in stock the size carton I required he happily referred me to the next nearest outlet where he knew the cartons were in stock. I drove down to Miranda and there I received the same excellent service from the two gentlemen there. They really were very pleasant to deal with and did everything possible for me. Sometimes you get great service as a customer but to get great service at two locations tells me that this is a good company. I was really impressed. I have never been to Kennards before, but I won’t hesitate to use Kennards again and will recommend you to my friends.” ----------------- “Just a quick email to let you know that after a number of years in your Waterloo Depot, I have just vacated my storage unit today. I just wanted to compliment your company on your customer service. The whole crew at Waterloo have been great particularly, Rob and Phil. These two gentleman have really made my interaction with KSS a very pleasant experience, just great, helpful guys.”

Andrea Michaels (Left) from CCC helped celebrate her sisters wedding at Marrickville on the 5 June. Andrea was 1 of her sisters 3 bridesmaids.

Above - Mark Montgomery of KSS Port Melbourne at the Mothers Day Classic with his flatmate and his partner Brenda. Port Melbourne supply free storage space for the Mothers Day Classic event.

Lynda Walsh of THQ was awarded her Certificate2 for completion of her course in Animal Care, Nutrition, Adoption, Rescue and First Aid.

“You are not born a winner, and you are not born a loser, you are what you make yourself be” Lou Holtz

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