Storage wars: Who's winning the race for your junk?

From one self-storage faclity ten years ago, there are now 43.

Singaporeans have gotten richer over the last ten years but with limited area and ballooning population, the issue of space poses a major headache.

So, who are the major clients in this industry and who are the top beneficiaries?

Based on market research undertaken by Colliers International, the local self-storage industry has grown rapidly over the past 10 years, burgeoning from a single facility in 2003 to an estimated 41 self-storage facilities, supplying over 25,000 self-storage units and more than 1.8 million sq ft of leasable self-storage space islandwide, as of December 2013.

This industry growth – which saw the entry of new players and additional investments by existing players – was driven by, among others, shrinking apartment sizes and the increasing recognition of the self-storage concept as an affordable and flexible storage option among individuals and businesses. Notably, most of the new market entrants over the past two years were small-to-medium sized players, including D’Storage, S-Store and Store4You, as well as StoreFriendly, which brought the self-storage franchising model to Singapore in December 2011.

According to Colliers International’s survey of major self-storage operators in Singapore as of September 2013, the majority 15 out of a total of 27 facilities (or 55%) are owned by their operators. Another seven facilities (26%) are operated under a franchise model and the remaining five facilities (19%) are leased by their operators.