Self Storage in Switzerland

Switzerland is a small country (just under 8 million possible users of self storage), but it is wealthy and people are often short of space – so the demand for self storage is growing rapidly here.

There is a national self storage association based in Basel and run by Mr Christian Schmutz (it’s called 3sa.ch). There are only about 8 member facilities of a total of between 15 and 20 nationally.

Self storage in Switzerland has growing impressively: in 2007 Rodney Walker of Fedessa, the European Self Storage Association, estimated that there were only 6 facilities in Switzerland. In three or four years, therefore, the number of storage centres has roughly tripled.

Self storage in Switzerland: The big operators

The main players are Zebrabox with four facilities (Bern, Basle, Zurich and Lausanne); Casaforte, with two storage centres (in Basel and Lugano); Secur’storage and Homebox, both in Geneva. But there are smaller operators offering self storage in Switzerland as well, such as Easystock, which has opened two facilities on the outskirts of Lausanne – one in Preveranges/Denges and one at Crissier.

The largest and longest established is Zebrabox who started 30 years ago in 1980 and use the stripey Zebra motif extensively – on their buildings and vans, packaging tape and cartons. When I visited them recently in Lausanne they even had a model Zebra chair in their reception area. To the seasoned self storage visitor, their depots appear much like other European storage outlets but there are some striking differences:

• their storage rooms are extremely clean and efficient (but perhaps you’d expect that of the Swiss);
• they charge by the cubic metre and the square metre – that is to say they give prices and put alongside these sizes in both cubic metres and square metres;
• they have to deal in various languages particularly Swiss-German and French but also the third official language, Italian, and in practice they also usually speak English;
• they have an individual alarm system for each room.

What do they call self storage in Switzerland?

The two French phrases for self storage are “self stockage” and “garde meubles” (furniture store); in Swiss German it is “Dein Lager” (your store) or “Dein Lagerraum” (your storage room).

How much does self storage in Switzerland cost?

What about storage prices? In Lausanne at Zebrabox I was given a price list where a typical price is 339 Swiss francs per month for 7 square metres/21 cubic metres (about 75 square feet), so this is equivalent to about £35 psf pa.

This compares with about £25 psf pa in the South East of England, so Swiss self storage can be quite a bit more expensive – but Lausanne is a wealthy city in a wealthier country. One should also note that these were quite high units with a ceiling height of about 3 metres (10 foot), so with good stacking one gets much better value.

Ironically as I came out of the storage centre I met a lady who told me not to store my things there because she said it is too expensive – she recommended that I try an Internet notice board (anibis.ch), but I could see that this could be both cheaper and much more trouble.

Independent operators competing on storage pricing

I did visit another self storage operator, Easystock, who said their site, a converted warehouse, was almost full. They offered me a space of about 10 square metres for 320 Swiss francs – the equivalent of about £190 per month, which worked out at a much more reasonable £19 psf pa.

In both the case of Zebrabox and Easystock, the padlocks would be supplied by them (I was in effect borrowing these). For my storage at Easystock I was required to give not only my own contact details but those of a relative or close friend, which sounded like a sensible way to make sure the storage manager can make contact with their users, who are often between homes.

Other newer smaller operators include selfbox.ch near Morges (outside Lausanne); boxalouer.ch (literally “box to rent”); and myplace.ch, which has a new purpose- built facility in Zurich. Companies offering self storage in Switzerland typically sell packaging materials, but they are less likely to offer a free introductory period than their British storage counterparts – though I did come across one company offering a free month for each introduction of a new client.

Self storage in Switzerland is a growing market, but it is still small. If the UK has over 1,000 centres for a population of 60 million, a similar density of storage facilities in Switzerland would be roughly 120, whereas it has only about 20. Renting space for storage looks set to grow but very many families still have links with rural or farming properties with barns and outbuildings, so there must in Switzerland also be very many informal self storage arrangements within families and between friends.

3 Responses to “Self Storage in Switzerland”

1. Ian says:

   August 30, 2010 at 5:35 pm

   According to my research, there are currently 18 self storage sites in Switzerland, which offer similar products and services as those of Zebrabox, MyPlace etc. Another will open in January 2011 in Uznach. I would appreciate any further names/locations to update my records.

2. Flexstockage says:

   January 28, 2011 at 12:33 pm

   Bonjour,

   J’ai reconverti mon ancienne ferme en surface de stockage
   Ouverture : avril 2011

3. antony says:

   January 30, 2011 at 7:02 am

   The above comment means: “I have converted my old farm into a storage facility. Opening: April 2011”