Armourstore: a self storage company profile

Ely-based Armourstore Self Storage has recently amalgamated with Littleport Self Storage and opened a new 3-acre site. The original Armourstore policy of giving the customer excellent value for money without sacrificing quality or service has been maintained.

For a 160 square foot self storage unit, the company charges £88.13 per month (including VAT), which compares well with the same space in nearby Cambridge costing £200 to £300!

Company Chairman Rick Parisi acknowledges that container storage is a bit different to specialised warehouse rooms, but points out that the company buys only brand new container units and then insulates the roofs, which prevents condensation and stops them from getting too hot in the summer.

The company has not increased its prices for three years and has no plans for any increases. “We intend to continue to grow on volume,” says Rick. The company asks you to “give us a call because we could save you a fortune!”

Winner of a Storage.co.uk Award

Rick recently received a mysterious box through the post and was very pleasantly surprised to find that it was a winner’s pack from storage.co.uk

Armourstore was selected from a survey of 1200 UK-based storage facilities to win the award for “Excellence in Customer Service”. Rick commented, “Customer service is very important in running any business. We try hard to ensure that every customer walks away wearing a smile. This award will be coveted, and has given our staff a tremendous boost in morale.”

Testimonials really work well for local firms in self storage

The company started out in 1996 on a 3.25-acre site close to Ely in Cambridgeshire. The opening of the new site on the main A10 road will add capacity for a further 600 storage units.

The company’s policy is one of continual improvement as well as expansion, and for their marketing they rely heavily on both word-of-mouth and website testimonials. The website (www.armourstore.co.uk) currently lists 32 testimonials with more being added all the time. Testimonials seem to work well, as was illustrated by the experience of a recent enquirer who was encouraged to sign up because she personally knew two of the individuals quoted on the website, saying how happy they are.

New self storage site phased growth driven by high occupancy

The new storage site that the company is actively developing is only a couple of kilometres from the original one. Phase 1 opened on 7 July 2010, with Phase 2 due to open early in 2011, and Phase 3 is planned for late 2011.

Company policy is to operate at a very high level of occupancy ‒ at the original self storage site near Ely this has worked well, with average occupancy typically at 95 to 100%. Local competition are Abel’s Removals and Bishops Move who offer storage, but not self storage. More relevant competitors are perhaps the numerous self storage centres at Cambridge, but the massive difference in storage charges puts Armourstore in a very good position to capture extra business.

Low financing cost allows steady growth in occupied units

All Armourstore’s growth is financed from its own resources, not from bank finance, leases, mortgages or loans. This keeps it very independent of the banks, but has not stopped the business growing at a fast rate. Rick explains it like this: “Last year we were adding extra units when Big Yellow and Safestore were operating at little over 50% occupancy. We find 10ft and 20ft-units to be popular sizes and are gradually phasing out the 40-foot units ‒ there just isn’t enough light at the back of 40-foot boxes, and you have to keep a long corridor free to get to the far end.”

“What got you into self storage in the first place?“

Originally Rick was running an exporting company selling used printing machinery to Africa and Asia.

For that business he needed storage containers. The self storage business grew out of this need, as he explains: “Our equipment couldn’t be shipped until the containers were full. When other people saw our containers, they asked if they could rent space from us.”

Rick’s background is in engineering so he has thought quite a bit about how best to set out and organize the sites.

He has recently designed a bespoke computer program that will interface with the computer-controlled automatic gate access system, the direct debit system and Sage accounts. The new software will efficiently and automatically control the entire self storage system, which will keep operating costs low and enable the company to keep prices at bargain levels.

Perhaps what really got Rick into offering self storage units was exactly what makes him run the company as he does ‒ an intense interest in running a business where you give people just what they want.