PART TWO
About Us:
Why Self Storage India?
- First and foremost, trust and transparency. We have been in business for nearly a decade and earned the highest customer service scores, and are known for following through on our promises.
- Unlike many of our “on-demand” or “storage as a service” competitors, we offer a keep it simple proposition of private rooms modeled on the American model of self-storage. We are the go-to provider for any customer seeking their storage room sizes.
- We have invested in customer service, and our CEO leads from the front by being accessible and answerable to our customers. We have high customer service standards and have dedicated staff and technology. We also have dedicated staff to guide customers at every warehouse.
- Our facilities are conveniently located, and our room sizes match customer needs - we can meet all budgets and size requirements. Indian warehousing is beset with environmental challenges such as rain-flooding, infestations, extreme heat, etc. After deep due diligence, we pick our locations to be resilient to such factors. Before launching, we studied the market, ran trial and error tests, found key gaps / missing elements, and tailored our products accordingly to what people needed. Over the years, we have refined the services based on changing customer demands.
- As a woman-owned and operated business, we have focused on women's safety as part of our values. We have taken special care to incorporate security measures to ensure monitoring and protection. All our warehouses cater to women’s customer safety, and agents monitor female clients from entry to and exit from the facility.
- SSI is a responsible corporate citizen. We donate a percentage of each room’s revenue to a prominent non-profit organization educating young schoolgirls across India.
- We have planted a new tree sapling for every new customer since 2013 and provide a free sapling to every customer who visits our facilities.
- Finally, we are on track to becoming Carbon Neutral by the end of 2022. We plan to increase our reliance on solar power by commissioning solar panels at all our facilities.
What is the Company's vision?
- The company’s long-term vision is to create self-storage as an investable asset class listed on Indian public markets. REITs are a new phenomenon in India; only three CRE REITs operate in India. SSI plans to be a self-storage pioneer in this arena.
- In the shorter term, the company's vision is to widely introduce the concept of self-storage to Indians and provide people with the awareness that a safe storage space provider can give them peace of mind about the state of belongings to which they may have an emotional attachment or attribute significant financial value.
- We aim to be a one-stop solution for businesses and individuals' small footprint space-related needs.
- We plan to build two facets to our business - a world-class technologically sophisticated self-storage operator on one side and an investor into a rich portfolio of real estate assets in one of the fastest-growing countries in the world, on the other.
- The entire “India Story” most people outside India know about is a tale covering less than 20 Indian cities. SSI plans to open the Indian hinterland for greenfield facilities.
- We are deeply committed to delivering a frictionless customer experience and have invested heavily in people and technologies to support our customers. Accessibility is the foundation of customer satisfaction, so we are available on messaging apps like WhatsApp, phone, chatbot, or live voice communication with our executives.
- We have a wide range of offerings, ensuring we are affordable for all types of storage requirements.
- Trustworthy, robust, and reliable are the three foundations upon which we have built our success and will continue to do so going forward.
*** Are you planning on expanding to other locations? ***
In 2022, we plan to start our expansion beyond our home market into eight other cities over the following two years, starting with the megacities of Mumbai and Bangalore. Each of these target markets has the population of a sizable western country. For example, the greater Mumbai region is home to over 22 million people, nearly comparable to Texas’s population. However, all those people are packed into a land area smaller than Los Angeles. These regions are already densely populated, and as urbanization increases, their density will only intensify. Home space is at a premium, so we believe our storage solutions can be a game-changer.
*** How many facilities do you have? ***
We currently have four facilities in the Delhi NCR area. After studying proximity to our target audience, each facility has been selected based on a data-driven approach. We have a total of 1500 rooms with a pipeline of two additional facilities to be added, which would bring our 2022 total to 2000 rooms in our home market.
In India, proximity matters due to clogged roads and highways; traversing short distances of 15-20 miles by car could take 60+ minutes. We have been thoughtful to ensure each location serves the hubs where our target audience resides within a 20–30-minute drive. This means, unlike the US market, in India, our business plan requires numerous strategically located smaller, 250-500 room facilities, rather than distant 1000+ room mega facilities serving vast segments of a city.
So far, our focus is on private rooms, with different sizes ranging from 25 sq ft to 300 sq ft. We continue to listen to our customers to understand how we may tweak our offerings.
What amenities do you offer?
I believe that we have built a trusted brand name and a set of clients who have become our ambassadors in the marketplace - much of our business arrives through referrals and word of mouth, with people directly landing on our website. This trust has been achieved over years of dependable service where we live up to our promises.
We provide -
- Contactless move-in via concierge-type service.
- Sanitized warehouse with dedicated on-site cleaning staff
- Brightly lit and m Monitored by CCTV Cameras (day and night cameras)
- 24/7/365 access for customers
- Dedicated Site Managers during working hours
- 24/7/365 on-site security guards
- On-site cleaning staff
- Bimonthly warehouse pest control
- Complimentary cleaning and pest control of occupied rooms upon request
- Complimentary insurance through National Insurance company
- Complimentary plastic pallets to elevate your belongings above floor level
- Fire suppression facilities
- Complementary heavy-duty locks on request
- Accepting packages on your behalf for storage at the facility
- Nominee/Beneficiary arrangements
Ultimately, our vision is to improve people’s quality of work and home life by providing them with options to move their unwanted / lesser used goods into our private rooms and access them as per their convenience.
Go check out -
Self Storage India: Our Story - Part Two here
Self Storage India: Our Story - Part Three here
Find out more about Self Storage India here.
