High Streets Are Moving To Secure Self Storage

Retailers deserting high streets can increasingly be found in storage units, with hundreds taking space in Store & Secure’s premises over the last five years. Since Covid struck, the number moving into the company’s huge business storage units in Bournemouth and Basingstoke has risen dramatically. The family-run storage company is making it possible for the UK to once again become a ‘nation of shopkeepers’.

With the lockdowns making online purchasing second nature, many retailers have moved their businesses online only. Almost a third of all retail sales are now made over the internet and it is a figure that is predicted to grow. Businesses taking space in a storage unit can increase revenues because there are so few overheads compared with having a high street presence. Start-ups that have grown out of ‘dining rooms and spare bedrooms’ are also moving into Store & Secure’s purpose-built stock storage units.

Lucy and Sophie Maidman run the multi award-winning storage company that opened its first branch in Yeomans Way, Bournemouth, in 2010. Lucy said: “The growth in this part of the business has been dramatic and we will be able to help lots more online retailers and start-ups when we open new facilities. It makes complete sense for retailers to go online only and base themselves in our units because it is so much cheaper than having a shop.”

Discussing the other benefits of using business storage in Bournemouth, Lucy said: “There are no rates or utility bills to pay, no parking or access issues and of course it is completely secure with seven-day-a-week access.”

She continued: “We’ve got former shopkeepers and market stall holders who have moved into our units, and many start-ups that have grown out of their dining rooms and spare bedrooms are taking space with us as they get bigger. Many people will come in the mornings before their full-time jobs, pack up orders and get them sent off before doing a day’s work.”

Store & Secure offer more than just secure self storage: “We receive deliveries for them and let them know they’ve arrived – a service that is all included in the cost. All manner of things are sold from our sites including vinyl records, sealed sweets, furniture, baskets, phone accessories, books and clothing.”

The business storage in Bournemouth and Basingstoke can handle all levels of stock storage. “We have different size units available, and clients move in and out of them depending on stock levels and other requirements.”

New clients make Store & Secure a dynamic place to be, Lucy said: “It is like having a high street in our facilities and each morning and evening as clients get their orders out. Some people have built successful businesses in our units and have since moved out into their own larger premises.”

She continued: “An increasing number of clients are those who started online trading during lockdown. The trading element of our business was something we didn’t really anticipate when we opened, but in the last five years it has developed. We identified the trend early and encouraged that part of the business which has been massively accelerated by the lockdowns. There are several hundred retailers based in our Bournemouth and Basingstoke facilities.”

If you’re an entrepreneur that needs business storage in Basingstoke or Bournemouth, or if you would simply benefit from a little extra stock storage, get in touch with Store & Secure or get a quote online.