By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
A self-storage provider has expanded its facilities in Metro Manila on growing demand among Filipinos in the urban centers to store stuff that can no longer be accommodated in their homes.
Sam Peterson, founder and Managing Director of Loc&Stor 24/7 in the Philippines, said their world-class facilities are strategically located in Pasig and Makati. In fact, they have just opened their second Makati facility conveniently located on JP Rizal.
“These are frequented by storers from both north and south of Metro Manila, but to even better serve this broader market, they have sites under construction in the north and south of Manila,” he said.
Peterson affirmed that they have been very particular about Loc&Stor’s locations, as they want to ensure not just their accessibility but more importantly their safety and security.
“The facilities must be in strictly flood-free areas,” he stressed. “If it didn’t survive Ondoy, it’s a no-go.”
According to Peterson, Loc&Stor 24/7 is a cut above the rest because of the company’s attention to details in every aspect of its facility and service. They make sure that everyone in the team — from the staff to security personnel — is always there to meet the needs of storers at all times.
“When you walk through Loc&Stor 24/7’s facilities, all these little details should add up. This is why we believe that for 99.9 percent of our customers, Loc&Stor 24/7 exceed their expectations and they have a great feeling about what we provide,” said Peterson.
However, Peterson shared that the greatest lesson he has learned so far is that creating awareness is more important than anything else, especially in a growing market like this.
“I think we’re in a good place in the Philippines and that the Filipinos appreciate the product. We want to make things easy and convenient for them. There’s always more work to be done, but I believe that we will continue to grow,” Peterson stated.
He noted that for residents of a bustling metropolis like Metro Manila, where a large chunk of the populace resides in cramped townhouses and condominium units, the lack of storage space is fast becoming an aggravation.
“This was the situation that presented an opportunity to bring the highly promising self-storage industry to the Philippines,” who spent nearly two decade of multi-national management experience in Asia before moving into the Self-Storage sector where he ran the Asian business for a global leader in design and construction of self-storage facilities.
“By working with different self-storage operators across the globe, I was able to take the best practices I learned and bring them to the Philippine market,” said Peterson, whose wife Anna is a Filipina.