Self-storage first appeared in the 1970s in the United States. Since then, US capacity has averaged 10% annual growth to reach roughly US$43 billion (JPY6.4 trillion) as of 20231. In the US, one in ten households uses self-storage resulting in 10% penetration. Over the past 20-30 years, rental-storage has exhibited similar growth rates in Canada, Australia, the UK, Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The Japanese market for rental-storage emerged in the 1990's when warehousing companies began renting industrial space to consumers, owners of obsolete office buildings began renting makeshift closets to consumers, and owners of vacant land rented outdoor shipping containers to consumers. The safety, cleanliness and accessibility of these products varied, but was generally low.
The Japanese indoor self-storage market today is highly fragmented, with over 460 brands across the country. There are a few typical business models. One involves leasing single or multiple floors in underutilized office buildings, then installing anywhere between 50-100 storage units with access control. The other prevalent model sees operators contracting with landowners to construct a pre-fabricated, low-storey storage facility with access control. These facilities are then managed on behalf of the landowner.
The first Quraz opened in 2001, heralding a new era of quality in the Japanese self-storage market with full-building conversions in the initial years, followed by a focus on ground-up construction of purpose-built facilities that are manned (see here for the Quraz Difference). To-date, we have opened a total of 67 shops in ten of Japan’s largest cities, with a total capacity exceeding 40,000 storage units and growing.
1) https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-self-storage-market