PETALING JAYA, 20 April 2021 – In the wake of COVID-19, many individuals and businesses had to adapt to the new normal quickly. Most people felt the effect of salary cuts, downsizing, and the overall downturn of the economy.
In this new reality, the need for short-term, flexible space solutions quickly became a real alternative for businesses saddled with high rental costs. Individuals, who found themselves having to work from home, also felt the need for more space.
The desire to help those businesses and individuals impacted by this situation has been Cube Self Storage Sdn Bhd's mission. The company specialises in climate-controlled storage space and has been in an expansion mode since last year as it strives to extend its support to more individuals and businesses.
“Being in the industry we realised very quickly that there are many drivers for individuals and businesses to seek space solutions. There is no one size fits all approach, we understand there is always an emotional driver as well. That is how we are different; our approach is to humanise storage. We take pride in understanding our consumers and their motivations for seeking storage solutions before providing them with the best options,” said Mrithula Shiva, General Manager.
According to her, Cube’s customer base included people from all walks of life.
Faced with the prospect of paying rent even though they had to return home, many international students gave up their apartments. They put all their belongings in the company's storage facility instead.
Several e-commerce startups kickstarted their venture from storage units, keeping their merchandise fresh in a climate-controlled environment. At the pandemic's peak, two friends even started their tabletop gaming business to cater to a home-bound audience.
Elaine Hong, the founder of ENYA, said that she upsized and downsized her storage space according to her stock levels. This enabled her to “keep costs lean and only use space which we need.”
Some lifestyle changes were more drastic, according to Mri.
"We had a couple who put all their furniture in storage and decided to live nomadically, traveling from one island to another, working from their laptops."
The company's website and Facebook page are full of other such stories from businesses and individuals alike.
When the Movement Control Order was implemented, the company started offering free moving services. In this arrangement, a professional moving company appointed by the company will pick up all your items from your home and move them into storage at no extra cost. This service proved very popular with their customers and they have decided to extend the service even though the MCO has now ended.
Cube Self Storage branched onto Malaysian shores in 2018 from its parent company in the United Kingdom. In the past few years, a few other local and international players also started offering storage space solutions in the Klang Valley, indicating an upwards trend for the industry.
“We offer the lowest prices for climate-controlled storage, backed by a price match guarantee. We are grateful to be in a position to help people during these trying times, and we always go the extra mile to cater to their needs," she added.
“We are a business that is customer centric, which is why our future plans include a new concept in co-working, combining the benefits of self-storage to create more affordable and flexible workspace options for all our customers”, said Mri.
The company has their eyes set at e-commerce startups who need a small climate-controlled warehouse, alongside flexible working solutions for their team. According to Cube, their co-working space is at the final stages of completion.
To find out more about Cube Self-Storage, visit their website at https://www.cubeselfstorage.my
