SafeStorage has been around for over five years in India, managing and storing household appliances, corporate documents, office furniture and providing supporting space for small-scale businesses. The necessity of people to safely keep their precious goods in the cities where they work without paying full rent as they return to their hometown during the pandemic has opened up a large business opportunity for the company, writes Rajesh Rajgor
The rise of the pandemic saw many companies adopting the ‘work from home’ (WFH) model to continue their business. This development led to many people, who were working in cities, to move out of their rented apartments back to their native places or hometowns for social and economic reasons. In such times, self-storage units like SafeStorage came to their rescue, safely housing their valuable belongings and furniture while they gave up their rented spaces in their cities of work. “We saw a surge in customers for household appliances, especially for valuable items such as cars, two-wheelers, fridge, air-conditioner and TV which are logistically difficult to move and also need to be handled with utmost care as they are fragile in nature,” says Ramesh Madisetty, CEO and Co-Founder, SafeStorage.
“In March 2020 alone we received a SSP of 1.5 lakhs and our turnover from Bangalore and Hyderabad was Rs 5-6 crore. This is thanks to our economical charges for storing that are almost one-fourth of the cost one would have to shell out for renting a 2BHK in a metropolitan city,” he adds. What started in August 2015 in a 1BHK flat to meet the storage requirements of IT employees in Bangalore, SafeStorage soon expanded to Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai. Even though they accommodated just seven customers in that house, they emphasized on all the safety fixtures such as smoke alarm and fire extinguishers that could secure the precious belongings of clients.
Eventually, they expanded and brought a 4,000 sq. feet warehouse, which was full after just three months. Slowly the management gained confidence and kept adding space to its portfolio over the years. “We have 40 warehouses across all the cities today and rent approximately 7.5 lakh sq. feet of storage space. Out of all the requirements, household takes 80 per cent of our business while the rest is from corporate clients for document storage, business storage and tape vaulting,” Ramesh shares. The self-storage business is quite popular in western countries; however, it needed some ground work and value-addition to make it popular in India. SafeStorage initially got customers because of the client’s necessity but to get them hooked to the service, the company went the last mile.
The Technology Route
The company invested in designing a power-packed website that makes it easy to book orders, check costs per item and also gives up-to-date information on the items stored. Additionally, the company invested in biometrics storage access, insurance coverage, fire control, pick-up from client’s door step and delivery arrangements. Ramesh elaborates: “We wanted to raise the bars across the self-storage industry. Hence, we invested in technology. All our warehouse shutters are technology-enabled and we made use of automation in every possible way to secure customer goods. We ensure that safety protocols are followed diligently at all our facilities. We also believe in transparency and hence everything we do is meticulously recorded and shared with the customer. Our aim is to be a one-stop shop for storage and logistics solutions in the country.”
Once all the information is digitally available a customer can choose from a minimum rental of one month to the time they want to store goods. SafeStorage’s CRM team also assists the client in packaging the stuff in wooden pallets, take proper pictures of the goods and upload them on the customer’s portal. A welcome note is then shared with the client with details of packaging, cost and pace of storage. “Today, we have around 18 company-owned vehicles to promptly assist customers move their items. Additionally, if and when required, we hire over 40-50 vehicles from the market. At each and every step we are trying to build better software to sustain professionalism and transparency in the top-notch logistics and storage solutions we offer. Most of the software and processes at SafeStorage warehouse are automated to minimise manual intervention,” asserts Ramesh.
Committed to Secure Storage
In a short span of time SafeStorage has handled over 12,000 customers and 300+ corporate clients. Their largest warehouse is spread across an eight-acre campus and has a carpet space of 2 lakh square feet located at Soukya Road, Bangalore. “This grade A+ warehouse has ample space for 200+ containers’ parking. In the current pandemic times, the entire backend team consisting of 30 people out of a total of 150 employees are working from home. The personnel working at the warehouse follow all the necessary safety protocols. Our facilities are religiously sanitized and fumigated regularly as a standard operating procedure,” explains Ramesh. Now a well-recognised entity in the self-storage sector, especially post the onset of the pandemic, SafeStorage now has a plan to expand the services to nine cities in India.
It also wants to focus more on corporate file storage, data storage, small storage needs of businesses and create a co-working space for people who are looking out to save huge costs. Concludes Ramesh: “In 2020-21 alone we clocked a turnover of around Rs 22 crore given the 15-20 per cent margin we have across our business segments. We managed to break even in the first two years and look forward to a CAGR of 30 per cent year-on-year. Seeing the traction on our website for people looking for storage space, we anticipate steady growth in other business verticals like document storage and tape vaulting. If at all the business of storing household appliances dwindles after the pandemic is over, we look to explore co-working space at our facilities, providing safe and economical rates for our clients’ needs.”