As industries face a raft of new challenges stemming from COVID-19, many are taking a collaborative approach to what is a constantly evolving situation.

This has been shown in the self-storage sector through the work of StoreLocal CEO Hans Pearson, who has been conducting webcasts with the aim of providing a forum for the industry to discuss issues relating to the pandemic.

Having previously created a global group where professionals have exchanged phone calls every quarter for the past two years, Mr Pearson said the webcasts were a natural step forward.

"We think this is time for our industry to come together as it so often does and draw from experiences all over the globe," he said.

"Different markets are entering this crisis at different times and under different circumstances.

"It's quite a fascinating time."

"We have seen in New Zealand that self storage has not been regarded as an essential service, whereas elsewhere it has."

Guests so far have included UK Self Storage Association CEO Rennie Shafer, prominent Hong Kong Self Storage operator Kevin Shee, US self storage expert Scott Jensen, and an OH&S consultant from Australia, who provided advice on how to deal with COVID -19- related issues.

Mr Pearson while not every country had classified self-storage as an essential service, the webcast discussions had shown the industry was proving its worth across multiple markets.

"We are finding that self-storage has traded really well in the first few weeks of this crisis as office users and businesses downsize," he said. 

"The psychology has been two-fold - people are looking for safe and secure self-storage options but they are also of the view that this is temporary so rather than sell and get rid of everything, they put everything in self-storage with the view they will retrieve it in a few months time."

"We have worked with Emergency services, pharmaceutical companies, charities, and schools among others.

"Our deeply held view is that our service is very important to our local communities who rely on self-storage as an essential part of their for business, personal and lifestyle infrastructure."

Click here for more information about StoreLocal.

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