Home Articles Australia’s ‘Airbnb of storage’ is taking on Asia’s AUD$4 billion self storage...

Australia’s ‘Airbnb of storage’ is taking on Asia’s AUD$4 billion self storage market

0

Aussie peer-to-peer and B2C marketplace for space, Spacer recently announced a partnership with Costockage, Europe’s largest peer-to-peer storage provider, to take on Asia’s lucrative self-storage market and support its international expansion.

The self-storage market is expanding rapidly in Asia, driven in part by tech-savvy startups, high density living and economic growth, which is fuelling a booming middle class with high disposable income and household spending. All of which, contribute to an ever-increasing need for storage.

Through the partnership, Spacer and Costockage will leverage each other’s networks and operational and marketing resources to fast track entry into new markets, the first of which being Asia, highlighting Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo as the first target cities. The companies have also indicated a potential co-investment in the future by drawing on shared investor networks.

What does this deal mean for Spacer?

Commenting on the deal, Mike Rosenbaum, Co Founder and CEO of Spacer said: “From day one international expansion has always been part of Spacer’s growth strategy, especially into the lucrative Asian self-storage market which is ripe for disruption. Our partnership with Costockage facilitates this by allowing us to draw on each other’s market knowledge, resources and experience to launch into new markets.”

“The partnership is not only great news for our business, but also our customers. Together, Spacer and Costockage offer a better solution to those looking to solve space dilemmas or make extra money by tapping into the many benefits of the sharing economy. We look forward to working with Mike and the team to build the world’s dominant marketplace for space”, said Adam Levy-Zauberman, CEO of Costockage.

Launched in 2013, Costockage has grown to become the largest self-storage provider in France, providing over 5,000 listings and over 600,000 cubic metres of storage space.

Adam Levy-Zauberman
Adam Levy-Zauberman, CEO Costockage

Spacer needs more space

The partnership with Costockage comes off the back of a strong six months for Spacer, recording an impressive 600 per cent growth rate as it continues to disrupt the $754 million self-storage market.

Since its launch in October 2015, Spacer has grown its membership base to over 5,000, with 750 active listings experiencing more than 15,000 site visits every month. The company expects to have 1,500 active sites by June 2016.

For Spacer, service is the key to growth as Mike Rosenbaum explains: “Person to person interactions define our culture and service and we like to meet with as many hosts as possible to gather direct feedback which we can build into future site enhancements.”

With growth a key goal in 2016, as well as expanding internationally, Spacer is also looking to expand its offer into new space verticals.

“Office co-sharing, commercial space sharing and warehousing present a huge opportunity to expand our offerings and increase the types of real estate we have listed on our platform. Our goal is to empower everybody to earn a secondary income from their unused space, whether this is a commercial property, or a shed in the suburbs.”

Founded by ex-DealsDirect CEO Michael Rosenbaum and former private equity professional Roland Tam, the company closed a Series A funding round of $1.2 million from angel and private investors in October 2015.