Convenience Stores Expand Into Self Storage

Chains like Reilly's Dairy have found that adding rental storage units can be good for business.

April 26, 2010

SAUQUOIT, N.Y. - Self-storage facility owners have coped with the recession by adding specialized storage, moving services, related merchandise like packing materials and moving truck rentals. Now some convenience store owners are eyeing self-storage units as a viable addition to their locations, Self Storage Industry News reports.

With the longer operating hours, convenience stores can expand with self storage without needing more staff. Cashiers can receive training in storage unit rentals or self-service kiosks can enable customers to rent a unit on their own.

Reilly??s Dairy became one of the first convenience stores to bring self-storage into its business model in 2000. Currently, Reilly??s Dairy has a retail store, self-service gasoline, bottle recycling, carwash and quickservice food in addition to the self storage.

More convenience stores are considering adding compatible businesses to their pumps and store. "There are days where...we're selling fuel at or below cost," said Scott Zaremba, president of Zarco 66 Earth-Friendly Fuels, in the Lawrence Journal. "You can??t keep the doors open if you??re selling below cost, so we need to have other products in our locations that customers are asking for."

Convenience stores see customization as the key to retaining and expanding their business. "You need those little nuances, those little differences," said Tom Palace of the Kansas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association in the Lawrence Journal.

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