Henan Commercial Daily reporter Chen Wei
spends tens of yuan a month to rent a "mini storage" to put idle children's toys, clothing and even furniture in the house-do you have similar needs?
"mini storage" "The format has been operating in China for 10 years, but it has been tepid. Who needs the
mini storage?
To commemorate "Youth", put the hands in the warehouse.
For "anime fans", each figure carries a special memory.
"Some of these figures have been with me for 10 years, and there is a story behind each one." Weng Jiusi, a citizen of Zhengzhou, is 33 years old this year. He has loved animation since he was a child. In 2010, after he had his own income, he began to come into contact with Gundam and other hand-made toys. For him, collecting and buying hand-made toys is a little bit of the realization of his childhood dreams. Weng Jiusi of
Now, Weng Jiusi is the father of two boys, the eldest is more than 2 years old, and the second is just born. The child is in the naughty stage, and gradually conflicts with his hand-run dream.
"The population at home is more crowded, and the living environment is crowded. I really can't put down these toys." He said, "To make matters worse, once the eldest son broke the wings of Gundam and put the parts directly into his mouth. It made me both scared and It hurts.” How
disposes of these toys at home has become a headache for him: giving it away or selling it directly makes him feel a little bit reluctant; but putting it at home takes up space and is dangerous.
He stumbled upon a mini-warehouse storage service while searching the Internet, and then deposited more than 20 relatively large figures in the warehouse, and there were nearly 10,000 fine parts on these figures.
He thought, after two or three years, the child will get older and then get the figure back. When the time comes, you can not only "remember youth", you can also fight with your children, tell stories about him and the figure, and fulfill your childhood dreams with your children. What else can
save besides the figure?
A reporter from Henan Business Daily contacted the mini warehouse used by Weng Jiusi.
"Most of our personal customers store items related to children." A person from the Zhengzhou area of the mini-storage told the Henan Business Daily reporter.
With the increase in two-child families, many children's items such as toys, picture books, and children's books used by family bosses have the opportunity to be recycled. However, during the period when the second treasure has not yet arrived, storing the items that the boss does not use temporarily in the mini-storage can reduce the amount of debris in the home environment, and can be retrieved when the second treasure needs it. Some families choose to use the "time capsule" service of the mini-storage to store items with good memories, such as Lego toys.
In fact, this self-storage mini-storage is not new. In 2010, the domestic mini-storage had already sprouted, but it has remained tepid for 10 years. Except for first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, such mini-storage services are relatively rare in Zhengzhou. Searching for "mini-storage" and "self-storage" on the local life service channels of Meituan and 58 same city, Zhengzhou does not have corresponding services.
Many mini-storage companies are not developing in Zhengzhou because Weng Jiusi's needs are not many among the general population.
currently operates good housekeeping warehouses in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and other places. The head of operations, Mr. Zhou, said that the "mini storage" is an imported product from the United States. An American moves more than 11 times in a lifetime. Therefore, the United States has many personal "mini-storage" rentals for storing household appliances and large household items. The proportion of households using this service in the United States is about 10%.
However, the domestic reality is: Chinese people pay attention to living and working in peace and contentment, and they rarely move frequently. Even if they move, they will find ways to settle down as soon as possible. For most families, mini storage is only an occasional demand. There was once a mini-storage company promoted in Shanghai. Even if the living environment is tight as in Shanghai, less than 5% of people consider using mini-storage, while the proportion in Zhengzhou will be even lower.
The scene where the mini storage is doing better now is the graduation season. The students left the campus because of graduation, but did not determine their final place of work. They may face frequent migrations in a few months. At this time, they can store their luggage in the mini storage to facilitate "light loading" and wait for the future to settle down before taking them out.
solves the warehousing and delivery needs of small and medium-sized enterprises
mini storage Another important use scenario is the B-end enterprise. A source from the "Jing Xiaocang" of Jingdong mini-storage told the Henan Business Daily that customers such as home improvement companies, small and medium-sized companies, trading companies, and even courts are also important sources of customers for mini-storage.
For some secondary renovation customers, home improvement companies will store furniture, electrical appliances and other items that customers cannot place at home during the renovation period. The storage period is generally 3 to 5 months; because it can provide relatively safe and professional storage services, the court The auction target will also be stored in the mini-storage, waiting for the auction process.
The personalized warehousing needs of some small and medium-sized enterprises, for example, enterprises have temporary short-term futures product storage needs, or storage goods have bulk storage requirements, which were originally difficult to meet through traditional warehouse leasing, but mini storage can provide.
“The large warehouses currently on the market are basically fixed area, fixed lease period, and the storage conditions and management capabilities are not very complete.” The person in the above-mentioned mini-warehouse said that the storage space can be adjusted at any time, and the mini-warehouse is charged daily. Warehouses will make these companies more efficient. According to a good steward and warehouse person, some small exhibition companies and performance companies have small office environments and temporarily store materials in mini warehouses, which are cheaper than renting large-area offices. These demands are very strong around warehouses where some office buildings are concentrated.
It is worth noting that the price of domestic mini storage is not cheap. In Beijing Xiaocang, the daily storage cost of "standard parts" with a length of 0.6 meters, a width of 0.4 meters and a height of 0.38 meters is 0.5 yuan. A reporter from Henan Business Daily inquired about the prices of multiple mini-warehouse brands, and the price of 5 yuan per cubic meter was basically the average level of the industry. In addition to storage costs, many mini-warehouses have to pay for packaging, transportation, and delivery.
This also restricts the demand for mini-storage to a certain extent-after all, if it is not a particularly important thing, "break away" is more cost-effective than putting in a mini-storage. Why do
giants still do? Even if
lives in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the life of mini-storage companies is not so moist. Mini-storage startups such as Meilifang, Wanhucang, and Spacehao all received investment before 2015, and there has been little capital intervention since then. Shenzhen Mini Storage Warehousing Co., Ltd., which is listed on the New OTC Market, was established in 2011 and its mid-year report for 2020 showed a half-year loss of 954,500 and a revenue of 17.19 million, a year-on-year increase of about 5%. The company lost more than 9 million yuan in 2019.
However, this does not prevent the giants from entering the game. In addition to Jingxiaocang, Vanke relied on the advantages of community and property to launch Wanwucang. SF Express launched the mini-storage in 2018. However, the giants have "advantages" that startups cannot match. A source from Jing Xiaocang told the Henan Business Daily that the original intention of Jing Xiaocang's design was to make better use of some idle space in warehouses across Jingdong and provide consumers and small and medium-sized businesses with on-demand storage, flexible and convenient storage services.
For JD Logistics, Jing Xiaocang does not need to build its own warehouse or self-built logistics transportation fleet, but to maximize the use of JD Logistics' existing resources to minimize costs. The establishment of Jingxiaocang is also another move by Jingdong to open the logistics advantages of warehousing and transportation accumulated over the years to the market, and to improve the service system of Jingdong logistics.
The SF mini-storage includes the provision of temporary storage services for individuals through Fengchao express cabinets. Users can choose storage cabinets according to the size of the stored items and pay 2 to 3 yuan, which can provide 48-hour storage service.
Their logic is almost the same, nothing more than revitalizing existing resources. Unlike startups that need to consider how much traffic can cover storage and management costs, for JD.com and SF Express, their warehouses are already there and can be rented out more through mini-warehouses. Each order means an increase. , The marginal cost incurred is almost negligible. What's more, Weng Jiusi who saves hands may be an example, but it is more likely to succeed for B-end users. It has been tried out from small and medium-sized e-commerce companies, and some people like the one-stop service of warehousing, logistics and insurance. For other industries, such as live broadcast, exhibition services, weddings, performances, etc., if the mini-storage can provide them with high-quality material storage, transportation and other services, there are also opportunities. (Chief Editor Huaijuan Editor Ji Qianqian Wu Bing)
