Hi all,

I just wanted to introduce myself and say hi from Moscow!

My name is Mark Britten and I am the General Director of Keyspace Self Storage.(Welcome to KEYSPACE) We opened the first Self Storage facility in Moscow last June. I am from the UK however I lived and worked in Moscow now for 2 years since starting this project.

Hello Mark and welcome to our forum. I am happy to see a post from the other side of the pond.

Hello Mark and I also welcome you to this forum. How about some unique stories of storage in Moscow? I think our industry would like to hear about how you operate there, what obstacles do you have to overcome, how do you market your facility, who is your main customer base, etc. Thank you.

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Mel Holsinger, President
Professional Self Storage Management, LLC
3434 E. Kleindale Ste. E
Tucson, AZ 85716
O: 520.320.9135
F: 520.320.9435
www.proselfstorage.com

Mark:

I an interested in hearing your thoughts about Moscow and the attitude toward foreign business ownership. Are your owners Russian, or from outside the county? For that matter, are you the owner?

I have read extensively about how difficult it can be to obtain all the proper permits in Russia, and I can only imagine it was more difficult for a new type of business.

I'd love to hear what you think.

towerguy

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Over 1000 towers served and growing.

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the forum. I agree! I would love to hear about your facility. What's your occupancy? How do you market it? Any other stories! Glad you are with us! Welcome

Christine

Mark;

I was at the FEDESSA SHow in Paris last March and had dinner with William Oswald. I beleive he is your CEO. How are things going in Moscow? Will you be at the show in Rome next week.

Hi,

Yes William is our CEO.

I was not in Rome, I am way too busy in Moscow!

It was /is extremely difficult in Russia regarding all the redtape that people have to cut through. However we have experience of working in Russia with other projects and so we know how the system works. Regarding other obstacles. One of the main obstacles was the kit, by this I mean the Mezzanine systems and units. I wanted to use local suplliers wherever possible as import into Russia is very costly and a minefield of beaurocracy. So we had to find a local supplier that could manufacture a system of the same quality you would find in Western Europe. This we managed to do. The security equipment was the only thing we imported.

We have proven the model now and so in the near future we will be expanding and building more quality facilities in Moscow and other Russian cities.