With storage becoming more and more popular due to the nature of our lives in modern society, the BBC has selected a documentary about storage for their Business Boomers series.
In the programme, named Real Storage Wars, we see a variety of characters who all help build a picture of the storage industry. There is good insight into the development of the industry with the American model being cited and the snapping up of buildings in key areas pointed out as being the foundations of the multi-million pound idea.
The focus isn’t just on the men who made their money from the industry, though they do play an important role, showing the day to day running of their units, the show also highlights just a few of the people who choose to store their possessions.
David Bailey is one of those people; he uses the storage units to store his Star Wars statues and memorabilia. He explains how his house just simply cannot contain the wealth of his collection, forcing his hand into taking up storage if he’s to keep the treasured items.
In another section we see a unit which has no contactable owner. With debts mounting and no word from the person who initially stored the items the staff at the branch have to break in and sift through bags of possessions in order to get the unit back in operation and to establish whether there is anything of true value inside.
It is this kind of unique insight into the industry which makes the programme so watchable, many of us will have already had some experience in using self-storage but for those who haven’t, it’s possible to see the uses as well as the misuses which occur on a daily basis. To accompany all this there is observation from Professor Danny Dorling who tries to map out the mind-set of our current generation and our obsession for possessions.
The whole, flexible nature of the storage industry is dissected, from the hoarders to the savvy, small businesses who use storage space in a temporary capacity. What it reveals will be up to the viewer. Will you see a group of people so attached to possessions that they’re willing to pay a heavy price to retain them, or simply a business opportunity well taken to accommodate our wealth as a society?
The Business Boomers series has already taken a look at the online retail giant Amazon and the way coffee shops have dominated our high streets. The Real Storage Wars episode is soon to be available on the BBC iplayer and is also available to see on repeat or on catch-up TV.
If you’d like to learn more about how self-storage can help you then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Simply Storage today. Our friendly staff are always happy to help whether it’s for domestic or business storage.