To supplement the self-storage business conducted at JWD Store It! Siam branch, JWD has launched a safe deposit box business aimed at attracting the corporate and retail customers who need to keep their valuables in a safe place. This makes it the first operator in Thailand to provide the said two solutions at the same place. It satisfies the world-class construction and security standards and employs biometric technologies (involving fingerprint scanning and facial recognition) to control access. It seeks to achieve a 90-100% level of occupancy within three years. It will open two more JWD Store It! branches by the end of this year and increase the total storage space to 20,000 sq.m. by 2020, thereby becoming the leading player who operates the greatest number of branches and provides the largest combined storage space.
Mr Charvanin Bunditkitsada, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of JWD InfoLogistics Public Company Limited (JWD), an ASEAN top logistics and supply chain solution, revealed that, following last year’s well-received introduction of self-storage service at JWD Store It! Siam branch at JWD Group building on Chula 16 Road to respond to the consumer’s demand for urban space for storing personal belongings, JWD discovered the demand from corporate and individual customers for safe deposit boxes at highly secure facilities where they could store their valuables safely.
That prompted JWD in late September to begin a safe deposit box business on the fifth floor of JWD Store It! Siam branch, a standalone building with an excellent ease of access, as its new solution that would enable the company to meet a variety of demand through a one-stop shop for both self-storage customers and safe deposit box customers.
“Seeing the opportunity offered by the demand for safe deposit boxes within Siam area, we decided to invest. We are the first operator in Thailand to provide a one-stop service centre for both self-storage and safe deposit box solutions to ensure the convenience of customers. Currently, the major providers of safe deposit box services are the banks, but their boxes are in short supply and they impose such requirements as the customer maintaining a deposit account with them or buying their life insurance product with a sum insured that reaches their minimum limit. Only three or four providers are non-banks, and their sites are located within office buildings. We therefore recognise the great opportunity to enter this business”, said he.
The CEO added that the safe deposit box business conducted at Siam is now in phase 1, with a total of 540 units (which will jump to about 2,000 once the final phase 4 is reached) available in S, M, L and XL sizes, with three-month and one-year service terms. The facility of JWD’s safe deposit boxes is designed and constructed in satisfaction of the international standards for vaults (class A), with reinforced concrete walls, fire-resistant doors and fire protection mechanisms. It also offers the flexibility in service hours and is equipped with biometric (i.e. fingerprint scanning and facial recognition) technologies to control access. JWD is the only provider of the service to provide a property insurance cover to all users, with a minimum limit of THB 100,000, which can be raised to the maximum limit of THB 5,000,000 on purchase.
JWD expects the phase-1 zone to be fully occupied within three years. It has won a number of retail customers and is negotiating deals with some prospective corporate customers who have expressed interest. The gross profit margin achievable through the safe deposit box business is significantly higher than the figure for the self-storage business. The company is seeking to open more safe deposit box facilities in prime locations.
The CEO noted that for the self-storage business, the company aims to secure leadership by increasing the number of JWD Store It! branches from two at the present. The occupancy ratios for both Srikreetha branch (opened in 2014 and situated on Krungthep Kreetha Road) and Siam branch (opened in 2018) are satisfactorily high – about 90% for the former and 50% for the latter.
To provide a wider reach to its target customers, the company seeks to open two more JWD Store It! branches in prime locations, i.e. Thiam Ruam Mit branch (2,000 sq.m.) and Ram Inthra branch (1,800 sq.m.) by the end of this year. With a forecasted occupancy ratio of about 90% for all the said four branches, the business could generate at least THB 100 million in annual revenue. The company is also studying the possibility about further expansion of the branch network and negotiating leases on properties within Bangkok’s core business districts (or CBDs) to facilitate the expansion. Its goal is to maintain a combined self-storage space of 20,000 sq.m. by 2020, which will make it the largest player in terms of number of branches and combined storage space.
