A classic blend for National Storage and Wine Ark
Australia’s unflagging passion for wine of all varieties has been the catalyst for the blending of National Storage, one of Australia’s largest self storage companies, with the country’s largest wine storage provider, Wine Ark, in a deal that will see National Storage significantly expand its existing wine storage business over the next 12 months.
With over 2,000,000 bottles of wine stored in its Sydney cellars and with a diversified traditional and on-line business that includes private wine vaults, managed cellarage, bulk storage, wine sales and an established Cellar Club, the Wine Ark brand has secured an international reputation for its wine services boasting a list of clients from 30 countries around the world.
Mr Peter Greer, Director of Operations for National Storage said the joining of the two businesses was a natural step for National Storage, which currently offers specialist wine storage facilities through eight of its 55 storage centres in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne.
“Wine storage is a growing business Australia-wide with demand for climate controlled space escalating alongside Australia’s love affair with wine of all types and vintages.”
Mr Greer said domestic sales of Australian wine in 2005-06 were around 431 million litres, showing
steady growth on previous years and per capita consumption of wine also continued to increase to around 28.1 litres in 2004-05.
“Through our existing facilities around 3,600 square metres of space is allocated to wine storage for both retail and bulk customers.
“With the advent of the Wine Ark brand and reputation we plan to significantly expand that capacity and the Wine Ark brand presence across all states of Australia,” Mr Greer said.
He said to date National Storage had successfully concentrated on offering individual climate controlled storage facilities for its customers, however, this service would be extended to include cost-effective bulk and managed storage options, wine collection and delivery services and access to the benefits of Wine Ark’s Cellar Club.
“Australia’s capacity to produce extraordinary affordable world-class wine means that collecting wine has become a popular hobby for many and it is this phenomenon that continues to drive demand for wine storage facilities. It is a multi million dollar business showing no signs of abating.
“Since Wine Ark was established in 1999, chief executive officer, Dean Taylor, and his team have perfected systems and services designed specifically for the casual through to the connoisseur wine collector.
“It is this level of knowledge and experience, combined with National Storage’s increasing presence in centres all around Australia, that will see National Storage and Wine Ark emerge as the country’s pre-eminent wine storage provider,” Mr Greer said.
He said with Wine Ark becoming part of the National Storage group, the company would introduce the Wine Ark branding to existing facilities that offered wine storage.
“As new National Storage centres open and as we retrofit existing centres to incorporate wine storage facilities, the Wine Ark brand will be further extended.” Mr Greer said.
Mr Taylor said teaming up with National Storage created an enormous opportunity to accelerate the growth of the Wine Ark business.
“We have developed a strong client base over the past eight years through our premium wine club and Sydney-based storage facilities, but the capacity to expand our physical presence through co-branded facilities in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, will significantly enhance our overall wine-focused offer,” Mr Taylor said.
Mr Greer said across its 55 centres Australia-wide National Storage offered over 30,000 individual storage units, representing some 273,000 square metres of domestic and commercial storage space, including wine storage facilities.
