December 30, 2022
The Franchise Times named 2023’s 40 smartest-growing franchises and UNITS Moving and Portable Storage has landed in the #15 position! Michael McAlhany, the CEO of UNITS Moving and Portable Storage, based in South Carolina, emphasizes the importance of finding franchisees who share the company’s customer service-oriented mission and core values like integrity.
According to McAlhany, this alignment has contributed to the company’s strong sales and unit growth, with system sales increasing 331.3% from 2019 to 2021, reaching $60 million, and the location count exceeding 50. Franchisees at UNITS manage a stock of self-storage containers and handle their delivery and pickup, as well as offering long-distance moving services.
UNITS competes with PODS and 1-800-Pack-Rat, which do not franchise, and McAlhany has been able to attract some corporate staff from these companies. He believes this has helped UNITS avoid making the same mistakes as these competitors and reduce the learning curve. UNITS also pays above the industry standard in order to reduce turnover.
During the pandemic, franchisees at UNITS quickly moved to provide storage solutions to schools, restaurants, gyms, and sports teams that needed to comply with social distancing recommendations. The containers used by UNITS come from China via cargo ships, which meant the company had to help franchisees deal with shipping delays and increased costs.
The price for a set of 12 containers normally cost around $5,000, but this rose to $28,000 before settling back down to around $12,000. These higher freight costs were not supported by the franchisees’ pro formas, so UNITS helped them work with their lender partners. The company already has a team in place to prepare for a potential recession and is “100% prepared, hands down,” according to McAlhany.
If you’re interested in joining UNITS and owning a moving and portable storage franchise, start your assessment today! We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have to help you make your franchising decision.
