It seems as though the valet storage wars are nearing an end.
The two largest full-service storage companies, Clutter and MakeSpace, announced this morning that they are merging into one.
The combined platform will operate under the Clutter brand and offer its services in over 6,500 cities in towns throughout the country to reach about 60% of Americans.
“Over the past seven years, Clutter has been on a mission to help people through important life events,” said Ari Mir, co-founder and CEO of Clutter. “We’re building a one-stop shop for moving and storage, and the addition of MakeSpace will allow us to say ‘yes’ to customers more than ever.”
Mir said the scale and efficiencies of the combined company brings it closer to other strategic options, including a possible public offering in the future.
“Right now our focus will continue to be investing in our people, serving more customers, and capitalizing on opportunities to fulfill our mission,” Mir said.
Clutter was founded in 2015 offering on-demand storage services in Los Angeles. Customers would schedule pick up of their items using an app and movers would take their items to a secure storage location until the customer requested their stuff to be brought back to them.
MakeSpace launched in New York City with a similar business model. Both companies attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment capital. Through a joint venture with publicly-traded Iron Mountain, MakeSpace was able to expand from 4 to 31 market in 18 months. Most recently, Clutter obtained a $200 million investment from SoftBank in 2019.
The future of on-demand
Iron Mountain will remain an investor in the combined company. According to a press release announcing the merger, Iron Mountain “will continue to add value to Clutter through a strategic commercial partnership and access to its global storage footprint.”
“From Iron Mountain’s perspective as a global leader in storage for over 70 years, we really see Clutter as the future of the on-demand storage industry, and we’re excited to use our expertise, experience, and global network of facilities to help Clutter grow,” said Greg McIntosh, EVP, Chief Commercial Officer of Iron Mountain.
Prior to the current deal, both companies had consolidated the space by buying up other valet-style storage companies—as well as traditional self-storage facilities—in various markets.
More from the official press release:
This transaction is not the first merger or acquisition that Clutter and MakeSpace have successfully pursued. In addition to combining with MakeSpace, Clutter also acquired the Storage Fox portfolio for $152M in 2019, and has acquired all or a portion of the customers bases from on-demand storage companies Handy, Omni, Livible, Shed, and Callbox in recent years. In 2019, MakeSpace acquired on-demand storage company, Stashable, from Iron Mountain in conjunction with their Series D fundraising.
“The moving and storage industries are fragmented, and a really frustrating experience for a lot of customers. There is clear demand for a brand that consumers know they can trust nationwide, and the combination of MakeSpace and Clutter will put the company in an excellent position to offer convenient storage and moving services nationwide, with plenty of room to grow,” said Rahul Gandhi, co-founder and former CEO of MakeSpace. Rahul will join Clutter as President.
Much like the self-storage industry at large, Clutter said it has benefited from pandemic-generated rise in demand and shift to digital services:
Clutter has seen an increased demand for its moving and storage services over the last few years. The recent growth, alongside the upcoming expansion, will allow the company to explore new services, as well as opportunities for national and worldwide expansion.
Originally published on SpareFoot.com
