THE best businesses take unpromising inputs and conjure from them a stable stream of profits. Self-storage firms fall into this category. They offer space-strapped customers a secure nest in which to store things they don't need right now but can't bring themselves to throw away. They invest in land most developers would shun and use tenancy contracts that would make other landlords shudder.
最好的生财之道是在看上去暗淡无光的资产上投资，但却能从它们身上创出稳定的利润。私人仓储公司干的就是这行。这类公司为空间紧张的顾客提供一间安全的小屋，存放他们暂时用不着却又不能扔的东西。这种公司所投资的地盘，大多数开发商都会避而远之，而此类公司所签土地租赁合同的期限也另很多地主瞠目结舌。
Yet they are big business in America, where one family in ten uses one of the countries' 50,000 facilities. It's a sector that has seen robust performance and rapid growth, according to the Self Storage Association, an industry body. It is popular elsewhere too: Britain has seen an 8% growth in the number of stores in the past year.
然而私人仓储公司这种生意在美国却做得相当有规模——此类公司在全国约有50000家，有十分之一美国家庭都是它们的客户。美国私人仓储协会（一行业机构）称该行业发展良好、增长迅猛。该行业在其他国家也方兴未艾：英国仓储公司的数量去年增加了8%。
To appreciate the magic of the business model, start with the ropy ingredients. The base is in commercial property, a sector hit hard in the financial crisis. The facilities are generally in unglamorous locations, on noisy roads or the outskirts of town. Tenants renting space pay little or no deposit, and are free to leave at a moment's notice. It sounds like a recipe for ruin. Yet storage firms make stonking profits.
要想理解这种商业模式为何能有如此魔力，得先从其糟糕的构成要素谈起。该行业根植于在金融危机中遭受重创的商业地产；其选址欠佳——位于喧闹的街旁或远离市中心；承租商只付极少的定金，或者干脆分文不交，只需要提前很短一段时间打个招呼就可以走人。这么做听起来像是在自寻死路，可干这行的商家偏偏赚得盆满钵满。
Structured as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS), which pool cash to invest in property, they have avoided the sinking feeling that has dominated the REIT sector for the past five years. While property values have fallen, profits and cash-flow have held up, lifting share prices. Public Storage, Extra Space and Sovran, three publicly traded American self-storers, were up between 30% and 140% since August 2007, while REIT indexes have lost ground.
房地产投资信托基金筹款投资楼市，不料过去五年行情不佳，一直笼罩在颓靡的阴云中。私人仓储公司与其采用相同的组织架构，却逃过一劫。当楼市房产一路贬值时，利润和资金流周转不开，从而提高了仓储公司的股价。大众寄存、额外空间以及锁万等三家公开上市的私人仓储公司，自2007年8月以来业绩上升了30%到140%不等，而同期房地产投资信托基金的业绩却看跌。
There are two reasons for the storage firms' success. The first is that demand keeps growing. American workers are quite mobile, and often need a temporary spot to stash their stuff while they line up a move. More importantly, they keep acquiring stuff that cannot be consumed and never rots or rusts: plastic toys, metal garden furniture, porcelain knick-knacks. For some reason, they seldom chuck any of this rubbish out. This baffles economists, who assume "free disposal", meaning that things that aren't needed can be thrown away without making anyone feel bad about the loss. The fact that so many hoarders pay lots of cash to keep things shows the assumption needs a rethink.
仓储公司成功的原因有二。其一，寄存的市场需求一直在上升。美国从业者的流动性很强，行来走去之时往往需要一个临时寄存处。更重要的是，他们所得到的东西还在不断增加，像塑料玩具、金属制的花园家具、瓷质的小玩意儿等这类物品既不能消费也永远不会腐烂或生锈。出于某些原因，人们很少会扔掉这些垃圾。这种现象让经济学家们十分困惑，因为他们想当然地以为“想扔就扔”就是说东西一旦用不着了就可以抛弃，谁也不会心疼。可事实是相当多的人愿意花大价钱把东西留下来，这样来看，“想扔就扔”这种臆断得重新考虑才行。
The second is that a short-term contract does not mean short-term profits. Stored stuff is like a bank deposit-it's contractually short term, but usually stays where it is. Contracts are often only for a month or so, yet hoarders stash things away for far longer. At Big Yellow, a British firm, 37% of space is filled with stuff that has been there for over three years. A cynic might compare human squirrels unfavourably to the wild sort, which usually remember to dig up their nuts come springtime.
其二，合同时间签得短并不意味着收益期也跟着短。存东西就像存钱——合同期限虽短，但钱却长存银行。仓储公司的合同往往只签一个月左右，但人们实际存东西的时间却要比这长得多。据英国一家名为Big Yellow的仓储公司称，他们公司37%的仓储空间都被占用超过了三年。玩世不恭的人可能认为人类松鼠不如真松鼠，因为后者还记得春天来的时候要把果子挖出来。
Self-storage firms are also well-placed to deal with the problem other landlords dread: non-paying tenants. They have the upper hand because they have your stuff. If you don't pay up, they will flog it. This last trend has even spawned a television show-Storage Wars-in which rent-dodgers' possessions are sold, often for surprisingly high prices. The lessons of hoardonomics are clear: don't store your stuff, sell it. Then invest in a storage business.
私人仓储公司也有妙招应对房东们经常碰到的难题：不交房租。仓储公司占据主动，因为他们手中握有你的东西，你要是不把钱付清，他们就把你的东西卖掉。这一最后倾向甚至已经拍成了一个电视节目——寄存战争——演的就是一些人逃租金，导致存的东西被卖掉，售价通常还出奇的高。这就给那些爱存东西的人提了个醒：别存了，把这些东西卖掉吧！然后咱也干这行！