Maybe I'm missing it, but I haven't seen a viable competitor to U-Haul and I think they're ripe for... wait for it... disruption. This new version should be focused on amazing customer service, high tech, and high design. I know it's an insanely hard business, but this world is full of smart people. Who wants to build this with me?
Who wants to take on U-Haul?
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Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#2U-haul the truck rental business? Probably their biggest competitor is Enterprise.
U-haul the storage company business? Probably Public Storage and a million other small operators.
Both pretty red markets, not sure how much capital you’d need to disrupt 1-2 cities, but that’s also U-hauls benefit of having a network of operators.
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#3U-haul the truck rental business? Probably their biggest competitor is Enterprise. U-haul the storage company business? Probably Public Storage and a million other small operators. Both pretty red markets, not sure how much capital you’d need to disrupt 1-2 cities, but that’s also U-hauls benefit of having a network of operators.
I'm talking about the truck rental business. I've personally never had a good experience using U-haul for a move (truck I reserved not there, long wait times in shop, online reservation flow sucks, etc.). A lot of my friends have had similar experiences too. I know they're entrenched and have a lot of advantages, but they are definitely an incumbent that hasn't innovated almost at all. I think the move would be testing one market with a fleet of vans for small apartment moves and see what the magic features are.
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#4What city are you in? I wouldn't be surprised if there are already some good competitors in bigger centers. Furthermore, big cities usually have a better (agree it's not great) u-haul store that has more selection. What uhaul has that is unique and probably not of interst for a "disruptor" is local dealers in every small town. There is always some sketchy garage that will rent you a poorly maintained uhaul, no matter where you are. My biggest fear is that they decide that isn't possible, or get "disrupted" and then you'd only be able to rent trucks on major centers.
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#5U-haul the truck rental business? Probably their biggest competitor is Enterprise. U-haul the storage company business? Probably Public Storage and a million other small operators. Both pretty red markets, not sure how much capital you’d need to disrupt 1-2 cities, but that’s also U-hauls benefit of having a network of operators.
I'm talking about the truck rental business. I've personally never had a good experience using U-haul for a move (truck I reserved not there, long wait times in shop, online reservation flow sucks, etc.). A lot of my friends have had similar experiences too. I know they're entrenched and have a lot of advantages, but they are definitely an incumbent that hasn't innovated almost at all. I think the move would be testi…
The business model is roughly $1/mile not including insurance.
Since uber/lyft are more than that, tech isnt going to help much. Nobody buys vans to share. Maybe a pod designed for autonomous Tesla trucks, but people today do not own what will fit in one pod.
Perhaps permapod. You graduate frome college and are gifted a permapod that will always be available to store or move your stuff. Like in the old days when we stored all our files in email tarballs because the university did not enforce filesize limits on email.
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#6How about bringing U-Haul-like service to other countries?
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#7What city are you in? I wouldn't be surprised if there are already some good competitors in bigger centers. Furthermore, big cities usually have a better (agree it's not great) u-haul store that has more selection. What uhaul has that is unique and probably not of interst for a "disruptor" is local dealers in every small town. There is always some sketchy garage that will rent you a poorly maintained uhaul, no matter…
I live in Milwaukee, WI. Not the biggest market, so you're probably right about the competition. And their local dealer network is undoubtedly a massive advantage. I still think there has to be an opening to wedge in and take a slice of their business though. But there's also a chance I'm thinking like a crazy person haha.
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#8How about bringing U-Haul-like service to other countries?
I didn't even consider this! Do you live outside of the states?
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm talking about the truck rental business. I've personally never had a good experience using U-haul for a move (truck I reserved not there, long wait times in shop, online reservation flow sucks, etc.). A lot of my friends have had similar experiences too. I know they're entrenched and have a lot of advantages, but they are definitely an incumbent that hasn't innovated almost at all. I think the move would be testi…
The business model is roughly $1/mile not including insurance. Since uber/lyft are more than that, tech isnt going to help much. Nobody buys vans to share. Maybe a pod designed for autonomous Tesla trucks, but people today do not own what will fit in one pod. Perhaps permapod. You graduate frome college and are gifted a permapod that will always be available to store or move your stuff. Like in the old days when we s…
Damn b, you just flew right over my head with this permapod talk haha.
Re: Who wants to take on U-Haul?
#10Ryder's a fairly established competitor? As is Penske?