Hello Storage Achieves Asia’s No.1 in 3 Categories at SELF STORAGE AWARDS 2026: CEO of the Year and Dual Fastest Growth Awards (New Facilities & Scale)

Arealink Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takika Suzuki; hereinafter “Arealink”), operator of Japan’s largest rental trunk room brand “Hello Storage,” is pleased to announce that at the “SELF STORAGE AWARDS 2026,” President and CEO Takika Suzuki has been awarded “CEO of the Year,” and the company has also won two categories under the “Fastest Growth Award”—the New Facilities category and the Scale category—making it a total of three awards.

The “SELF STORAGE AWARDS 2026” is a prestigious award hosted by SSAA (Self Storage Association Asia) to honor outstanding initiatives and operators in the self-storage industry across Asia, judged by experts in each field. The award ceremony was held on May 20, 2026, at “The Okura Prestige Bangkok” in Bangkok, Thailand, during the “Self Storage Expo Asia 2026.”

Details: https://selfstorageasia.org/self-storage-awards-asia-2026-winners

■ CEO of the Year

~ Awarded to a business leader who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and management excellence in the self-storage industry ~

Recipient: President and CEO Takika Suzuki

In the fiscal year 2025, the company achieved sales of ¥26.418 billion and operating profit of ¥5.47 billion, earning high praise from investors and analysts. The company has set ambitious goals such as “¥100 million in operating profit per employee” and set the starting salary for new hires in 2027 at ¥430,000. Its innovative, merit-based organizational management and efforts to elevate industry-wide salary standards were highly commended.

■ Fastest Growth Award (New Facilities Category)

~ Awarded to the operator that has most aggressively expanded its business through the opening of new locations ~

By thoroughly leveraging IT and digital technologies to ensure high-success-rate store openings, the company opened 325 new facilities (over 16,000 units) between January 1 and December 31, 2025—exceeding its annual plan of 15,000 units. The company was highly praised for its aggressive expansion through new site openings rather than relying on expanding existing facilities.

■ Fastest Growth Award (Scale Category)

~ Awarded for outstanding growth performance in portfolio scale ~

Accelerated new store openings led the company’s total floor area to grow rapidly from 506,906.0㎡ on January 1, 2025, to 585,557.4㎡ by December 31 of the same year. The overwhelming growth in portfolio scale driven by proactive new openings was highly recognized.

◆ Comment from President and CEO Takika Suzuki

“We are deeply honored to receive awards in three prestigious categories. Our mission is not merely to provide storage space, but to foster a culture of valuing possessions through the widespread adoption of storage solutions, aiming to become social infrastructure that enriches people’s lives. We are committed to building a fully merit-based organization that evaluates performance regardless of age or background, and plan to innovate work culture across the industry—such as aiming for an average annual income of ¥20 million per employee. Moving forward, we will continue to enhance employee engagement and pursue 'muscle-type management' that achieves sustainable corporate value growth and shareholder returns, targeting 200,000 units and a 24% market share by fiscal year 2029.”

◆ Overview of “Hello Storage”

Operating under the brand “Hello Storage,” the company offers rental storage spaces in containers and buildings, with 3,064 facilities and 133,409 units as of May 2026. The storage business has been the company’s core since its founding, with the largest number of units in the industry. Services are offered in various formats, including outdoor units using shipping containers, indoor units designed within building floors or entire buildings, and specialized units for motorcycles.

Hello Storage Official Website: https://www.hello-storage.com/

Storage Information Site “kurasul”: https://kurasul.hello-storage.com/

※ Market research for the fiscal year ending March 2022 in the “specified area” (※) conducted by Japan Marketing Research Institute
※ Ranked No.1 in number of listings for both total (indoor + outdoor) and outdoor-only units
※ “Specified area” = 8 companies that publicly disclose rental space listing data online
(Arealink’s proprietary survey of the top 8 companies by total and outdoor unit listings on the web as of March 2022)

◆ Company Overview: Arealink Corporation
Company Name: Arealink Corporation
Headquarters: 20F, North Wing, Akihabara UDX Building, 4-14-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Founded: April 1995
President and CEO: Takika Suzuki
Capital: ¥61.11 billion (as of December 31, 2025)
Listed Market: Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market
Employees: 81 (as of December 31, 2025)
Business Activities: Storage business, Land rights management (shimochi) business, Office business, Asset business
Website: https://www.arealink.co.jp/