Brad Wright likes to say that his web startup Chunker is the largest warehouse company in the world that doesn’t own a square foot of space. Having for years worked with supply chain issues for large international manufacturing firms, the tech and software expert became well aware of how aberrations in the supply chain could, all of a sudden, leave a warehouse space without a renter or a retailer in immediate need of extra space. “The need is pretty constant,” he said, so we asked him for more particulars.
What made you think that an Airbnb equivalent for industrial space was a viable concept?
I’m a tech guy, not a real estate guy, but while working for a company called Master Control I spent 10 years traveling the world and touring huge manufacturing facilities with big warehouses, so the warehouse thing became second nature to me. One thing I learned was that, due to many unavoidable situations, like what we’re seeing now with the supply chain crisis, warehouse owners suddenly have available space and retailers suddenly need extra warehouse space. So I thought, why not create the equivalent of an Airbnb for industrial space?
Reports from CBRE and Marcus & Millichap say that under-construction industrial space is too low to accommodate the needs of retailers over the next few years. Is that so?
A lot of the new industrial space under construction are mega-warehouses that are dedicated to the Amazons of the world, with two or three million square feet and 75-foot-high ceilings. But there is lots of other space available that retailers can rent short-term.
