Candid Conversations: David Allan, President of Apple Storage

When David Allan, president of Apple Storage, talks about his company, family is a theme that comes up often. It’s a big family, with Allan unable to count the number of cousins he has even using both hands. What’s really interesting, however, is that while the Allans didn’t get their start in self-storage, they may be responsible for creating the first self-storage facility in the country. 

When I ask Allan how it all began, he promises to keep a long story short. “My great grandfather was a dairyman, and eventually turned that business over to my grandfather,” he says. Of course, both men saw a lot of change over the years. “In the 20s and 30s, they delivered milk by horse and buggy and managed stables. Then in the 40s and 50s, buggies became delivery trucks and stables became garages. And by the 60s, they stopped delivering milk altogether. That left them with 60 unused garages.” 

Allan recounts how a random trip to Florida in the early 1970s shifted the family’s focus. “They saw self-storage facilities there, and it was an aha moment.” 

Upon returning to Canada, Allan’s grandfather devised a plan: Rent out all their empty garages like the self-storage units they’d seen in the states. “That’s how it started, our first family facility in 1972,” Allan says, beaming. “That facility is still there in Dunnville, Ont.” 

While it may no longer be owned by the Allans, it still has his family’s fingerprints all over it. “There’s a hand-painted sign on a big sheet of plywood, and it has my grandparents’ phone number on it,” Allan says. “Time has taken a toll on it, but I know it by heart: 774-5411. It’s probably the first phone number I ever had memorized, back when I was about four years old.” 

Is it Canada’s first self-storage facility? “I don’t know for sure, but I keep putting it out there, and nobody has challenged me or proved me wrong,” says Allan. 

Today, the facility is owned by a local man, who has left the original sign up for posterity’s sake. “I’m glad he’s kept history alive,” says Allan. “I still get a kick out of seeing it when I pass by.” 

Finding His Path 

Despite the family’s self-storage focus, Allan didn’t follow in anyone’s footsteps at first. “After university, I went to work for Xerox and sold photocopiers,” he recalls. It turned out to be pretty lucrative, so with his hard-earned money, a young Allan decided to start his own business in the insurance industry focusing on the catastrophic loss reduction space. But it wasn’t meant to be. 

“My first business didn’t do so well,” says Allan honestly. “And that was a tough pill to swallow. I’d been this high-flying Xerox sales rep, super successful, and the failure brought me back down to Earth, but it was a very valuable learning experience. It made me understand just how hard it can be to get something off the ground.” 

Around the same time, Allan’s father Philip and his uncles, Scott and Jeff, who’d once taken a career detour into the technology space during the dot-com boom themselves, were looking to step back a bit from the self-storage business. “They were getting older, and they deserved a break,” says Allan. “And since I’d just sold my business, I thought perhaps I could step in and help out.” 

However, just because Allan was family, didn’t mean this was going to be a walk in the park. “They didn’t build the business as a family business,” he says. “They never thought any future generations would be involved.” 

This led to a series of interviews, which could sometimes feel more like interrogations. “I had three interviews with each of them, so nine in total. I distinctly remember one of them, in which my uncle looked at me from across the table and said, ‘David, I need you to understand that if you don’t do a good job, I will fire you,’” Allan laughs, despite being quite serious about the story. 

Ultimately, Allan made it through the interviewing process, but he would still have to prove himself before being allowed completely into the fold. “They were so nervous about bringing family into the business that they would only bring me onboard as a contractor at first.” 

Of course, Allan has gone on to prove himself time and again, and he was made president in 2023. His father Phil has remained with Apple as company chairman, while Uncle Scott continues his responsibilities as treasurer and Uncle Jeff acts as vice president at large. 

I mention that I may need to see a family tree when putting the story together, just to be sure it’s all correct. “Well, just to make things a little more confusing for you, last year my cousin's husband joined us; that is my uncle’s son-in-law, and his name is Scott too.” Allan laughs. “Did you get all that?” 

Growing The Business 

Allan wanted to dive into the industry headfirst once he was on board, but there was one problem: Other than his immediate family, he didn’t know anyone in the business. To branch out, he immediately got involved with the Canadian Self Storage Association, the U.S.-based Self Storage Association, and the industry’s Young Leaders Group. “I just showed up,” says Allan. “I’d put my hand up and was like, ‘Hey guys, I’m new. Let me help; put me to work.’” 

The tactic paid off. As his involvement with the organizations grew, so did his relationships with other industry leaders. This gave him the confidence to begin really influencing the direction of Apple Storage. It wasn’t long before Allan had become instrumental in the growth of the company, more than quadrupling the square footage owned and managed within his first decade there. Today there are 54 Apple Storage locations, a total of roughly 2,400,000 square feet. 

“We’ve been on a great growth trajectory,” says Allan. “We’ve added about four sites a year for the last 10 years through a combination of third-party management and acquisitions.” 

Because Apple Storage runs a pretty lean ship, by design, they can only onboard sites so fast. “We don’t have a whole lot of underutilized resources kicking around,” Allan says, “so we always want to be sure one property is fully and properly onboarded before even thinking about another one.” 

Continues Allan, “We don't try to overcomplicate things. We don’t get involved in areas like debt and lending. We’re just focused on being excellent self-storage managers for ourselves and other people. So, I like the speed we’re at; it’s stable and sustainable. Slow and steady wins the race, they say.” 

Employee Empowerment 

Although Apple Storage maintains a tight ship, many crew members have been aboard for a long time thanks to the company culture. “We’ve had people working for us for 20 years now,” he says. “They stay because they feel supported, empowered, and engaged.” 

One way Apple keeps them engaged is due to its dedication to education. The company has created an “Apple University,” where employees are trained on different aspects of the industry, from administration to marketing. But it doesn’t stop at storage. “We also have a corporate learning program,” says Allan. “If somebody wants to take outside courses, we will pay for half of it or up to 80 percent of it, depending on the course.” 

When asked if he’s concerned about employees receiving an education on the company’s dime and then leaving, he shakes his head no. “Look, we don’t want to lose good people, but we want to help them grow, and if that means going elsewhere, so be it,” he responds. “At Apple, we want to create a growth trajectory for all of our staff. And if there isn’t a position for them that they’ll love, then we have to be OK with letting them go where they belong. But they all appreciate the support, and if there’s room for them to take what they’ve learned and grow within the company, why wouldn’t they stay?” 

Continues Allan, “We believe our staff is our greatest asset; they’re not just somebody behind a desk. I’ll hear people say, ‘There’s not enough qualified candidates.’ My response is ‘No, you’re just not working hard enough to find them and keep them.’” 

Apple is invested in hiring a diverse staff as well, transcending gender, race, religion, orientation, and so on. “Good employees come from all walks of life,” he concludes. 

Good Deeds 

Apple’s charitable efforts are also something Allan is proud of. He says one long-standing relationship Apple maintains is with the Able Network, an organization that supports adults living with intellectual disabilities. “It’s close to my heart because one of my cousins has Down Syndrome, and there are very few resources outside of the family for people with these disabilities. So, we’ve been involved with them for a long time.” 

Allan believes it’s important for self-storage companies to do things for the community to make a good impression, especially since incoming storage facilities are not always viewed favorably. “Being good members of the community helps the industry,” he says. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the place where we’re going to open up a facility and the town council is like, ‘Yes! Apple is coming!’ but the more good we do, the closer we can get to that scenario.” 

Apple’s staff is also encouraged by management to get involved in their local communities. “Whether they want to support a local charity golf tournament or take time off to volunteer, we support it, and we try to lead by example.” 

Loving The Job 

Although Allan never saw himself in self-storage, or running a second-generation family business, he’s thrilled about where he ended up. Of course, he says it can be stressful at times. “There’s pressure because you don’t want to let family down. The consequences of any mistakes can impact a lot more than a paycheck.” 

It can also be hard to disconnect like other people can. “We’re always talking about self-storage, even over Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.” However, he wouldn’t have it any other way. “My career now is so much more meaningful than just, you know, showing up and going about my day. I’m a steward of our family business, and that’s a really cool place to be.” 

Brad Hadfield is the web manager and a news writer for MSM.