U-Store-It Trust, a real estate investment trust focused on owning and managing self-storage facilities, is changing its brand and company name to CubeSmart.
The rebranding of company stores to CubeSmart will begin immediately in certain markets. The company expects to complete the rebranding for all owned locations by mid-2012. U-Store-It expects to change its corporate name to CubeSmart and to change its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange from YSI to CUBE by the end of 2011.
The primary cost of rebranding relates to new signage at each of the company's facilities, according to a press release. That cost is estimated at approximately $8 million.
"Brand has become much more important in our industry as the ways our customers find our product have changed," said Dean Jernigan, CEO. "Every day we make significant investments in our marketing efforts, and those investments will now support a differentiated brand which will be protected by federal and state laws."
Based in Wayne, Pa., U-Store-It owns or manages 437 facilities across the United States and operates the U-Store-It Network, which consists of approximately 810 additional self-storage facilities.
