This concept of the parent company of U-Haul no longer using independent dealers to rent their equipment is new and I had friends on mine here in Florida who had been U-Haul decals for over 30 years and when they received word that their services would no longer be necessary they were surprised.
Some U-Haul dealerships were very profitable and had more then one location so this news really took the wind out of their sails.
Only time will tell if the parent company made the right decision but for now at least here in Florida you won't see U-Haul trucks and trailers sitting in gas stations and storage warehouse parking lots waiting to be rented out.
I would images the any abandoned malls that are located in the heart of large cities might be costly to try and purchase.
I find it interesting that the same company that leases the property from Englishtown is also trying to lease Atco.
If you research their name they are located across the country so maybe they have done this same thing before.
I,m not sure what is happening in your area, but I have been a UHaul dealer for 35 years and they are not shutting down dealers in our area. We are about 60 miles from Bakersfield and have 3 dealers in our little area. Even in Bakersfield (50th in size in U.S.) where they have 4 Company Centers there are also 19 Dealers. What UHaul does do is buy properties and make large Centers that have storage garages and lockers and are looking into RV and Boat storage. They also are into the "UBox" deal which is like a POD that takes more room for storage. Unfortunately if an area gets where the market demands it they will put in a Company Center and displace a dealer or even more than one dealer. An area as large as a mall will also probably have a repair shop and maybe a 24 hour call center and traffic operations.
