OUR STORY
Thomas Corporation began in 1965 under the leadership of Edwin Thomas, based in Honolulu, Hawaii. His entrepreneurial spirit has flourished throughout the company's history.
Thomas launched his first retail business in downtown Honolulu shortly after World War II. He quickly realized the need to expand and began traveling to war-ravaged Japan. There, Thomas would procure specialty imports to sell at his many retail stores. He launched Big 88 as his premier surplus venture -- a name that is still well-known among old timers in Hawaii.
With the onset of the jet age in the late 1960's, Hawaii expanded rapidly, along with the commercial real estate market there. Thomas capitalized on real estate opportunities and soon began building and developing properties.
Soon enough, he returned to his West Coast California roots and continued successful real estate ventures. The San Francisco Bay Area presented unique opportunities to expand his real estate portfolio, beginning in the 1970's.
In the early 1990's, Thomas recognized new opportunities presented by the burgeoning self storage industry and invested in a portfolio offered by Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). Shortly thereafter, he and his grandson, Randall Worsley Whitney, created Safe Storage-branded self storage opportunities.
After many a business meeting, socializing at a Japanese restaurant
was always in order and part of a tradition.