The Second 100 Giants Rise to the Challenge

The Second 100 Giants posted a total of $357,915,106 in interior-design earnings during the most recent annual reporting period, up 6.13 percent over the previous one but only slightly more than half the 12.15 percent projected. For the first time in five years, the Second Giants' growth rate failed to outpace that of the Top Giants (this year, 10.8 percent), leading to speculation that, when the going gets tough, clients tend to cluster around the biggest Giants.

The rough going during the past reporting period—October 1, 2000, through September 30, 2001—was, of course, due to a softening economy. Then, just a few weeks before the Giants filled out their survey forms, the World Trade Center collapsed, and a massive chunk was taken out of the Pentagon, so the effects of those attacks won't show up until the next reports. Nor will the effects of the Enron and accounting debacles as they pushed the economy into a still more downward spiral, negating the encouraging rebound in late 2001.

What we know for sure right now is that, within six weeks after September 11, 10 of the Second Giants had received commissions to work on substitutes for upward of 687,000 square feet of the space lost in the terrorist attacks. (Of the Top Giants, 23 will be working on more than 4,938,500 square feet of substitute space.) We can also assume that the attacks figured into forecasts: a mere 3.5 percent increase in earnings for the Second Giants in contrast to the double-digit predictions of recent years.

Some additional comparisons:

• The Second Giants installed 151,821,300 square feet, 1.4 percent fewer than the previous year and 20 percent fewer than projected.
• At $9,663,512,200, the dollar value of installations beat the Second Giants' forecasts by 9.4 percent. Spending averaged 31.4 percent for fixtures and furnishings and 68.6 percent for construction.
• Office design accounted for 41.62 percent of fees, slightly more than the Top Giants' 39.5 but lower than both the previous year's 47.5 percent and the 45.9 percent projected. The Second Giants employed 2,562 interior design professionals, compared to 2,820 the previous year.
• On average, 58.54 percent of the Second Giants' work came from multiple jobs for the same client, compared to 55.5 percent the previous year and 57.3 percent for the Top Giants.
• On average, Second Giants' work was 52.5 percent new construction, 47.5 percent renovation; 93.8 percent took place in the U.S., compared to 94.7 percent the previous year and 92.5 percent for the Top Giants.
• The Second Giants' professional employee earned an average of $163,156 in fees for his or her firm, beating the previous year's $133,576 by 22 percent but nevertheless not reaching the level of $208,975 for this year's Top Giants.
• On average, the Second Giants billed 82.9 percent of their professional time, compared to 82.8 percent the previous year and 84 percent for the Top Giants.
• If they could, 37.1 percent of the Second Giants would prefer to bill by the hour, compared to 33.7 percent the previous year (and 32.61 percent for the Top Giants). Hourly billing is the method most favored by the largest number of both Second and Top Giants—and the one that clients are least likely to go along with.
• Of the Second Giants, 25 paid commissions to staff members who brought in non-hospitality jobs, compared to 26 the previous year and only 12 of the Top Giants.
• Second Giants with a Web site numbered 92, compared to 86 the previous year (and 98 of the Top Giants).