HUFFINGTON
10.28.12
THE HELP
that Jones uses provides her with
something invaluable: time.
“I think people are looking
into things that are going to allow them to be more efficient, and
that’s how I feel. I am so much
more productive when the personal things in my life are handled,”
says Jones. “I’m going to pay $50
an hour for the closet girl and
$200 an hour for a stylist. But I’m
not going to spend time roaming
around Barneys and Saks on my
own being sold things by a commission based sales person.”
In line with many business
sectors pushing luxury items and
non-essentials, the concierge industry was hit hard by the recession. According to a recent report
by the research firm IBIS World,
industry revenue dropped 6.2
percent in 2009, with demands
from both corporate clients and
households declining. By the end
of 2012, industry revenue is expected to total $220 million. But
over the next five years, IBIS expects the concierge industry to
see an uptick, with annual revenue projected to grow to $264
million for 2017.
“Some factors that have really contributed to growth is decreased leisure time among indi-
“I NEED THESE THINGS
BECAUSE I’M NOT
GOING TO SEW A
BUTTON ON A SHIRT,
AND I’M NOT GOING TO
SPEND A WEEKEND ORGANIZING MY CLOSET.”
viduals,” says Caitlin Moldvay, a
senior analyst with IBIS.
Moldvay notes that according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
as of 2010, the average American
was limited to 5.2 hours of leisure time per day, with two
of those hours going towards
household activities.
The IBIS report also predicts
that people making more than
$100,000 a year — the industry’s
primary targets — will see their
incomes improve in the coming
years along with the economy,
and that they’ll have more discretionary funds as a result. Demand
in the concierge industry, according to IBIS, is directly tied to the
number of people with disposable