Record year for Simon-Kucher: strongest growth in over ten years
The consultancy grew much stronger than the industry in 2018, with revenue of 360 million US dollars (309 million euros). The most important revenue drivers were US business and digitalization.
Bonn, January 21, 2019 – 2018 was another record year for the global strategy and marketing consultancy, Simon-Kucher & Partners. Revenue grew by 23 percent over the previous year, climbing to 360 million US dollars (309 million euros). This puts Simon-Kucher’s growth rate far above the industry average, and is the firm’s strongest growth in over a decade.
Digitalization was again pivotal for this exceptional performance, explains CEO Dr. Georg Tacke. “Many companies have invested enormous amounts in digitalization over the past few years. But they are seeing extremely low impact. The solution is therefore smaller, clearly defined, and highly profitable digitalization projects, rather than just digitalization for digitalization’s sake. This is exactly where companies turn to us for our support and expertise,” explains Tacke.
Strong business in the US also contributed to the top result in 2018. Here Simon-Kucher’s revenue grew by a total of 35 percent. The Software/Internet/Media industry was a significant driver here. “The industry is booming, and we are profiting strongly from this development. We have recently worked with 29 unicorns (innovative startups and young companies with a valuation over 1 billion US dollars, such as Airbnb and Uber). This is likely unique for the consulting industry”, adds Tacke.
Furthermore, this above-average growth is spurred by the high demand for consulting support with digital topics, such as dynamic pricing in the tourism and leisure industries as well as the industrial Internet of Things.
Business in China has also been very successful last year, and has grown by more than 40 percent over 2017. “China is becoming increasingly important for the international consulting market. At the moment the share is still low – but if the positive trend seen in recent years continues, China will soon become a permanent fixture for the industry,” says Tacke. In 2018, Simon-Kucher was also able to grow by 25 percent in its home market, Germany, putting it far above the 8.4 percent industry average estimated by the Association of German Management Consultants. “This confirms what we have always maintained: the market is not yet saturated. We still see many opportunities here”, adds Tacke.
The forecast for 2019 is equally optimistic, with a revenue target of 400 million US dollars (350 million euros). The consultancy will also significantly strengthen its manpower: In 2019 Simon-Kucher is planning to hire over 400 new associates. The company currently employs around 1,300 associates worldwide.
Simon-Kucher & Partners, Strategy & Marketing Consultants: Simon-Kucher & Partners is a global consulting firm with around 1,300 professionals in 38 offices worldwide focusing on TopLine Power®. Founded in 1985, the company has more than 30 years of experience providing strategy and marketing consulting and is regarded as the world’s leading pricing advisor.