Apple, Google and Amazon continue as the world’s three most valuable brands, according to Best Global Brands 2019, the 20th edition of the annual survey released recently that found that the luxury and retail industry is still the fastest growing sector. Technology companies account for half of the top ten brands, followed by the luxury and retail sector.
Only 31 brands from the first report in 2000 remain on the list today, including Disney, Nike and Gucci. 137 brands, such as Nokia and MTV have dropped off the list in the intervening years.Coca-Cola and Microsoft are the only brands to have retained top 10 spots.
“Twenty years on from our first report, customers today are more informed, more connected and more demanding than ever before through a combination of wealth of choice, erosion of loyalty and shifting frames of reference wanting immediacy, abundance and intimacy—all at the same time,” said Charles Trevail, global chief executive officer of Interbrand.
Apple ($234.24 billion), Google ($167.71 billion), Amazon ($125.26 billion), Microsoft $108.85 billion) and Samsung ($61.1 billion) are the technology brands among the top ten, showing an average growth in brand value of 9 per cent.
Dell ($9.09 billion), ranked 63, returns to the rankings after a six-year absence. Uber ($5.71 billion), ranked 87, and LinkedIn ($4.84B), ranked 98th, are new entrants in this year’s list.
The top growing sector for 2019 was luxury with 9 luxury brands making the top 100; this sector sees the highest average brand value growth rate year-over-year at 11 per cent.
The most successful brands in the luxury space are those that have adapted to rapid changes in the global marketplace, including catering to a younger consumer base whose stylistic tastes have shifted toward streetwear, who are tech-first in their purchasing habits, and who increasingly demand for shareable, memorable moments from any brick-and-mortar retail experiences, according to an Interbrand press release.
Gucci ($15.95 million, rank 33rd) was emblematic of the luxury sector’s success, showing a 23 per cent increase in brand value. Venerable brands Louis Vuitton ($32.22 million, rank 17th) and Chanel ($22.13 million, rank 22nd) saw a 14 per cent and an 11 per cent increase respectively, since last year’s report.
Rounding out the top 10 brands in this year’s report are Coca-Cola ($63,365 million, rank 5th), Toyota ($56,246 million, rank 7th), Mercedes-Benz ($50,832 million, rank 8th), McDonald’s ($45,362 million, rank 9th) and Disney ($44,352 million, rank 10th).
The top three fastest growing brands included Mastercard (25 per cent increase), Salesforce (24 per cent rise) and Amazon (24 per cent rise).
Facebook first entered the list in 2012 with 69th rank, seeing a steady stream of growth in the following five years. At its peak in 2017, Facebook was ranked 8th with a brand balue of $48.19 million. 2018 saw the brand’s place slip to the 9th position, and after falling an additional 11.8 per cent in 2019, it is now ranked 14th with a brand value of $39.86 billion.
