With little sign of a slowdown in growth, Amazon has become the world’s most valuable brand, according to the latest 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking from WPP and Kantar at the New York Stock Exchange.
Amazon’s smart acquisitions, that have led to new revenue streams, its customer service provision and ability to stay ahead of its competitors by offering a diverse eco-system of products and services, have allowed the retail giant to continuously accelerate its brand value growth.
Technology companies have led BrandZ’s Top 100 ever since its first global brand value ranking in 2006, when Microsoft took the top spot. Rising in brand value by an impressive 52 per cent year-on-year to $315.5 billion, Amazon moves ahead of Apple (in the number two spot at $309.5 billion) and Google (number three $309.0 billion), which both rose by a modest +3 per cent and +2 per cent respectively, to end the technology giants’ 12-year dominance.
In the Top 10, social media giant, Facebook, remained at number six while, for the first time, Alibaba overtook Tencent and became the most valuable Chinese brand.
David Roth, CEO of The Store WPP EMEA and Asia, and Chairman of BrandZ, said: “The growth in value of this year’s top 100 brands to an all-time high proves the power of investing in brands to deliver superior shareholder value. Behind this headline growth figure lies the success coming from a new phenomenon of ecosystem brand building. We’re seeing a move from individual product and service brands to a new era of highly-disruptive ecosystems. Brands need to understand the value this type of model can create and should embrace its approach to be successful in the future.”
Doreen Wang, Kantar’s Global Head of BrandZ, commented: “Amazon’s phenomenal brand value growth of almost $108 billion in the last year demonstrates how brands are now less anchored to individual categories and regions. The boundaries are blurring as technology fluency allow brands, such as Amazon, Google and Alibaba, to offer a range of services across multiple consumer touchpoints.
“Using their consumer experience and expertise, these brands are crossing over into the business services sector, creating new opportunities for brand growth. Disruptive ecosystem models are flourishing in regions such as Asia, where consumers are more technology-enabled and where brands are integrating themselves into every aspect of people’s daily lives.”
Key trends highlighted in this year’s BrandZ Global Top 100 study include:
- Luxury is the fastest growing category (+29 per cent) followed by Retail (+25 per cent), fuelled by the shifting preferences to digital channels from GenY and GenZ consumers.
- Technology, Finance and Retail categories dominate, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total value of brands.
- Nine newcomers appear in the Top 100, predominantly driven by Chinese and US technology brands, and Asian brands increase their presence.
- Sustainable brands – Brand owners are demonstrating the importance of improving and reinforcing consumer perceptions that they are ‘responsible’ through social, environmental and corporate initiatives.
