01/02/2018

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Amazon is the world's most valuable brand, having grown $42% in the past year to $150.8 billion and moved ahead of Apple and Google, according to the 2018 Brand Finance Global 500 report.

Amazon has grown from an online bookstore into the world's largest online business, both in terms of market value and revenue - turning itself into a cloud infrastructure provider and electronics manufacturer. It has recently begun to expand beyond digital, and last year's $13.7bn takeover of the Whole Foods chain has placed the brand in physical ("brick and mortar") retail as well. Amazon is also present in transportation/shipping, music streaming and video - and analysts speculate about a possible bank acquisition in 2018.

While the emerging economies of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are supplying more and more brands to the Global 500, it should be noted that no brand from Central and Eastern Europe has yet entered the ranking. Even with record economic growth rates, and full access to the EU market, local brands have struggled in the post-communist economies amid fierce competition from Western brands.

"There are hopes that soon CEE brands will enter the Global 500. The sector rankings that will follow this year will already reveal a growing ambition of brands in the region as they expand beyond their home country and strengthen their profile and brand value."says Mihai Bogdan, Managing Director Brand Finance Romania.

Apple retains second place in the top spot, with brand value growing to $146.3 billion, but after a decline of $27% last year, the brand's future doesn't look great. Apple has still failed to diversify its offering and has become increasingly dependent on sales of its flagship iPhone, responsible for two-thirds of total revenue. Sales of the iPhone X in Q4 2017 were below expectations, and the model could be discontinued later this year. The high price is discouraging many less loyal consumers, who are turning to similar but cheaper models from competitors. With the rise of emerging brands like Huawei, Apple's focus on the luxury market may cost the brand the loss of significant market share in the mainstream market, limiting its potential to grow brand value.

Google slipped from first to third place, recording slower brand value growth of 10% to $120.9 billion. Online advertising on Google drove more traffic than expected, with growth of $47% in Q3 2017, contributing to revenue growth - but to compete with the most valuable global brands, good financial performance isn't always enough. Google is a champion of internet search services, cloud technologies and mobile operating systems (OS) but, like Apple, its focus on a few sectors limits it from realising the full potential of the brand, comment the makers of the ranking. Google's investments in autonomous cars and mobile phones don't compare with the scale of Amazon's new businesses. On the other hand, last year's acquisition of a team of 2,000 smartphone specialists from HTC for $1.1 billion may signal the start of more expansive growth.

For the first time since the launch of the Brand Finance Global 500 survey, the top 5 places in the ranking are occupied by technology brands. Samsung (4th place at $92.3 billion) and Facebook (5th place at $89.7 billion) saw significant year-on-year increases of $39% and $45% respectively, beating AT&T (6th place at $82.4 billion). The changes at the top reflect a global trend, with technology brands more than double the value of the telecom sector.

Digital's dominance is expected to grow in the coming years as other digital brands move up the 500. YouTube (owned by Google) doubled its brand value to $25.9 billion, moving up 70 places in the rankings to 42nd. China's tech brands, enjoying the advantage of a captive market, also have great potential for brand value growth - with Alibaba (12th place), Tencent (21st place), WeChat (49th place), Baidu (57th place), JD (65th place), and NetEase (121st place).

The growth of Chinese brands is not limited to the technology sector, as China continues to close the economic gap with the United States at an impressive rate, the report shows. Compared to 2008, China's brands increased their value share in the ranking from $3% to $15%, growing by $888% to $911.5 billion in 2018. State Grid, a state-owned utility firm in China, is the largest new entrant in the Brand Finance Global 500 this year, coming in directly at 19th place with a brand value of $40.9 billion. In addition, the fastest growing brand in 2018 also comes from China - the value of spirits brand Wuliangye grew by 161% to $14.6bn in the past year, climbing to 100th place.

Brand Finance is a brand consultancy and valuation company that produces the annual Brand Finance Global 500.