Top 20 global retail brands revealed

The fifth annual Top 20 Most Valuable Global Retail Brands report newly released by Kantar Retail and BrandZ reveals that brand value and consumer-connection are critical to retail success. The report combines retailer and shopper insights and analyses

from Kantar Retail, a global leader in retail insight and consultancy, with the definitive Top 100 ranking produced annually by research agency Millward Brown Optimor and powered by the BrandZ database.

"This report helps illuminate the radical changes reshaping retail as shoppers, chastened by the recession and empowered with technology, think differently about what and how they purchase," says Wayne Levings, CEO of Kantar Retail.  "Brand is a prerequisite of retail success," Levings adds. "How retailers build their brands impacts all aspects of their business.  Brand alone secures an enduring place in the mind of the consumer. It is fundamental to the supplier-retailer relationship."

An examination of key industry trends and other dynamics that drove overall retail industry brand value last year showed that strong brands retained their value, despite the tough economic environment. Levings comments: "During periods of economic uncertainty, consumers and businesses increasingly rely on strong brands for the reassurance and reliability they represent.  Knowing the value of this intangible asset helps corporate leadership and stakeholders make more informed decisions."

While the Top 10 ranking has remained quite consistent during the past five years, two notable increases in brand value growth are found in Amazon and ALDI. Amazon leaped straight to number 2 this year, up from number 8 in 2006, off the back of a 359% increase in brand value. This major change indicates the evolving impact of e-commerce – the online retailer has recently announced plans to re-launch its clothing and fashion business based on healthy growth in women’s retail.  Supermarket chain ALDI's 241% increase in brand value indicates the consumer's increased concern with price and embracement of private label.

The value of the Amazon brand rose 29 per cent points to $27.5 billion, signifying the fastest growing global brand across all retail categories and ranking it in second place behind large department retailer Walmart.

Key trends found in this year’s rankings are:

Value - Brands that combined value with a more emotion-based connection to consumers did well last year and will continue to be important to engaging post-recession shoppers. The best-in-class retailers will also maximize share of wallet from their most profitable shoppers.

Trend analysis - Successful retail brands increasingly will be built on intimate knowledge of shopping behavior.  Retailers that invest in this capability will thrive.

Competitive strategy - The battle for shopping trips will drive strategy coming out of the recession.  Retailers will fight to keep shopping trips gained during the downturn by keeping shoppers from returning to the outlets they abandoned.

Communication - Mobile commerce will be a game changer in how, when and where shoppers purchase products. Brands must also become active participants in digital conversations surrounding purchases or risk becoming irrelevant.

Bryan Gildenberg, Chief Knowledge Officer for Kantar Retail and major contributor to the report, comments: "Competitive advantage in retailing no longer can be accomplished by saturating markets with stores and attracting customers with a combination of range, price and service."

He adds: "Success requires a thoughtful portfolio of shopping venues - both physical and virtual - that appeal to specific shopper segments. Every retail brand needs to find a proposition that makes visiting these retail spaces worth the shopper's time."

The BrandZ study has interviewed more than a million consumers globally about thousands of "consumer-facing" and business-to-business brands and it is the only study to combine measures of brand equity with a rigorous analysis of the financial and business performance of each brand. Download the full list on the Brandz website.