Top 100 Global Brands 2019: Amazon Emerges On Top, 3 Indian Companies-HDFC, LIC, TCS- Feature In The List

Amazon is the world's most valuable brand, according to the 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings released today by WPP and Kantar at the New York Stock Exchange.

Published annually by advertising holding company WPP and its market research firm Kantar, the BrandZ study analyses firms’ financial data and draws on an extensive consumer survey to reach its conclusions. It includes 3.7 million consumer interviews and 5.2 billion data points. Over 166,000 brands were surveyed in 51 markets and brand value is measured by multiplying a company’s financial value with its brand contribution, or the extent to which consumers prefer a brand.

Amazon’s brand value was $315.5 billion, a year-over-year increase of 52 per cent. Apple and Google came in second and third, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 were (in order) Microsoft, Visa, Facebook, Alibaba, Tencent, McDonald’s and AT&T.

Every company in the top 10 saw gains in market value except Facebook and Tencent, which dropped 2 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively. Google and Microsoft were the only two companies that made the top 10 in the inaugural 2006 study.

Rising in brand value by an impressive 52 per cent year-on-year to $315.5 billion, Amazon moves ahead of Apple (no.2, $309.5 billion) and Google (no.3, $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.

Amazon's smart acquisitions, that have led to new revenue streams, excellent customer service provision and its ability to stay ahead of its competitors by offering a diverse eco-system of products and services, have allowed Amazon to continuously accelerate its brand value growth.

In the Top 10, Facebook remained at no.6 while, for the first time, Alibaba overtook Tencent and became the most valuable Chinese brand, moving up two places to no.7 and growing +16% to $131.2 billion. Tencent dropped three places to no.8, declining by 27% to $130.9 billion year-on-year, in what BrandZ ascribes to a more volatile world; one in which brands must continually anticipate evolving consumer needs and expectations.

As other social media platforms face challenges in terms of trust and desirability, Instagram (no.44, $28.2 billion), now with over 1 billion users worldwide, emerged as this year's fastest riser climbing 47 places with a massive 95 per cent growth in brand value. Lululemon, the yoga-inspired, athletic apparel company was the second fastest riser, stretching to 77 per cent growth year-on-year to $6.92 billion.

Other top risers, such as Netflix (+65 per cent, no. 34, $34.3 billion), Amazon (+52 per cent, $315.5 billion) and Uber (+51 per cent, no.53, $24.2 billion) reflect the rapidly changing, technology-driven world in which consumers are placing more value on richer brand experiences.

Luxury brands made a quantum leap with the likes of Louis Vuitton and Chanel growing their brand value on the back of consumers’ increasing desire for experiential purchases.

Consumer technology brands appearing in the ranking which combined are now worth in excess of $1 trillion. Examples include newcomers Xiaomi (no.74, $19.8 billion), a Chinese mobile handset brand that also uses the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect smart devices and is experiencing rapidly growing demand in countries such as Russia, India and Malaysia. Another Chinese brand, Meituan (no.78, $18.8 billion) is seen as a category-disrupting consumer technology platform offering everything from food delivery, room bookings and ride-hailing to bike rentals.

Meanwhile, Uber is leveraging the ecosystem model and expanding into food and other delivery services, while Haier (no.89, $16.3 billion), the world's largest home appliances and IoT platform is committed to co-creating an open ecosystem brand in the IoT era with its customers and partners.

Three Indian companies featured in the list - HDFC (no.60, $22.70 billion), LIC (no 68, $ 20.31 billion), TCS (no.97, $14.28 billion)