Online players Amazon, Alibaba and JD.com are among the tech giants to have made their impression on the latest edition of the BrandZ Global Retail Brands 2018 report.
Amazon leads the list, with a brand value of $165.26 billion, well ahead of second-placed McDonald's ($110.3 billion) and Alibaba Group in third ($88.6 billion).
China's JD.com places 15th, with a market value of $14.6 billion.
Some 75 global retail brands are included in the list, which was announced by WPP with data prepared by Kantar, to coincide with the first day of the World Retail Congress, taking place in Madrid this week.
It brings together brands in four categories, including pure retail (supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, department stores, convenience stores and DIY chains) is just one; luxury brands, apparel, and fast food retailers.
Grocery Performers
The best-performing grocery brand on the list is Walmart, which ranks eighth with a brand value of $27.6 billion (interestingly, the retailer has just announced a major e-commerce push), with Costco further back in 13th ($16.8 billion).
The highest European grocer on the list is Aldi, which places 19th, with a brand value of $12.9 billion.
Further back, there are spots for convenience chain 7-Eleven (25th, $9 billion), Tesco (26th, $8.9 billion), Lidl (27th, $8.2 billion), Target (30th, $7.5 billion) and Carrefour (34th, $6.8 billion).
There are also places in the top 75 for Whole Foods (41st, $5.2 billion), which is just ahead of Auchan (42nd, $4.8 billion), while Marks & Spencer (56th, $3.0 billion), Sainsbury's (61st, $2.7 billion), Asda (62nd, $2.6 billion) and Germany's Edeka (71st, $2.3 billion) are among those brining up the rear.
Together, the top 75, which brings in retailers from markets as diverse as the US and Spain, China and Chile – are worth over $1 trillion in brand value.
More Than Purchasing
Commenting on the findings, David Roth, CEO of WPP The Store, EMEA and Asia said, “Shopping is no just longer just about buying things. Often, a decision to shop is a search for entertainment – whether in a physical space or the virtual world.
"It can be a way of spending time with like-minded people, or being in an environment that reflects an individual’s values."
Roth also highlighted 'retail therapy' as a reason why certain specialist retail banners perform so strongly in the list.
“Shopping is also a way of simply feeling good," he said. "This explains why the BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Global Retail Brands includes brands specialising in everything from business suits and bras to bath oil and burritos. Today everyone is a retailer.”
Methodology
The research behind the BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Global Retail Brands 2018 and the brand valuations was conducted by Kantar Millward Brown, using the Brand™ methodology.
The methodology mirrors that used to calculate the annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, which is now in its twelfth year.
The BrandZ rankings take into account what people think about the brands they buy, alongside rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles.
Consumer perception is used to determine the Brand Contribution, which measures the proportion of brand influence on financial value on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being highest). It is an assessment of brand associations in consumers’ minds to deliver sales by predisposing consumers to choose the brand or pay more for it.
Click images below to view in high resolution:
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
