According to a global report, Apple has overtaken Amazon to become the world’s most valuable brand for the first time in five years.
The value of the technology giant’s brand has grown 87% in the past year to $ 263.4 billion, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 2021 Index. The increase was due to Apple’s diversification strategy, which has seen the company expand into digital and subscription services and possibly electric cars in the future, London-based consulting firm Brand Finance said.
Apple AAPL,
became the first US company to reach a market capitalization of $ 2 trillion in August last year. It is also expected to post its largest quarterly revenue ever and its first-ever total of more than $ 100 billion when it reports earnings on Wednesday.
“As Apple regains the title of the world’s most valuable brand from Amazon, five years since it last took first place, we are witnessing Think Different. From Mac to iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, subscription services, to infinity and more, ”said Brand Finance Chief Executive David Haigh.
AMZN from Amazon,
brand equity grew 15% to $ 254.2 billion, in a year when the e-commerce giant benefited from stay-at-home orders around the world and rising demand. The company has also innovated and expanded in recent months, with the launch of an online pharmacy and the Halo fitness tracker. Earlier this month, Amazon bought its first fleet of aircraft, from airlines Delta and WestJet, to expand its air freight network. However, the company lost its top spot to Apple.
Tech giant Google GOOG,
has the third highest brand equity, up 1.4% to $ 191.2 billion, while rival Microsoft MSFT,
stayed in fourth place with brand value of $ 140.4 billion, up 20% and conglomerate Samsung 005930,
retained fifth place. Retailer Walmart WMT,
jumped two places to sixth, while social media company Facebook FB,
stayed in seventh place.
In a year dominated by COVID-19, technology and innovation helped drive the value of the world’s biggest brands, with the Uber UBER app,
and the Chinese e-commerce platform Meituan 3690,
enjoy strong growth.
But Tesla TSLA,
was the fastest growing global brand in terms of value last year, leaping 158% to $ 32 billion. Brand Finance said record sales, an increase in production and expansion into new markets have boosted the electric vehicle manufacturer’s brand.
While some sectors have performed well, others have had a difficult year. Aerospace brands accounted for six of the 10 fastest-falling brands: Boeing BA,
American Airlines AAL,
United Airlines UAL,
Delta DAL,
Airbus AIR,
and Safran SAF,
Hotels also had a tough 2020 due to travel restrictions and lockdown measures, with Hilton’s HLT,
brand value is down 30% to $ 7.6 billion, while Marriott MAR,
completely out of the top 500, together with Airbnb ABNB,
Read: What will happen to the airline tickets in 2021?
A brand’s value is the economic benefit it would gain if it were licensed in the open market, the consultancy said.
The combined value of the 21 UK brands in the world’s top 500 fell 11% year-on-year, making it the worst-performing country as uncertainty over Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy. Oil major Royal Dutch Shell RDSA,
retained its place as the UK’s most valuable brand, but fell 11% to $ 42.2 billion, while second-placed rival BP BP,
fell 8% to $ 21.4 billion.
“As the introduction of vaccines progresses, it will be interesting to see which British brands are doing well and which ones will fail while navigating a future outside the European Union,” Haigh said.
The index also includes brand strength, which is calculated as the effectiveness of a brand’s performance against its competitors.
Chinese mobile app WeChat replaced car maker Ferrari RACE,
as the world’s strongest brand. WeChat ran several government-mandated health apps to track people traveling and in quarantine and provide access to real-time data on COVID-19 and online consultations and self-diagnosis services, the index said, boosting the brand.