Australia’s most valuable brand

Four Australian companies have placed among the 100 most valuable global brands in 2013. The brands of Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Bank, Westpac and Woolworths surged a combined $55.4 billion in value in the past year, reflecting the strength of Australia’s economy and its proximity to Asian markets.

Commonwealth Bank, which in 2012 became the first Australian company to achieve a Top 100 ranking, jumped 12 places to no.48. It also featured among the Top 20 Risers as its brand value surged 36% to US$18.02 billion.

ANZ Bank (no.52/$16.9bn), Woolworths (no.80/ US$11.2bn) and Westpac (no.88/ US$10.2bn) are newcomers to the ranking, significantly boosting Australia’s overall brand value in only the second year the nation has featured in the eight-year study. Supermarket chain Coles placed among the Top 20 global retail brands but failed to make the overall list.

The BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study, conducted by Millward Brown Optimor, calculates the value of a brand by looking at the views of potential and current buyers of the brand along with available financial data on the company.

“Australian brands are fast gaining prominence as emerging overachievers, having added a further three brands to the list in 2013 since Commonwealth Bank’s debut in 2012,” said Johnny Panagiotidis from Millward Brown Optimor.

“The four Australian entrants are a testament to the relative strength of our economy and our increasing ties with Asia. The rise of the Australian dollar also lifted the relative value of the brands.

“Australian banks’ expansion into Asian markets was again evident this year with two new entrants to the list in ANZ and Westpac, as well as a significant jump in Commonwealth bank’s brand value and placing. The increased prominence our largest retailers, Woolworths and Coles, was in line with the global trend for retailers in which their overall brand value grew 17% following a decline of 5% a year ago,” Panagiotidis said.

Globally, Apple topped the list for 2013, worth US$185 billion. Apple grew just +1% in the last year compared to a +51% growth for its closest competitor, Samsung, which is now placed 30 in the global ranking with a brand value of US$21 billion.

Google is also a serious challenger for the no.1 spot, reversing last year’s decline to grow +5% in brand value this year. The brand is no.2 in the ranking with a value of US$114 billion. IBM is no.3 in the ranking with a brand value of US$112 billion.

The combined value of the Top 100 has grown by 77% since 2006 to $2.6 trillion.