Yahoo Finance This is now Australia’s most valuable brand
Woolworths has pipped Telstra to become the most valuable brand in Australia, valued at $11.8 billion.
That’s according to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, which ranks the most valuable brands in the world and in Australia.
The rankings are based on factors such as familiarity, staff satisfaction, loyalty, corporate reputation and marketing investment.
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The supermarket giant has overcome a tough market of contracting retail activity, gloomy economic forecasts and risen to the top of the ranks, toppling Telstra after four years of dominance at the top of the chart.
According to Brand Finance managing director Mark Crowe, Woolworths’ success comes amid bad news for the rest of the retail market, with many major consumer brands suffering.
The company also rated highly for reputation, loyalty, and improving social responsibility, as well as having the highest rating for product quality, reputation across stakeholders and for its website and apps, Crowe told Yahoo Finance.
“Household names, Woolworths and Coles, are bucking the trend, supported by their long-standing position in the marketplace,” he said.
But he added that the supermarket giant will have to overcome some major obstacles to retain its number one spot.
“Woolworths is facing a difficult year ahead after the damaging investigation into staff’s pay - how the brand responds in the coming year will be pivotal if it is to retain its title of the most valuable Australian brand.”
Telstra’s fall from grace
Meanwhile, Australia’s major telco saw a drop of 20 per cent in brand value in 2019, dropping to $11.7 billion.
“The NBN rollout has significantly affected the brand’s profits, which dropped 40 per cent in 2019, and the long-term economic outlook for the brand looks challenging,” the report said.
Telstra is also contending with the rise of global challengers in the telco market, and diminishing profits as a result of high competition.
But the Aussie telco still has word-of-mouth and first-class customer service on its side, said the report.
Despite the fall-out of the Banking Royal Commission, Commonwealth Bank ranked as the third-most valuable brand, followed by BHP and Coles.
Major banks NAB, ANZ and Westpac ranked 6th, 7th and 8th while RioTinto and Optus rounded out the top 10.
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