The 16th annual China Brand Festival took place from August 7 to 9 in Changsha, a city wildly popular with Chinese influencers. Organized by TopBrand Union and the China Convention Exhibition and Event Society, the festival welcomed over 2200 government officials, entrepreneurs, experts and scholars at its opening ceremony, while the total number of guests exceeded 6000.
With a special announcement, TopBrand Union launched its inaugural edition of the TopBrand Global 500, publishing the rankings at www.topbrand500.com.
Apple leads the pack, with its brand valued at USD 799.81 billion, while Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Saudi Aramco rank from second to fifth, as they are valued at USD 667.43 billion, USD 405.53 billion, USD 402.54 billion and USD 377.34 billion, respectively.
In terms of national representation, 210 brands are from the US, taking up 42% of the total and accounting for a combined value of USD 13 trillion. The second most represented country is China, with 122 brands in the top 500, which are worth USD 5.65 trillion. Japan ranks third with 42 representatives holding a combined value of USD 1.52 trillion.
The only Chinese brand in the top 10 is China National Petroleum Corporation, ranking ninth with a valuation of USD 280.28 billion. The top 20 also includes Sinopec, State Grid and Huawei, ranking 11th, 14th and 18th, respectively. Meanwhile, Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC is ranked 23rd, while tech leaders Tencent and Alibaba take up 29th and 30th place. The brand behind the most expensive stock on the Chinese market, Guizhou Moutai, is 64th.
The highest valued Japanese brand is Toyota, which sits at 15th place as it is worth USD 204.52 billion. It is followed by Sony, which ranks 55th, while other strong brands, such as Honda, Hitachi, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, SoftBank and Nintendo also make it into the top 500.
French brands occupy 19 spots on the list as LVMH ranks 42nd with a valuation of USD 114.89 billion. Other prominent names such as Airbus and Michelin, also find their way into the rankings.
German brands perform well as 18 of them enter the top 500, including Merck, Siemens, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Allianz, BMW, Bayer and Adidas, among others.
There are also 16 established British brands which enter the elite 500, led by THG, AstraZeneca, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline, Rio Tinto and HSBC.
The technology sector dominates the brand rankings as its representatives have a whooping total value of USD 61.13 trillion. Despite some occasional doubts, investors continue to bet on a more digital and smarter economy.
The pharmaceutical sector comes in second, with its ranked brands valued at a combined USD 18.18 trillion. It is spearheaded by the giants Pfizer, Roche, and Eli Lilly, but the positioning of most companies within the sector will likely be more closely linked to their R&D capacity in the post-pandemic era.
The oil and gas sector comes in a close third as its entries in the top 500 have a combined value of USD 17.14 trillion. It will be important to keep an eye on the potential impact of structural transformations and short-term price fluctuations in the industry.
The sample pool examined by the TopBrand Union research team includes 37164 companies, covering 47 major stock markets. The valuation methodology is vetted by an international and independent Global Expert Review Board, including over 20 thought leaders and executives. It takes into account five categories of indicators, namely: brand internationalization, brand awareness, brand management, brand reputation and core brand strength.
Prof. Wang Yong, Chairman of the Board at TopBrand Union and Secretary-General of the China Brand Festival, explains that the research and preparation for the compilation of the TopBrand Global 500 took up nearly one full year. He plans to lead his team toward making further progress in the field of brand valuation and to continue providing valuable insights into the branding industry.
