Apple retakes crown as world’s most valuable brand

Apple has been declared the world’s most valuable brand in the annual Brand Finance Global 500 index after a five-year hiatus.

While AAPL was the first company to reach a $2T market cap, brand value indices try to work out the value of the brand name itself, as distinct from the business. Specifically, it estimates the fees that could be earned from licensing the brand name …

MarketWatch reports Apple took back the No. 1 slot from Amazon.

Apple has overtaken Amazon to become the world’s most valuable brand for the first time in five years, according to a global report.

The value of the technology giant’s brand has climbed 87% in the past year to $263.4 billion, the Brand Finance Global 500 2021 Index found. The rise was down to Apple’s diversification strategy, which has seen the company expand into digital and subscription services and potentially into electric cars in the future […]

“As Apple reclaims the title of the world’s most valuable brand from Amazon five years since it last held the top spot, we are witnessing it Think Different once again. From Mac to iPod, to iPhone, to iPad, to Apple Watch, to subscription services, to infinity and beyond,” said Brand Finance Chief Executive David Haigh.

Amazon dropped down to second place, while Google took third.

Tesla was declared the fastest-growing brand as it moved into new markets.

Tesla was the fastest-growing global brand in terms of value last year, jumping 158% to $32 billion. Brand Finance said record sales numbers, a production ramp-up and expansion into new markets helped boost the electric-car maker’s brand.

Unsurprisingly, major brands in the travel sector saw their estimated values falling.

Airline and aerospace brands accounted for six of the 10 fastest-falling brands: Boeing, American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta, Airbus and Safran. Hotels also had a tough 2020 due to travel restrictions and lockdown measures, with Hilton’s brand value falling 30% to $7.6 billion, while Marriott dropped out of the top 500 altogether, along with Airbnb.

Equally unsurprising was the fact that the value of the 21 British brands in the index fell 11% due to the impact of Brexit, as well as the UK’s poor handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Photo by Andy Wang on Unsplash