Apple is now the world's most valuable
brand, according to a report by
Interbrand. Reuters
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has surpassed
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Google
(NASDAQ:GOOG) to become the world’s
most valuable brand among 100
competitors, according to the “Best
Global Brands” report for 2013
released by Interbrand, a New York-
based corporate identity and brand-
consulting company.
According to the report, while Apple
claimed the top position this year,
Google secured the second spot and
Coca-Cola, the brand that held the
No. 1 position for 13 consecutive years,
fell to third place.
“Every so often, a company changes
our lives—not just with its products,
but with its ethos. This is why,
following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at
the top of Best Global Brands, Apple
now ranks #1,” Jez Frampton, global
chief executive at Interbrand, said in a
statement. “Tim Cook has assembled a
solid leadership team and has kept
Steve Jobs’ vision intact – a vision that
has allowed Apple to deliver on its
promise of innovation time and time
again.”
Apple, which was ranked thirty-sixth
when Interbrand’s Best Global Brands
began grading brands back in 2000, is
now valued at $98.3 billion, at almost
15 times its brand value 13 years ago.
Last year, the Cupertino, Calif.-based
technology giant was in second place
after more than doubling its valuation
from 2011.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
“Few brands have enabled so many
people to do so much so easily, which is
why Apple has legions of adoring fans,
as evidenced by the record-breaking
launch of the iPhone 5c/5s… From our
perspective, Apple’s internal brand
strength has remained steady. CEO Tim
Cook has assembled a solid team that is
aligned around the Apple vision, which
has allowed them to deliver against the
promise time and time again. There’s
been a lot of change at the top in the
last 12 months, but the alignment of
both hardware and software design
under Jonathan Ive is a major step
toward maintaining focus.”
According to the report, Apple proved
to be resilient and managed to climb up
the list despite having its reputation
somewhat tarnished by patent spats
with Samsung (KRX:005935) and a
scandal at its supplier, Foxconn, over
unsuitable labor conditions, and
emerged as the leader in the Best
Global Brands 2013 list.
Google, in second place, managed to
reach a brand valuation of $93.3
billion, while Coca-Cola got a valuation
of $79.2 billion, followed by IBM
(NYSE:IBM) with $78.8 billion.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rounded up
the top 5 with a valuation of $59.5
billion.
The other companies that made it to
the top 10 list include General
Electronics (NYSE:GE) with $46.9
billion, McDonalds (NYSE:MCD) with $
41.9 billion, Samsung (KRX:005935) with
$39.6 billion, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)
with $37.2 billion and Toyota
(NYSE:TM) with $35.3 billion.
Interbrand said that while determining
the top 100 most valuable global
brands, it examines three key aspects
that contribute to a brand’s value --
the financial performance of the
branded products or service, the role
the brand plays in influencing
consumer choice and, the brand's
ability to command a premium price or
secure earnings for the company.
In addition, each of the companies are
also required to generate 30 percent of
total revenues from outside their
domestic markets and have a presence
on at least three major continents as
well as coverage in emerging markets.
This year, the total value of the 100
Best Global Brands was $1.5 trillion --
an 8.4 percent record increase over the
total value of the 100 Best Global
Brands in 2012, the report said.
