Two new Chinese brands join prestigious top-100 rankings
The rankings are a combination of stock-price performance and corporate-market valuation as of January, as well as a consumer survey that measures purchasing habits and brand preferences.
Eighteen Chinese brands are part of the latest Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2021 rankings, one more than a year ago, with Chinese tech giants Tencent and Alibaba in the fifth and seventh spots, respectively.
New entrants from China are Pinduoduo and Ke, and they are among altogether 13 new brands on the top 100 list this year, including Zoom, Nvidia, AMD and Spotify.
Chinese brands' total equity comprised 14 percent of the top 100's combined value, up from 11 percent 10 years ago, while European brands' value has decreased to 8 percent from 20 percent a decade ago.
Four out of the five brands that have more than doubled their brand value are from China -- Pinduoduo, Meituan, Moutai and TikTok -- the other being Tesla.
"Chinese brands are good at adapting to changing consumer needs, and have been rewarded by stronger consumer loyalty," said Doreen Wang, Kantar China president and global chair of Kantar BrandZ. "As China enters a new phase of development, more Chinese companies understand the importance of investing in brand building even in the darkest moments."
TikTok is the fastest-growing Chinese brand in the Kantar rankings, increasing 158 percent in value since last year, while Tesla recorded the biggest jump, nearly tripling its value year on year to US$42.6 billion.
The rankings are a combination of stock-price performance and corporate-market valuation as of January, as well as a consumer survey that measures purchasing habits and brand preferences.
The United States remains the most represented country, with 56 of the top 100 brands.
Combined brand equity in the rankings posted a significant increase of 42 percent to US$7.1 trillion, more than four times the annual average increase over the past 15 years, driven by confidence derived from vaccine availability, economic stimulus packages and improving recovery outlooks.
Combined brand equity increased only 6 percent last year and 7 percent in 2019.
The equity increase represented a gain of more than US$2 trillion in total brand value for the Global Top 100, indicative of accelerated growth for the world's largest brands following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apparel brands posted a combined 53 percent of the rankings' brand value, as "athleisure" companies like Adidas, Nike, Puma and Lululemon rebounded strongly after consumers redefined the boundaries between work and leisure wear.
Media and entertainment brands also experienced impressive growth, with an increase of more than 50 percent that also pushed up brand values of chip providers including Nvidia and AMD.
