Chinese brands defy pandemic and remain strong in global listing

Ti Gong

Chinese brands are holding strong despite facing unique challenges amid the pandemic, with 14 Chinese brands making this year's Top 100 most valuable brands list compiled by Kantar BrandZ.

Tech giants Tencent and Alibaba managed to remain in the top 10 – No. 5 and No. 9, while short-video app Kuaishou joined the top 100 for the first time despite turbulence in the market and harsh regulations.

The survey measured consumer brand preferences and how that translated into buying habits and price premiums and their ranking was based on stock price performance and corporate market valuation.

The combined value of the world's Top 100 most valuable brands increased by 23 percent to US$8.7 trillion over the past year, slower than last year's 42 percent.

"The wild fluctuation of stock prices in domestic and overseas markets, the resurgence of COVID variants and extended travel restrictions have halted the once high-speed growth of Chinese brands," said Doreen Wang, Kantar China CEO and Global Chair of Kantar BrandZ.

"But it's also against this backdrop that Chinese companies with strong brands proved to be more resilient," she noted.

She expects Chinese consumption to rebound despite recent COVID restrictions and shoppers are set to further unleash resilient consumption power in the future.

Apple overtook Google to take the No. 1 spot in the rankings thanks to its high degree of product differentiation and continued diversification across its hardware, software and services portfolio, with a brand value of US$947.1 billion.

Technology and luxury brands recorded the fastest growth in brand equity with a 46 percent jump for consumer technology and 45 percent for players in the luxury sector.

US companies still dominate and contribute over three quarters of the combined brand value, with 56 brands on the list.