Because the end of the year is approaching, we decided to make a series of reports presenting the activity of the year ending, to know what awaits us in the next year.
The first article in this series is dedicated to the most valuable brands in the world. The ranking presented below is based on statistics from the Forbes.com website, which took into account companies operating also in the United States. This criterion excluded a number of very strong brands, including the giants China Mobile and Vodafone.
A strong brand brings major benefits to the owning company: on one hand, it allows setting a very high price level, and on the other hand, it increases market share.
In first place in the ranking of the most valuable brands of 2014 is Apple. This is one of the most representative brands in the world, precisely because it reflects very faithfully what was said above. Thus, Apple products are not the best or, at least, are comparable with others in the same range. Nevertheless, the brand, the name, and the famous apple make people buy them, also paying much higher amounts of money compared to similar products.
Thanks to this aspect, Apple is now valued at 124.2 billion dollars, recording a 19% increase this year compared to last year.
In second place in the brand ranking is Microsoft, which is valued at 63 billion dollars, thus half of the first-ranked Apple. However, Microsoft recorded an 11 percent increase compared to the previous year. This is encouraging considering that the last three years had been quite weak for the company. The growth of this brand is mainly due to Microsoft's focus on Cloud and mobile services.
The third position in the brand ranking is occupied by Google. It experienced a 19% increase compared to the previous year, also climbing two positions in the ranking. When you say search engine, you generally mean Google. Most of this company's revenues come from advertising. In the last 12 months, it had earnings of 16 billion, and investments in technology are among the largest in the world. And this is evident, with Google now valued at 56.6 billion dollars.
The occupation of the top three positions by companies operating in fields that have experienced a boom in recent years is fully understood. Novelty attracts, people invest in everything new on the market and in what makes their life easier. It is interesting to follow which companies occupy the other places in the ranking.
The 4th position is held, whether you expect it or not, by Coca-Cola. At a very small difference from 3rd place, with a value of 56.1 billion dollars, the company grew by 2 percent compared to the previous year. Although it may seem little, we must consider that this sector no longer has a very high growth potential.
In 5th place, we find IBM, with a 5% decrease compared to the previous period and a value of 47.9 billion dollars. Their position here is justified by the aggregation under the same name of all their products.
In the top 100, names from various fields can be found, from automotive to cosmetics and luxury products. We mention just a few of them: Louis Vuitton (10th place), BMW (11th place), NIKE (21st place), SAP (25th place), H&M (31st place), Gucci (39th place), Ford (45th place), Starbucks (61st place), Prada (69th place), Red Bull (74th place), MTV (99th place).
It should be noted here the position occupied by Facebook. With an estimated brand value of 23.7 billion dollars, the company has grown significantly in the last 12 months, with an incredible 74 percent, reaching 18th place in Forbes' ranking. This is not hard to understand considering that 92.5% of the company's total revenue comes from advertising. Notable growth compared to the previous year was also experienced by Samsung (19% - 8th place), Toyota (22% - 9th place), Disney (19% - 14th place), NIKE (22% - 21st place), Amazon (45% - 24th place), Starbucks (25% - 61st place), Hyundai (20% - 71st place).
It should also be mentioned which companies recorded a decrease in estimated value: IBM (-5% - 5th place), Oracle (-4% - 15th place), Hewlett-Packard (-7% - 36th place), Siemens (-5% - 37th place), Coach (-16% - 58th place), Thomas Reuters (-9% - 59th place), Canon (-7% - 67th place), Adidas (-6% - 70th place), Boeing (-7% - 97th place), DELL (-9% - 100th place).
Conclusions
This ranking has certain limits and does not fully apply in our country or at the European level. Nevertheless, it is interesting to follow the progress of some major companies worldwide to see what the trends are and where we are heading. It seems that people still invest in luxury, cars, fast food, and, of course, technology. The order is set by each individual.
