World's top 100 brands give India Inc run for m-cap

NEW DELHI: The top 100 global brands are together valued worth more than $1 trillion but none of them are from India — though almost all are either already present in the country or are seeking a foothold here to tap the world’s second-biggest consumer force.

In the latest world’s top 100 brands list by Interbrand, a leading international brand consultancy, and Businessweek magazine, the biggest soft drinks firm Coca-Cola has retained its top position despite a fall in its brand value to $65.32 billion from $67 billion in 2006. Together the 100 brands are worth about $1.15 trillion — more than the combined market value of over 4,000 listed companies in India. The study described brand value as “the dollar value of a brand, calculated as net present value or today’s value of the earnings the brand is expected to generate in the future”.

Internet search giant google emerged as the biggest gainer despite its 20th rank with a rise of over $5 billion in its brand value. Coca-Cola is followed by Microsoft, IBM, GE, Nokia, Intel, Toyota, McDonald’s, Disney and Mercedes-Benz in the top ten. Seven of the top ten brands are from the US, except for Nokia of Finland, Japan’s Toyota and Mercedes-Benz of Germany.

The US is the biggest home to the top brands with as many as 52 coming from the country. Germany has grabbed the second position with just 10 brands, followed by nine from France, eight from Japan and six from the UK.

There are only four Swiss brands on the list, three from South Korea, two from Italy and one each from Sweden, Spain, Finland and Bermuda. The top four brands each have a brand value of more than $50 billion while even the last ten have been given a value of more than $3 billion.

Even though none of the Indian brands figure in the list, the country is high on radar on most of the names mentioned in the elite list. Businessweek noted that global banking giant Citigroup, ranked at 11th position, was opening thousands of branches worldwide, but still has been focusing on looking more local. “It’s a strategy of selling itself as a neighbourhood bank but one with the resources of the global giant it is,” the magazine quoted the bank’s global consumer group chairman and CEO Ajay Banga as saying. The bank is opening branches in corporate campuses in India while to win over south Indians, it has made low-cost loans available to fisherwomen.

Citigroup is aiming to derive 60% of its consumer business outside the US within a few years, from around 45% at present, according to Mr Banga. Coca-Cola recently noted one of its best performances in the April-June quarter coming from India while Microsoft, IBM, GE, Nokia, Toyota, Intel, McDonald’s, Disney and Mercedes are all household names in India.

These brands also have a significant presence here either in terms of development centre or a marketplace, or both in some cases. Google, the biggest gainer on the list, is also present here with a strong head count at facilities and offices in cities like Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Mumbai. Some brands like Harley-Davidson and Starbucks are seeking their entry to the Indian market while KFC has recently started its second innings here. Besides, there are names like Hewlett-Packard, BMW, Marlboro, American Express, Gillette, Louis Vuitton, Cisco, Honda and Samsung that hardly need any introduction here.