Apple retained the title of the world’s most valuable brand in 2022 with a valuation of US$355.1 billion (approximately Rs. 26,72,600 crore), according to a report. The Cupertino company’s valuation increased by 35% — thanks to its growing recognition in the market. Following Apple, Amazon and Google were named among the year’s three most valuable brands. TikTok, on the other hand, has emerged as the fastest growing brand in the world, with its value increasing by 215% in 2022.
Brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance said in its latest rankings report that Apple became the first brand to reach a market valuation of $3 trillion. The company’s brand has grown from ₹263.37 billion (about Rs. 19,83,000 crore) in 2021 to ₹355.1 billion in 2022.
“The iPhone still accounts for about half of the brand’s sales. However, this year Apple paid more attention to its other set of products with a new generation of iPads, an overhaul of the iMac and the introduction of AirTags,” the company said.
Apple services, including Apple Pay and Apple TV, are also gaining importance to the brand’s success, noted Brand Finance.
After Apple, Amazon is once again at No. 2 in Brand Finance’s 2022 Global 500 rankings. The US e-commerce giant has joined the iPhone maker to cross the $300 billion brand value mark with an increase of 38% to $350.3 billion (about Rs. 26,36,800 crore).
“Amazon sees logistics as critical, building its own end-to-end supply chain through a growing fleet of trucks, vans and planes. In 2020 and 2021, the brand invested an estimated $80 billion in its logistics division, compared to a combined $58 billion in the previous five years,” the company said.
Google has also seen brand value growth of 38% to US$263.4 billion (approximately Rs.19,82,880 crore) this year, according to Brand Finance. The company said that because Google relies on advertising for the vast majority of its revenue, it took a hit at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as advertising spending plummeted. The search giant’s business, however, has recovered as the world adjusts to the new normal, he added.
Following Google, Microsoft maintained its position at number four on Brand Finance’s Global 500 ranking this year. The company’s brand value increased by more than 31% to USD 184.2 billion (approximately Rs. 13,86,390 crore).
Retail chain Walmart overtook Samsung to become the fourth most valuable brand in 2022, according to Brand Finance. The company achieved the brand value of USD 111.91 billion (approximately Rs. 8,41,000 crore) after achieving a 20% increase from last year’s value of USD 93.18 billion (approximately Rs. 7,00,400 crore).
Samsung, on the other hand, has dropped to fifth position with a brand value of US$107.28 billion (approximately Rs.8,06,200 crore). The company became the only South Korean company among Brand Finance’s top 25 most valued brands.
Unlike Samsung, Huawei has seen growth in its position from 21 to nine in the Brand Finance 500 ranking this year. The Chinese company saw growth of 29% to USD71.2 billion (about INR 5,34,800 crore), the company said.
“Huawei’s smartphone business was hit hard by US sanctions, but it has responded positively by heavily stepping up investment in domestic technology and R&D companies, as well as shifting its focus to cloud services,” Brand Finance said.
In addition to leading high-value brands, TikTok was named the world’s fastest growing brand by Brand Finance. The short video app tripled its brand value last year with an increase of 215% to US$59 billion (approximately Rs.4,43,300 crore). It was ranked 18th on the World’s 500 Most Valuable Brands, as tracked by the Brand Valuation Consultancy.
Similar to TikTok, Snapchat has emerged as an app marking growth in its brand equity this year. The brand value of the app grew by 184% to US$6.6 billion (approximately Rs.49,600 crore), according to Brand Finance.
WeChat is also considered the strongest brand in the world for the second consecutive year by the company. It carried a brand value of $62.30 billion (about Rs. 4,68,100 crore) in 2022, as per the report.
The technology sector was once again the most valuable in the Brand Finance Global 500 ranking in 2022. The company said that the sector has reached a cumulative brand value of nearly $1.3 trillion (about Rs. 97,66,315 crore).
It is important to note that the brand values reported by Brand Finance do not reflect the market value of the brands and are calculated independently by the company.