Interbrand launches global review of retail brands.

Interbrand, the leading global brand consultancy, has released “The Best Retail Brands” – a review of the retail industry’s top performing brands and the brand management issues that will make or break businesses as the sector experiences its most challenging time in recent history.

Retail is a powerful barometer for both the economic climate and consumer sentiment. And while the economic crisis is undoubtedly testing retail brands, it also offers new opportunities that are forcing the sector to rethink the way it views brands.

“Retailers have the most expansive opportunity to connect with consumers,” said Jez Frampton, Global Chief Executive of Interbrand. “Through interactions inside and outside of the store they can create a unique brand experience for their shoppers. The secret to future success will depend upon managing the brand as an asset, understanding the role of the brand in demand creation, and focusing on uniqueness, not discounting,” added Frampton.

Frampton added, “Retailers are now recognizing the ability of their brands to drive demand and create true business value. In comparison to other sectors, retailers have a broader opportunity to use their brands to create connections with their customers. Everything should add substance and reality to the brand’s promise to shoppers. Discounting maybe part of the brand’s story, particularly at this time, but it cannot become the brand’s only source of attraction.”

Cutting prices is understandable at this time but smarter retailers are looking to understand how their brands create value for the business as well. For retailers that manage the brand as they would any other business asset, like the US’s top performer Walmart and Europe’s leader H&M, the brand becomes a value creation engine. Understanding the importance of both operational and brand excellence, Zara has created a brand message that builds on its ability to translate trends into merchandise, from drawing board to stores in just two weeks.

The Best Retail Brands follows on from Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands report, last published September 2008 in BusinessWeek. Using the same proven method for quantifying the value of brands, the most valuable North American and European retail brands are revealed in this latest report.

Interbrand’s report takes a close look at issues affecting brands in the retail and consumer packaged goods sectors but offers insights that are valuable for all businesses. These lessons include the current crisis paradox of cutting spending while trying to extract more value from brand assets; the importance of shoppers’ needs and expectations; standing out in stores and the changing consumer climate in Asia – a once lucrative market that is now feeling the fallout effects of markets to the west.

The top five US retail brands are Walmart (no.1, valued at US$ 129bn), Best Buy (no.2, valued at US$ 21bn), The Home Depot (no.3, valued at US$ 20bn), Target (no.4, valued at US$ 17bn), and CVS/pharmacy (no.5, valued at US$ 12bn). The top five European retail brands are H&M (no.1, valued at €11 bn), Carrefour (no.2, valued at €9bn), Ikea (no.3, valued at €7bn), Tesco (no. 4, valued at €5bn), and Zara (no.5, valued at €4bn).

To view study CLICK on link below:
http://www.interbrand.com/images/studies/-1_Interbrand_Best_Retail_2009.pdf>