Porsche has parked itself in the top spot as the world’s most valuable luxury brand for another year, according to Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. The iconic car brand is valued at US$33.7 billion in 2022, down two per cent from a year earlier.
Porsche’s leadership of the luxury segment is good news for the brand which has just been spun-off by its brand owner, the Volkswagen Group, in an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Every year, Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the world’s biggest brands to the test, and publishes around 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries.
Alex Haigh, Brand Finance director, said: “Porsche’s new stock exchange listing demonstrates the value of a brand in a very visceral way, very much like the spin-off of Ferrari lead by Sergio Marchionne years ago. It made great sense to extract value hidden within the Volkswagen group, especially when you have an iconic luxury brand like Porsche which is so valuable.”
Louis Vuitton is second most valuable luxury brand valued at US$23.4 billion
Louis Vuitton (brand value up 58 per cent to US$23.4 billion) benefited from increased spending on luxury products during the pandemic period as pandemic restrictions restricted spending on travel and services. As a result, Louis Vuitton was one of many high-end luxury product brands to benefit from increased demand for their products.
Louis Vuitton is now seeking to manage its brand through strong online marketing and celebrity influencer campaigns aimed at attracting new client bases, while maintaining a brand heritage steeped in a rich history.
Elsewhere, Spanish luxury retailer Loewe (brand value up seven per cent) is facing similar challenges as it seeks to communicate with customers on both online and offline channels.
The Ritz-Carlton is world’s fastest growing luxury brand, more than doubling in value this year
The Ritz-Carlton (brand value doubling to US$1.1 billion) is the world’s fastest growing hotel brand with its brand value increasing by 112 per cent as travel reopens across much of the world. Part of the Marriott Group, the Ritz-Carlton has built an extremely strong brand, with its Brand Strength Index increasing from 79.6 to 83.2, earning an AAA- brand rating.
The brand value of luxury hotel InterContinental (brand value down one per cent to US$1.5 billion) fell marginally, with significant concerns about potential delays to the reopening of services in InterContinental’s key Chinese market. Despite enduring one of the toughest periods ever faced by the hospitality industry, InterContinental remains focused on delivering on its brand promise ‘True Hospitality for Good’.
Ferrari is the world’s strongest luxury brand with AAA+ rating
In addition to brand value, Brand Finance determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in more than 35 countries and across nearly 30 sectors.
Ferrari (brand value down 13 per cent to US$8 billion) is one of the world’s most recognisable brands and is the strongest luxury brand in the world with a BSI of 90.9/100 and an elite AAA+ rating. A significant attribute of the Ferrari brand is its iconic internal combustion engines. The forthcoming migration to electric vehicles therefore represents both a challenge and opportunity for the brand as it seeks to build its first fully electric vehicle by 2025 and predicts electric vehicles to account for 40 per cent of its product offering by 2030.
Dior and Dolce and Gabbana flaunt impressive brand value performances
Dior (brand value up 19 per cent to US$9 billion) enjoyed worldwide success with their Sauvage fragrance, and the brand returned to growth following the disruption brought about by the pandemic. Dolce and Gabbana (brand value up 55 per cent to US$1.4 billion) is well known for its distinctive brand personality. The Italian brand is in the process of establishing Dolce and Gabbana Beauty, which by January 2023 will assume 100 per cent control of the manufacturing, sales and distribution of its fragrance and makeup products.
Brand strength accelerates for Lamborghini and Aston Martin
Despite an overall drop in brand value, both Lamborghini (brand value down four per cent to US$1.9 billion) and Aston Martin (brand value down 18 per cent to US$1.1 billion) have paved out new sustainability focused roadmaps which already seem to be having a positive impact on how these brands are perceived.
Estée Lauder is smelling sweet as it enters top ten of value
Estée Lauder (brand value up 39 per cent to US$7.9 billion) has quickly grown this year and has recently benefited from an uplift in airport sales, among other channels, due to the recovery of the global travel sector and appear to have capitalised on this well. The brand has significant further opportunities for growth because of its widely reported intentions to acquire luxury fashion house Tom Ford for US$3 billion.
