Louis Vuitton remains the world’s most valuable luxury fashion or jewelry brand, but Prada’s value rose more than any other brand at 63 percent year-over-year, while the French fashion house’s declined, according to the BrandZ Top 100 list from Millward Brown.
Both Prada and Kering-owned Gucci are new to the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report this year and each saw notable gains due to sales increases in key global markets, especially among Asian consumers at home and abroad. Ranked separately from luxury apparel, accessories and jewelry brands, the world’s most valuable luxury brand is BMW, which fell to No. 2 in the automotive category due to the slowdown in Europe.
"Though Louis Vuitton hasn’t grown as quickly, it still by any measure has strong brand value," said Oscar Yuan, vice president at Millward Brown Optimor, New York. "It is and will continue to be a strong brand, but at the top there is not as much room to grow.
"Prada, for example, has continued to open stores and continues to spread its brand out," he said. "Gucci is largely driven by North America and Western Europe, and despite the slowdown, much of this is coming from tourism from Asia."
The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 is the eighth annual study of its kind. This year’s report was commissioned by WPP and lead by Millward Brown Optimor.
The study measures what consumers think about brands combined with financial data analysis, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles to get their value.
The luxury category in the report includes brands that offer appeal, leather goods, fragrances, accessories and watches.
Global power
On the top 100 list, BMW came in at No. 24 behind front-runners Apple, Google, IBM, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, followed by Louis Vuitton at No. 29.
Also beating LVMH’s most lucrative brand is No. 14 Amazon, where 73 percent of affluent adults with a household income of $250,000 or more shopped in the past year, according to a recent report from the Shullman Research Center (see story).
Behind Louis Vuitton are Facebook at No. 31, Hermès at No. 40, Mercedes-Benz at No. 43, Gucci at No. 68 and Prada at No. 95.
Among the top risers measured by percentage are Prada, which saw the most gain of all brands in the report at 63 percent to $9.5 billion, and Gucci, with a 48 percent gain to $12.7 billion, since last year’s calculations.
Gucci spring/summer 2013
Louis Vuitton decreased 12 percent in value since last year from $25.9 billion in 2012 to $22.7 billion, according to the report.
Last year, Louis Vuitton was up 7 percent in value since the 2011 report. The brand’s expansive product lines and its refusal to discount in times of a recession were what made it the most valuable luxury brand, coming in at 21 out of 100 (see story).
The value of the luxury category in the report increased 6 percent year-over-year with Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Gucci, Prada, Rolex, Chanel, Cartier, Burberry, Fendi and Coach making up the top 10.
Additionally, the total brand value of all companies on the top 100 list has steadily increased since the first report in 2006.
Hermès is among the top risers since the introduction of the report, up 296 percent in brand value since 2006, which is likely due to its products’ lasting value.
"Luxury continues to grow globally," Mr. Yuan said. "We are seeing that the demand for luxury is not really subject to economic vagaries as much as it might be for other consumer products."
Driving value
The automotive category was examined separately from luxury apparel, accessories and jewelry brands in the report.
In fact, BMW at No. 24 beat out Louis Vuitton at No. 29 on the Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list. The German automaker is valued at approximately $24 billion.
Last year, BMW came in at No. 23 on the list with an approximate value of $24.6 billion under Louis Vuitton at No. 21.
BMW 3 Series
Luxury automakers that made the top 10 list in the automotive category include BMW at No. 2, Mercedes-Benz at No. 3, Audi at No. 8 and Lexus at No. 10.
BMW fell below No. 1 most valuable automaker Toyota in part due to the slowdown in Europe, which shrunk its earnings in the market.
Automotive sales figures improved in some key regions, but remained below pre-recession levels, according to the report.
"At the high end of these luxury automobile brands, these minor shifts are normal as they pursue different marketing techniques and what not," Mr. Yuan said.
Final Take
Tricia Carr, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York