Independent global consultancy Brand Finance has published the 2009 Global 500 Report, its annual report on the world’s most valuable brands. The Report awards each brand a rating, according to its strength, risk and future potential relative to its competitors, as at 31 December 2008.According to the Report, the world’s most valuable brand now is Walmart with a brand value of US$40.6bn, rising three places to replace Coca-Cola as the top brand. The Report states that “[t]he recession has fuelled rising demand both in the US and in the UK via its [Walmart’s] price leading ASDA subsidiary. Revenues, profits, market cap and brand value have all marched ever upwards. At the moment Walmart owns a 20% share of the entire retail grocery and consumables business in the US.”
Also available on the Brand Finance website is the Global Intangible Finance Tracker 2009 which was published in February, covering more than 37,000 companies quoted on 53 national stock markets, and representing 99% of total global market capitalization. This Report inter alia looks into how companies treat intangible asset impairments (intangible assets being defined widely, including besides IPRs also contractual rights and relationships with customers and distributors). It concludes that “[t]he very modest level of Residual Goodwill and Disclosed Intangible Assets write downs reflected in the Brand Finance Global Intangible Finance Tracker (GIFT™) 2009 suggest that many global companies are in denial about the level of write downs that are really required.”
This blog reported earlier on the 2008 Global 500 Report and on Coca-Cola.
