Interbrand Reveals First Ever Ranking of Europe’s Top Performing Retail Brands by Brand Value

Barcelona, Spain, April 10,2008 – Jez Frampton, Group Chief Executive of Interbrand, the leading brand consultancy, announced today the first ever ranking of The Top Performing European Retail Brands at the second annual World Retail Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Leading the way for retailers across Europe, H&M ranks first with a value of €10.366bn. The Sweden-based company delivers trend-setting apparel and even brings couture to mass market with celebrity designers.

Other top performers in the ranking of twenty-five brands include the French-owned Carrefour (€6.620bn), Sweden’s Ikea (€6.516bn), the UK’s Tesco (€5.617bn), and M&S (€5.100bn).

“Retail brands provide the most comprehensive opportunities for brands to truly come to life. The scope of retail brands goes from the insights that create a robust brand strategy, into store design, engagement of your people and in many cases, the creation and supply of own label produce. Retail brands have the ultimate opportunity to create a chain of brand experiences through their environments, service standards as well as products and services. Our study shows the real value of getting this right for the business and the brand,” commented Interbrand Global Chief Executive, Jez Frampton.

Key Findings:

• Top retailers generate value for their brands by understanding the importance of building and investing in their own brands. 60% of the retailers in this study offer their own brands that contribute between 30-100% of their revenues. Three of the top five brands exclusively offer their own brands.
• Knowing how and when to extend their brand into new categories yields value for retailers. Leading retailers move from being passive hosts into active customer owners allowing their brands to transfer across markets, extending their propositions into new service areas.
• International expansion is more successful when the brand is a key driver of the business’ growth. Operational obstacles that have the potential to hinder growth beyond borders are lessened when the brand acts as a passport to create customer demand in new territories.
• Top retailers know that one size does not fit all when it comes to the store environment. Designing the right portfolio of store formats to maximize brand experience and financial performance sets these retailers apart from their competitors and creates preference with their customers.
• Good corporate citizenship creates an emotional distinction with consumers that is much harder to replicate than a competitors’ product offering. Consumers want to feel good about the brands they select so how a brand does business or goes to market is consistently important. Leading retailers actively participate in the debates their customers care about.

Method for Examining Retail Brands
For this study, Interbrand segmented the sector into three broad retail models – aggregator brands such as Carrefour or Tesco, own brands such as M&S or Zara, and product brands such as adidas or Burberry. The product brand model is not included in this study as they are primarily sold through a third party retailer.

Interbrand then applied its proprietary valuation methodology, as used in its annual Best Global Brands study, to determine the brand’s contribution to the business and arrive at a financial value for the top twenty-five retail brands in Europe. Interbrand’s proven method examines brands through the lens of financial strength, importance of driving customer selection and the likelihood of ongoing revenue from the brand.