Announcing Interbrand’s “Best Japan Brands 2019”, including: Japanese brands ranked by brand value, Japan’s Best Global Brands top 40, and Japan’s Best Domestic Brands top 40.


Interbrand Japan, Japan’s largest branding company (headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo,) has announced Best Japan Brands 2019, a ranking of Japanese brand values using a unique brand valuation method to convert brand value into monetary value. Best Japan Brands 2019, the 11th released since 2009, announces the top 40 brands of two sections: Japan’s Best Global Brands (JBGB), featuring global Japanese brands (over 30% overseas sales), and Japan’s Best Domestic Brands (JBDB), featuring Japanese domestic brands (less than 30% overseas sales).

Best Japan Brands 2019 uses the same valuation methods used in the global brand value ranking Best Global Brands announced by Interbrand since 2000, and uses global standards to compare the brand value of leading global brands with Japanese brands.


Overview of Best Japan Brands 2019



“Brands that create new value by finding solutions to the real-world problems of society and its people – that is, companies that try bold new things – continue to improve their value,” said Masahito Namiki, President & CEO, Interbrand Japan. “This is our 11th year running Best Japan Brands, and we continue to see the ways in which Japanese brands are growing, as well as how they are innovating in a tech-first, and customer-first, world.”
Looking at the overall rankings of different industries, the three segments that show the biggest presence are financial (11 brands), automotive (9 brands), and retail (9 brands). This year, cosmetic and toiletry brands have shown growth, such as Kao (14th place in JBGB, +11% from the previous year), which debuted in the JBGB ranks from JBDB, Shiseido (15th place in JBGB, +30% from the previous year), and KOSÉ (12th place in JBDB, +27% from the previous year), which showed remarkable growth rates, and Lion (37th place in JBDB) and POLA (39th place in JBDB), which made their debut in JBDB. In addition, brands offering new business models and unprecedented services realized remarkable growth, including ZOZOTOWN (25th place in JBDB, +38% from the previous year), which showed the highest growth rate this year, and Mercari (40th place in JBDB), which was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2018, making it now eligible for valuation.


Japan’s Best Global Brands 2019


Four of the top 10 brands of JBGB 2019 were automotive: Toyota at the top spot for the 11th consecutive year (+6% from the previous year), Honda (2nd place, +4% from the previous year), Nissan (3rd place, +6% from the previous year), and Subaru (10th place, +5% from the previous year). With Bridgestone (12th place, +10% from the previous year) and Suzuki (16th place, +23% from the previous year), the overall ranking had nine automotive brands in the Top 40, demonstrating the recent strengthening of this sector.

By meeting the Global Standard of having more than 30% of sales overseas, Kao (14th place, +11% from the previous year) moved from the JBDB to the JBGD, showing the steady progress of Japanese brands toward globalization. (In the period Interbrand has been compiling these reports, brands that have moved to JBGB from JBDB include UNIQLO and Yakult in 2015, MUFG in 2016, Tokio Marine and MUJI in 2017, and Mizuho and SMBC in 2018, making Kao the 8th.)

The five Top Growing Brands (defined by the year-on-year growth rate increase in brand value) are: Shiseido (15th place, +30% growth from 2018), Suzuki (16th place, +23% growth from 2018), Yamaha (25th place, +20% growth from 2018), Nintendo (9th place, +19% growth from 2018) and UNIQLO (8th place, +19% growth from 2018).

This year, the Best Japan Brands list features two new entrants and one re-entrant. Kao enters at #14, lifting the brand from the JBDB to the JBGB ranking (11% growth from 2018). Terumo joins at #39, and Makita re-enters the list at #40 (last on in JBGB 2016).
See the full list here.


Japan’s Best Domestic Brands 2019


NTT DOCOMO (-1% from the previous year) took the top spot for JBDB 2019 for the 9th consecutive year, followed by SoftBank (2nd place, -6% from the previous year) and au (3rd place, +2% from the previous year), marking the 4th consecutive year that the three major telecommunications companies ranked in the top three.

Four brands made their debut in the ranking: Sagawa (30th place), Lion (37th place), POLA (39th place), and Mercari (40th place). “In the ranking, brands that actively promote e-commerce and continue to create new value in response to the essential needs of customers have grown, as seen in the five Top Growing Domestic Brands,” said Namiki. “Despite the fact that these are domestic brands, many of them are experiencing accelerating global expansion.”

The five Top Growing Domestic Brands (defined by the year-on-year growth rate increase in brand value) are: ZOZOTOWN (25th place, 38% growth from 2018), KOSÉ (12th place, 27% growth from 2018), Asahi (7th place, 25% growth from 2018), Matsumotokiyoshi (29th place, 21% growth from 2018) and Nitori (33rd place, 21% growth from 2018).
This year, the Best Domestic Brands list features four new entrants. Sagawa enters at #30, Lion at #37, POLA at #39, and Mercari at #40.
See the full list here.


CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGY

Criteria for inclusion:


In order to shed light on the value of global Japanese brands and enable comparison of their relative position against a common global measure, brands meeting the following criteria were selected for evaluation:

  1. The brand originated in Japan: The corporate or business brand is the product of a Japanese enterprise.
  2. Financial information is publicly available: The corporation was publicly listed as of October 31, 2018, and analyst reports are available.
  3. Overseas sales (sales outside Japan) account for at least 30% of the brand’s total sales, based on FY 2017 results: Brands for which overseas sales account for less than 30% of total sales are covered in the ranking of the Top 40 domestic Japanese brands.
  4. The brand is generally recognized as a global brand.

Methodology:


Interbrand’s methodology for evaluating brand value is based on the brand’s financial strength, influence on purchasing decisions, and contribution of future earnings. In the same way that securities analysts analyze and evaluate the value of a company, we analyze and evaluate the value of a brand by asking, “What is its future earning potential?” This methodology has been certified compliant with the ISO 10668, the global standard for measuring the monetary value of brands as established by the International Organization for Standardization. The evaluation is made up of the following three specific analyses:

For a more detailed description of Interbrand’s brand valuation methodology, please visit:
/best-brands/best-global-brands/methodology/


About Interbrand


At Interbrand, we believe that growth is achieved when an organization has a clear strategy and delivers exceptional customer experiences. We do both, through a combination of strategy, creativity, and technology that helps drive growth for our clients’ brands and businesses. With a network of 16 offices in 14 countries, Interbrand is a global brand consultancy, and publisher of the highly influential annual Best Global Brands and Breakthrough Brands reports, and Webby Award-winning brandchannel. Interbrand is part of The Brand Consulting Group of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC). For more information, please contact us, or follow Interbrand on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Interbrand’s Brand Valuation is the first recognized global standard through the ISO to measure the monetary value of brands worldwide. We publish various brand value and brand strength reports, including Best Global Brands which evaluates and ranks the value of global brands. We advance projects by gathering strategic analysis professionals who use state-of-the-art methodologies with highly creative artists into one team. We conduct all aspects from analysis to execution with in-house resources from strategic consultants who lead the assessment of brand value and building of brand strategies to designers who develop brand logos, packages spaces, and digital signage in addition to copy writers who create names, slogans, and messages.

Interbrand Japan was established in 1983 – historically the third office in Interbrand’s global network, following London and New York. Interbrand Japan provides a full suite of services to various Japanese organizations and associations from Japanese and foreign-owned enterprises to governmental offices and agencies. Please visit https://www.interbrandjapan.com/ja/ to learn more.
 
For more information, please contact:

Interbrand Japan, Representatives: Masamichi Nakamura, Kayo Okamoto, Manami Saito
Tel: 03-5448-1200
Email: [email protected]