World's top 100 brands worth trillion dollars, more than India's total m-cap

The top 100 global brands are together valued worth more than $1 trillion but none of them are from India-though almost all are either already present in the country or are seeking a foothold here to tap the world's second-biggest consumer force.

In the latest "World's top 100 brands" list by Interbrand, a leading international brand consultancy, and Business Week magazine, the biggest soft drinks firm Coca-Cola has retained its top position despite a fall in its brand value to $65.32 billion from $67 billion in 2006. Together the 100 brands are worth about $1.15 trillion-more than the combined market value of over 4,000 listed companies in India. The study described brand value as "the dollar value of a brand, calculated as net present value or today's value of the earnings the brand is expected to generate in the future". Internet search engine, Google emerged as the biggest gainer despite its 20th rank with a rise of over $5 billion in its brand value.

Coca-Cola is followed by Microsoft, IBM, GE, Nokia, Intel, Toyota, McDonald's, Disney and Mercedes-Benz in the top ten. Seven of the top ten brands are from the US, except for Nokia of Finland, Japan's Toyota and Mercedes-Benz of Germany.

The US is the biggest home to the top brands with as many as 52 coming from the country. Germany has grabbed the second position with just 10 brands, followed by nine from France, eight from Japan and six from the UK.

There are only four Swiss brands on the list, three from South Korea, two from Italy and one each from Sweden, Spain, Finland and Bermuda. The top four brands each have a brand value of more than $50 billion, while even the last ten have been given a value of more than $3 billion.

Even though none of the Indian brands figure in the list, the country is high on radar on most of the names mentioned in the elite list.

BusinessWeek noted that global banking giant Citigroup, ranked at 11th position, was opening thousands of branches worldwide, but still has been focusing on looking more local. "It's a strategy of selling itself as a neighbourhood bank but one with the resources of the global giant it is," the magazine quoted the bank's global consumer group chairman and CEO Ajay Banga as saying.

Reference: Financial Express