BRAND IN GERMANY
The 50 most valuable brands in Germany have a combined value of €263 billion, according to a new study, which places Germany's top companies ahead of their peers in the UK and France. SAP, Deutsche Telekom, BMW, Daimler and Deutsche Post lead the way, with automotive the country's standout sector.
The analysis, conducted by professional services giant WPP, assessed the 'brand value' of Germany's top companies – which is a measure of how much a brand alone contributes to corporate value, both in terms of financial value and non-quantitative components. The data found that similar to in other countries, but more so in Germany, value is concentrated at the top of the ranking, with the top two brands – SAP and Deutsche Telekom – between them accounting for 29% of the value of the leading 50 brands combined. In comparison, in the UK, the top two brands provide 21% of the top 50's value.
Unsurprisingly, the automotive industry plays a key role in Germany's brand elite. There are five leading global car brands in the German Top 50, a feat which is unmatched in any other national WPP ranking for Western economies. Combined, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and Volkswagon account for a staggering 22% of the total €263 billion brand value. "Germany itself has become synonymous with the design and engineering of the many automotive brands it has produced. These are brands that have made consumers all over the world willingly pay a premium for "Vorsprung durch Technik", without even knowing quite what it meant," said David Roth, CEO of The Store, WPP's division that serves the retail and fast moving consumer goods sectors.
Germany is also the only European market to be led by a technology brand. With a brand value of $48.9 billion, SAP is the undisputed leader in Germany, alone accounting for 16% of the value of the entire German top 50. The company, which was founded in the early 1970s by five entrepreneurial engineers with a vision to change the way companies do business, is today a world leader in enterprise applications – 87% of Forbes Global 2000 companies are a user of SAP software.
Given the strength of Germany's reputation as a leader in the sector in finance, the relatively small influence of financial services brands is apparent – there are only a handful of banking and insurance businesses in the top 50, including Deutsche Bank and Allianz. Across the board, the top 50 is comprised of brands from 19 different categories, spanning home appliance, apparel, beer, travel, aviation, grocery and media, among others. ©consultancy