Brand Finance Australia has released its latest ranking of the Most Valuable Brands in Australia.
This year, the retail sector has overtaken banking in terms of overall brand value, accounting for 25% of total brand value in the Brand Finance Australia 100 2021 ranking.
Supermarket brands such as most valuable, Woolworths (brand value up 6% to AU$12.6 billion) and competitor, Coles (up 4% to AU$7.9 billion), which is in 4th position, have been leading the charge by ensuring that grocery supply was not disrupted by COVID-19.
In contrast, the Australian banking sector has suffered an overall 11% drop in brand value due to weaker performance forecasts and unfavourable financial conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 5 banking brands in the top 10, only Macquarie has managed to keep a steady brand value year-on-year, while Commonwealth Bank (down 11% to AU$9.1 billion), ANZ (down 5% to AU$6.4 billion), nab (down 20% to AU$5.5 billion), and Westpac (down 15% to AU$4.9 billion) have all suffered losses.
As increasing competition puts pressure on all telecoms brands, the value of the Telstra brand dropped by 18% to AU$9.5 billion, reaching its lowest point since 2014. The story is similar for Optus which decreased by 19% to AU$3.8 billion due to a drop in forecast revenue and external economic factors.
There are just two media brands in the top 100, yet neither of them was able to crack the Top 50. Nine and Seven both made the chart. Nine climbed 9 spots to #57 this year. Seven however dropped 8 places to #82.
“Despite the precarious financial conditions created by the pandemic, the Australian retail sector has benefitted considerably from the boom in spending on essential items such as food, medicine, and other household goods,” said Mark Crowe, managing director, Brand Finance Australia.
“While strong Australian supermarket brands such as Woolworths and Coles have been instrumental in driving up this brand value, the sector is not void of vulnerability to disruption, especially from tech-led challengers.”