Value of the top 100 most valuable Chinese brands exceeds $1.24 trillion, report
Kantar BrandZ’s Top 100 Chinese Brands 2022 has, for the second year in succession, surpassed the monumental $1 trillion mark, reaching $1.24 trillion in overall brand value, in what has been a uniquely challenging year for China, and the rest of the world.
Despite a decline of 20% year-on-year in the overall value of the Top 100 China ranking, Chinese businesses have demonstrated the importance of building and maintaining a resilient brand, particularly when faced with uncertainty and global challenges, such as retail and supply chain disruptions, inflation, rising energy costs and the resurgence of COVID-19 restrictions.
Tencent ($204.4bn) retained the number one spot for a second year running. The technology giant has been concentrating on its main business, expanding steadily and organically, and adhering to its technology innovation strategy. Tencent continues to explore the potential of new technologies in serving consumers, enabling industries and contributing to solving social challenges. At the same time, Alibaba (No.2, $137.0bn) continues to expand its portfolio of standalone retail offerings. Alcohol brand Moutai (No.3, $108.5bn) proved resilient as its brand value dipped only 2%, and continued its emergence as one China’s most popular.
Lifestyle-focused social platform Xiaohongshu (No.37, $6.6bn) meaning ‘Little Red Book’ and intelligent speech and AI technologies company iFLYTEK (No.53, $4.2bn) were the highest-ranking newcomers to join the China Top 100 this year, along with 13 others from nine categories, including five brands centred around food, drink, and casual dining, highlighting the potential brand value in these markets. Three brands re-entered the Chinese brand ranking this year: YTO (No.88, $2.0bn), HAVAL (No.93, 1.8bn) and TCL (No.94, $1.8bn).
Growing 66%, athletic apparel brand Li-Ning (No.64, $3.4bn) was the fastest-growing brand in the Top 100. It successfully combined technical innovations with nostalgic and patriotic styling cues while its cumulative investment in fashion has now paid off. Six brands: Li-Ning, China Telecom (No.28, $8.8bn), Chow Tai Fook (No.38, $6.1bn), Xing Hua Cun (No.52, $4.2bn), BYD (No.29, $8.7bn), and Haier (No.9, $33.2bn) - grew by more than 25%.
With a focus on collaboration, rather than competition, Haier (No.9, $33.2bn) has risen two places to break into the Top 10. Its global expansion strategy and constant innovation in both consumer and industrial technology applications has contributed to a year-on-year growth of 26% in brand value.
Car manufacturer BYD rose 29% in brand value due to rapid growth in both China and overseas markets and became the world’s best-selling new energy vehicle (NEV) brand during H1 2022, as Chinese car exports doubled passing two million units for the first time.
Historical Kantar BrandZ data shows that investing in strong brands not only insulates businesses from short term challenges, but also ensures a faster rebound relative to one’s competitors.
Doreen Wang, Greater China CEO, Kantar and Global Chair, Kantar BrandZ: “In difficult economic times, having a strong brand does not make a business fully immune to changes of fortune, but it can help soften the blow. This year, we’ve studied the Kantar BrandZ data closely to gain insight into what gives brands their resilience and ability to steadily improve regardless of market conditions.”
During VUCA times, Chinese brands can start with building stronger perceived value, embracing sustainability, and improving end-to-end innovation capability. Strong brands never shy away from uncertainties. Instead, they should take them head on with these actions to create higher brand value and ensure a better future.”
This year was a year in which smaller Chinese brands gained ground on the larger, more established brands. Over the last six years, China’s 30 largest brands have come to represent a smaller proportion of the Top 100’s total value. This signals China’s emergence as a major brand landscape and as the ranking is rebalanced, China’s extensive showing of strong brands now features multiple category competitors, rather than a single dominant name.
Media and Entertainment (26% share of total brand value) is once again the largest category in the Kantar BrandZ China Top 100, followed by Retail (16%) and Alcohol (12%). Taken together, these three categories account for just over half of the total value of the China Top 100 ranking.
Out of the 20 categories that were covered by both 2021 and 2022 China BrandZ rankings, five increased their total value year-on-year: Cars, Apparel, IoT Ecosystem, Energy and Telecom Providers.
Brands that continue to advertise intelligently, particularly during challenging times, tend to overperform compared to those that are inclined to cut back or suspend their brand-building activities. The rise of performance advertising led some Chinese brand managers to feel as if they had no choice but to prioritise short-term sales activations over long-term brand-building.
However, it is possible to do both - provided that brands have the right data and insights at hand while navigating the dynamic world of Chinese e-commerce, which has grown to encompass new formats like live streaming, community group buying, and private-channel O2O storefronts. Successful brands must also continually strive to gain an accurate picture of their own strengths and weaknesses in consumers’ eyes.
The full report can be accessed here
