Woolworths tops Australian brand value list; Bunnings is the strongest

Woolworths has again topped the list of Australia’s most valuable brands for the fourth year in a row, while Bunnings has been recognised as the strongest brand in the country for a second year.

Woolworths topped the Brand Finance Australia annual rankings with a 16 per cent lift in brand value to $194 million. The growth in value and retained position was attributed to a strong focus on customer experience, including curated product ranges to suit local communities, as well as its proactive sustainability positioning.

Coming in second was Telstra, with a 29 per cent brand value increase to $13.2 billion. Again, the lift was attributed to an emphasis on customer service, along with value for money and strong consideration and recommendation across consumers. Also chalking up sizeable growth in the past year was Commonwealth Bank, which reversed decline in brand value to increase by 28 per cent to $11.4 billion.

More broadly, Brand Finance Australia noted the banks had a good showing this year after signs of a slow recovery in terms of brand value. For example, it noted National Australia Bank, which is the 5^th most valuable brand this year, saw its brand value lift 36 per cent to $$7.9 billion. ANZ also increased 22 per cent to $7.6 billion. However, Westpac and Macquarie both saw brand value dip by 1 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, to $5.2bn and $4.6bn.

Retaining fourth spot on the list was Coles, with a 10 per cent lift in brand value to $10.9 billion. Helping the supermarket giant hold onto the position was flexibility and innovation, plus improved scores for quality and value for money. Retailers have been a major fixture in the brand value list for several years now.

Rounding out the top 10 were BHP (6^th spot, $7.7bn), ANZ (7^th, $7.6bn), OMC Pacific Mining (8^th, $6.5bn), Bunnings Warehouse (9^th, $5.4bn) and Westpac (10^th, $5.2bn).

One the less fortunate brands on the list this year was Optus, which saw its brand value significantly impacted by the cyber-attack in September 2022. According to Brand Finance, the resulting publicity and media commentary drove negative sentiment triggering a near 10-point drop in brand strength and a consequential 19 per cent fall in brand value to $3.3 billion. Without this, Optus would have seen its brand value increase by 11 per cent.

In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also scored brands on their relative strength through a combination of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance. Bunnings maintained its position at number one, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 88.2 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA brand strength rating.

Woolworths and Coles took second and third place, respectively. Telstra’s 6-point rise secured the telco fourth place, while the Commonwealth Bank shifted up three spots to become the 5^th highest ranked strongest brand.

NRMA retained its ranking of Australia’s strongest insurance brand, while Seek entered the top 10 strongest brands for the first time at ninth place.  

“Across the world, there’s been significant disruption in labour markets, goods markets, and fuel markets. Despite this disruption, Australian brands have grown quickly as they bounce back from the pandemic-disrupted past,” commented Brand Finance Australia managing director, Mark Crowe.  “With customers facing significant cost pressures, strong brands have an opportunity to earn a premium return.”

At a global level, the Brand Finance Global 500 report recognised Amazon as the most valuable brand in its latest list despite the company losing US$51bn in value over the past year. The 15 per cent fall means Amazon’s value now sits at US$299.3bn.

In second place was Apple, which also saw its value decrease by 16 per cent to US$297.5bn. Meanwhile, the fastest growing brand was shortform video social media player, TikTok, which was up 215 per cent year-on-year to US$59bn, putting it in 18^th spot globally.

WeChat was named world’s strongest brand for second consecutive year with top score of 93.3 out of 100 and elite AAA+ rating. And Microsoft’s Satya Nadella topped the Brand Finance Brand Guardianship Index 2022 of world’s top 250 CEOs.

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