The world’s most valuable retail brands are…

An online giant and the world’s biggest retailer claim the top two positions in a study that ranks retail companies by their brand value.



Amazon ranked as the world’s most valuable retail brand in the annual study by valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance. The company’s brand value, $106.4 billion, is nearly double that of Walmart ($62.2 billion), which ranked as the second most valuable retail brand. (An explanation of the ranking is provided at the end of article.) 



Amazon also ranked as the third most valuable brand across all industries, just behind Google ($109.5 billion) and Apple ($107.1 billion).



“The firm (amazon) is growing strongly as it continues to both reshape the retail market and to capture an ever larger share of it,” stated Brand Finance in a release. “Its brand value is already nearly double that of second-placed Walmart. Amazon Fresh, its grocery service, is still relatively limited in scale but this year began operating overseas for the first time, serving Central and East London initially.



Rounding out the top five most valuable retail brands were Alibaba, with a brand value of $34.9 billion; The Home Depot, $30.2 billion; and Ikea, at $24.1 billion.



Other top ranking retail brands included CVS, No. 6 with a brand value of $23.2 billion; Target, No.7 (brand value of $17 billion; Walgreens, No. 8 ($16 billion); Lowe’s, No.9 ($14 billion); and Costco, No.10 ($13.4 billion).



The brands in the Brand Finance study are first evaluated to determine their power / strength (based on factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation) and given a corresponding letter grade up to AAA+. Brand strength is used to determine what proportion of a business’s revenue is contributed by the brand, which is projected into perpetuity to determine the brand’s value.