Luxury Dominates the 2018 rankings of the France’s most valuable brands. Research

The BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable French Brands 2018. Luxury Dominates the 2018 Ranking.

Heritage is one of the most powerful engines in promoting some of the biggest high-end French brands. Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermès and CHANEL dominate the first BrandZTM Top 50 Most Valuable French Brands ranking released by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.

The research reveals that France’s most valuable brands are incredibly well known and salient, but it also highlights a key challenge: they can be perceived as less innovative than some smaller French companies and foreign rivals.

Louis Vuitton topped the chart with a brand value of $35.5 billion, followed by Hermès at $26.0 billion. Personal Care brand L’Oréal Paris was close behind at $24.5 billion, with Orange at $17.9 billion and CHANEL at $13.4 billion. The top four brands also feature in the BrandZ Global Top 100 ranking published in June 2017.

The total brand value of the French Top 50 brands is $240.4 billion – some $6 billion more than the equivalent UK 2017 ranking -with the Luxury category accounting for $88.9 billion, followed by Personal Care at $45.4bn and Telecom Providers at $31.4bn. The presence of so many luxury brand, accessories, fragrance and cosmetics names gives the ranking a uniquely French flavour with seven Luxury brands and eight Personal Care brands.

 

Many of these brands benefit from a century or more of heritage and have contributed hugely to France’s image on the international stage as a hub of beauty, fashion and quality craftsmanship. However, their success both globally and in their home market also highlights one potential weakness: a perceived lack of innovation in many of the country’s largest brands.

The solution will vary from brand to brand. For some it could mean changing recipes, ranges and designs, for others, it’s less about the product and more about the way the brand relates to consumers and projects its brand voice.

The advantages of being perceived as innovative are significant. The top third of brands perceived as innovative in the Top 50 by French consumers have an average brand value of $7.0 billion, just under two-and-a-half times that of the brands in the bottom third, which were valued at $2.9 billion on average.

BrandZ is the only brand valuation tool grounded in consumer opinion, identifying how much brand alone contributes to corporate value. Businesses worldwide trust BrandZ to provide the information they need to measure, manage and protect their most important intangible asset: their brand.

 

“France’s largest brands are global icons and their long heritage can be a valuable part of their armoury when it comes to competing with rivals from other countries. There is even greater potential if they can combine this heritage story with perceived innovation. Some are already managing this mix well, but others need to take action if they want to continue to thrive. Such innovation or perceived innovation is critical to a strong brand,” says Pierre Gomy, Managing Director France at Kantar Millward Brown.

The BrandZ French Top 50 report also includes new research from Y&R’s BAV Group in partnership with U.S. News & World Report and the Wharton School, which examines what it takes to build powerful nation brands. According to BAV Group’s 2017 Best Countries report, France ranks ninth overall out of 80 countries, and scores particularly high on heritage and cultural influence as well as modernity and new trends.