Retail remains the nation’s most valuable sector in Brand Finance’s Australia 100 2024 rankings for third year running
The total value of Australia’s top 100 brands has risen by 2.5% to reach AUD199 billion, with 60 of the brands in the rankings seeing an increase in brand value. 36 others posted declines while four new brands entered the rankings.
The total value of Australia’s top 100 brands has risen by 2.5% to reach AUD199 billion, with 60 of the brands in our rankings seeing an increase in brand value. 36 others posted declines while four new brands entered the rankings. Australia’s major industries have posted differing performances in terms of brand value: retail (down 1%), banking (up 3%), telecoms (up 2%), insurance (up 46%) and mining (down 3%).
Mark Crowe, Managing Director of Brand Finance Australia, commented:
“This year’s Australia 100 highlights the important role of strong brands during challenging economic times in growing or minimising loss of value and mitigating reputational risk while providing reassurance to consumers confronted by cost-of-living pressures.”
The retail sector was severely affected by inflation in 2023 which led to a reduced growth rate. It nonetheless remains the most valuable sector in our rankings with an aggregate brand value of AUD46.5 billion, which accounts for 23% of the total value of Australia’s top 100 brands. In addition, while the Australian economy managed to avoid a recession in 2023, the retail sector faced other challenges. For instance, real retail spending experienced a decline for three consecutive quarters due to consumers tightening their discretionary purchases amid rising living costs. This impacted brands such as Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings.
Woolworths defends most valuable brand crown despite a 5% brand value decline
The top four most valuable Australian brands maintained their rank positions despite posting brand value declines. Woolworths defended its most valuable brand crown despite a 5% decline in brand value to AUD15.4 billion. It remains committed to elevating customer experience. For instance, it launched a new feature on its “Everyday Rewards” app in August 2023 to help customers track their purchases more effectively. Driven by an increased app engagement, the number of “Everyday Rewards” members reached 14.5 million. Committed to its customer-centric strategy, Woolworths also added 81 new locations to the list of sites that carries out its “Direct to Boot” contactless grocerypickup service in the same year.
Completing the top three most valuable Australian brands are Telstra (brand value down 1% to AUD13 billion) and Commonwealth Bank (brand value down 7% to AUD10.6 billion). Telstra’s decrease in brand value was mainly due to a lowered Brand Strength Index (BSI) score attributed to negative news coverage in 2023 as well as connectivity related issues in the Australian markets. Telstra made cybersecurity one of its priorities.
Last year, it announced its collaboration with the Commonwealth Bank and unveiled a new pilot tool called the “Scam Indicator” to safeguard customers who are clients of both Telstra and Commonwealth Bank from falling victim to financial scams carried out through phone calls. Commonwealth Bank’s brand value decrease was also attributed to a lowered BSI score as a result of customer borrowing stress, in turn affected by increased interest rates and concerns emerging from a data breach issue. The brand announced new investments in tailored propositions for the agricultural and real estate sectors.
Coles, maintaining its position as the 4th most valuable brand, saw a 10% decrease in brand value to AUD9.8 billion. The brand focused on providing its customers with great deals last year. For its latest “Great Value, Hands Down” campaign, it reduced the prices of over 500 products in August. The campaign brought about an enhancement of customer shopping experience both in-store and online, allowing customers to redeem points for purchase discounts, enjoy free same-day deliveries for online orders exceeding a certain amount and conveniently access personalised offers on the Coles app.
Banking brands continue to perform, with 8 of 11 brands posting brand value increases
The banking sector performed better than the retail sector in 2023, with a 10% year-on year growth compared to a 2% growth in the retail sector. 8 of 11 banking brands posted brand value increases. All of them, save for one, recorded double-digit percentage brand value growth.
Leading the charge with the highest brand value increase is First Sentier Investors (brand value up 19% to AUD628 million) with a three-place improvement up the ranks to 68th most valuable, followed by Westpac (brand value up 17% to AUD6 billion) moving up one place to 10th most valuable. ANZ continued to climb the rankings by one place to 6th with a 15% increase in brand value to AUD5.6 billion. On the other hand, Commonwealth Bank and NAB (brand value down 11% to AUD7 billion) have observed declines in brand value. Despite this, Commonwealth Bank maintained its position as Australia’s 3rd most valuable brand.
Conversely, airlines brands posted brand value declines
Despite a brand value decrease of 7% to AUD2.8 billion, Qantas climbed a spot to become the nation’s 17th most valuable brand on the back of increased revenue and forecasts. However, after a decline of four points in last year’s rankings, Qantas has experienced a further drop of seven points, with its BSI score now standing at 71 out of 100. This performance was mainly due to reputational issues that generated negative media coverage.
Meanwhile, Jetstar recorded a brand value decrease of 5% to AUD578 million, affected by a dip in revenue forecasts due to falling revenues from domestic flights in light of inflationary pressures. The brand’s BSI score, however, improved by four points to 70 out of 100.
The BSI score performances of Qantas and Jetstar see them moving in opposite directions within our BSI rankings – with Qantas falling 22 places to become Australia's 41st strongest brand and Jetstar climbing 20 places to 46th strongest.
Bunnings is the nation’s strongest brand for three consecutive years
Bunnings (brand value up 20% to AUD6.5 billion) is Australia’s strongest brand for the third year running, with a BSI score of 88.2 out of 100. Bunning’s increase in brand value was due to its stronger business performance, which reported positive financial results for the year ending 30 June 2023. It saw an increase in store sales by 3.7%, with store-on-store sales growing by 1.8%. Additionally, the brand demonstrated growth in both consumer and commercial segments across all regions in the nation.
To strengthen its market position, Bunnings invested in digital channels, enhancing its website, PowerPass app and Bunnings app. The brand’s strategic focus on the “Whole of Build” approach, improvements in the sales and service model and expansion of the Frame & Truss network underscored its commitment to enhancing the commercial customer experience.
Following behind Bunnings, NRMA Insurance (brand value up 91% to AUD2 billion) jumped seven spots to be placed as Australia’s 2nd strongest brand, displacing Woolworths one position to 3rd strongest while Telstra retained 4th. NRMA Insurance is also one of the fastest growing brands in the rankings this year, posting a 91% brand value increase.