The Most Valuable Brand in Asia
Samsung Electronics' brand value has surpassed US$60 billion for the first time, making the Korean tech giant one of the most highly valued brands in the world.
Samsung Electronics announced on Oct. 17 that its brand value was estimated US$61.1 billion by Interbrand, ranking 6th in the Global Top 100 Brands announced by the global brand consulting firm. Compared to 2009, the company’s brand value shot up 250 percent.
This year, Samsung Electronics' brand value rose 2 percent from US$59.9 billion last year.
The first place honor went to Apple with its brand value put at US$234.2 billion. It was followed by U.S. companies including Google (US$167.7 billion), Amazon (US$125.3 billion), Microsoft (US$108.8 billion), and Coca Cola (US$63.4 billion).
Samsung Electronics was followed by Toyota (US$56.2 billion), Mercedes-Benz (US$50.8 billion), McDonald's (US$45.4 billion), and Disney (US$44.4 billion).
Interbrand highly appreciated Samsung Electronics’s continued efforts to develop and launch innovative products such as the foldable smartphone Galaxy Fold, lifestyle-based TV “The Sero” and the Bespoke Refrigerator. It said Samsung Electronics is likely to continue to grow in future technologies such as 5G telecommunications, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and electronic equipment and devices for automobiles. Interbrand also gave high scores to Samsung for its continued technology leadership in the memory semiconductor industry.
Hyundai Motor also made the top 30 on the list. Its brand value was estimated at US$14.1 billion, up 4.6 percent from last year's US$13.5 billion. It nabbed 36th place in the general brand rankings and 6th in the automaker category. Hyundai Motor has broken into the top 30 of the overall brand rankings for five consecutive years since 2015 with a high growth rate of more than 4 percent despite the global economic slowdown. Kia Motors fell to 78th place, with its brand value falling 7 percent to US$6,428 million.
The value of the three Korean brands in the top 100 club totaled US$8,282 million, up 1.7 percent from last year. The three earned Korea fifth place in total brand value by country after the United States, Germany, Japan and France.