The Top 100 Chinese brands increased their worth by $106.8 billion to reach $996.4 billion, demonstrating the resilience of strong brands and their ability to build and sustain value in the most difficult of years.
Alibaba remains China’s most valuable brand for the second year, growing +9% to $153.3 billion, followed by Tencent with +9% growth to $151.0 billion.
Premium alcohol brand Moutai (+47%; $53.8 billion) has climbed two places to no.3. Alibaba reinforced its leading position with a strategy that focussed on lower tier and overseas markets, acquiring NetEase Kaola to meet the demand for cross-border retail, and expanding its Freshippo (Hema) retail and distribution locations.
It also linked consumer data and logistics capabilities more closely to better recognize and fulfill customers’ needs.
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14 of the 24 categories grew in value, with Technology contributing a quarter of the ranking’s total value and Retail around a fifth. Entertainment saw the highest growth for the second year running, rising 221% in value as people spent more time online in lockdown, while Education grew by 92% as the increasing popularity of online learning was further stimulated by COVID-19.
Each of the Top 10 Risers (the brands which increased most in value year-on-year) grew by over 50%, with education provider Xueersi (no.38, +120% $4.6 billion) and alcohol brand Wu Liang Ye (no.26, +116%, $8.0 billion) more than doubling in value.
Three are education brands, with Xueersi joined by New Oriental (no.36; +78%, $4.9 billion) and VIPKID (no.84; +67%, $1.3 billion).
Third highest riser Lufax (no.19; +80%, $12.4 billion), a newcomer to the ranking in 2019 which was formed by financial services giant Ping An, grew +80% after successfully broadening its consumer finance operation.
Growth within the China Top 100 has been driven by the ability of the most valuable brands to align with the major trends shaping the Chinese market, including the desire for self-improvement and wellness, rapid urbanization, premiumization, and heightened national pride.
Many trends were accelerated by COVID-19 as consumers reconsidered their priorities, with the accumulation of wealth declining in importance, and an increased focus on health, the environment, and the welfare of the nation.
There are 16 newcomers this year, led by short-form video brand Douyin (TikTok’s Chinese brand, no.14; $16.9 billion) and e-commerce group buying platform Pinduoduo (no.23; $9.5 billion).
Among the new entries are five unicorns (start-up companies valued at over $1 billion): Douyin and video sharing app Kuaishou (no.25; $8.6 billion), real estate agent Ziroom (no.71; $2.1 billion), and tech brands Toutiao (no.67; $2.3 billion) and Zhihu (no.91; $1.0 billion).
Athleisure brand Li-Ning (no.99; $848 million) re-entered the ranking for the first time since 2013, after capitalizing on the rise in patriotism with a range that celebrated Chinese culture and design.
Chinese brands continue to pursue global growth and rapidly expand their international presence and stature. Only one was listed in the 2006 ranking of the most valuable global brands; the 2020 ranking includes 17.
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Top 100 Chinese Brands
Value growth for the brands that score highly on the BrandZ Innovation Index is almost nine times greater than those that score low. Haier (no.12; $18.7 billion) has successfully transformed into a leading Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem brand, the advantages of which include the delivery of a seamless experience, an ecosystem that is boundless, and the ability to offer auto-sensing payments.
Owing to continuous collaborative innovation among Haier, its users and its partners, the brand achieves constant improvement and evolution.
Brand growth potential expands in lower tiers. The rapid development of smaller cities has created new opportunities. Kuaishou has become a lower-tier version of Douyin, while online classified ad marketplace 58.com (no.75; $1.7 billion) launched 58 Town to serve lower-tier communities.
Pinduoduo, which began by serving lower tier consumers, has achieved national prominence as a rival to Alibaba and JD.
China has leapfrogged in the customer experience. Experience is a critical differentiator, now consumers can get what they want whenever they want it. The brands that score highest on ‘positive experience’ grew the brand value over three times faster year-on-year.
Examples include JD, which opened its largest physical store, JD E-Space, an experiential centre where consumers can test and purchase products. Ecosystems engage users with content to drive sales.
Content commerce is an example of the trend towards experiences that increase convenience by being multifunctional or overlapping.
Brands are integrating social media and e-commerce in a way that simplifies people’s lives – creating appealing content that can be seamlessly monetised. For instance, short-video sharing apps like Douyin often provide opportunities to purchase items for rapid delivery.
How content help businesses in branding and driving sales in China
BrandZ Top global brands 2020: 17 Chinese brands; two in top 10
Two Chinese brands, TikTok, the short video app owned by ByteDance, and Bank of China were among five newcomers that joined BrandZ’s Top 100. Bank of China returned after a short absence. A year ago, four of the newcomer brands were Chinese.
Moutai, the traditional Chinese baijiu alcohol brand, increased 58% to lead the Global Top 100 in percentage value increase. Moutai widened its distribution, range, packaging, and targeting strategies while retaining its premium brand positioning.
Retail leads growth with 21 percent rise. With strong performances by Costco, Amazon, Walmart, JD.com, Target, Costco, and Alibaba, the BrandZ™ Retail Top 20 increased 21% in value following a 25 percent rise a year ago—with physical stores closed during the pandemic.
Check out top retail mobile platforms in China here.
Having digitally transformed over the past decade, these retailers were positioned for the online purchasing and flexible delivery options required by pandemic shopping habits.
Top Chinese Brands 2020
The 17 Chinese brands that made it to the Global Top 100 Brands List are:
- Alibaba: 6th
- Tencent: 7th
- Moutai: 18th
- ICBC (Bank): 31st
- China Mobile: 36th
- Ping An (Insurance): 38th
- Huawei: 45th
- JD: 52nd
- Meituan: 54th
- CCB (Bank): 58th
- Didi: 64th
- Haier (IoT): 68th
- Agricultural Bank of China: 69th
- TikTok: 79th
- Xiaomi:81st
- Baidu: 91st
- Bank of China: 97th
BCG: The most innovative Chinese companies in 2020
BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2020
Watch the just launched BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands countdown.
With a 32 percent increase in value, Amazon remained the No 1 most valuable brand. Although consumer reliance on home delivery during the pandemic stretched Amazon’s logistics capabilities, it also affirmed Amazon’s strength.
Corporate cultural change, open systems, and the growth of its cloud business helped generate a 30 percent increase in value for Microsoft that pushed the brand up one slot in the ranking to No. 3, just after Apple, swapping places with Google, which was impacted by declining ad revenue related to Covid-19.
