Chinese brands show strong resilience amid pandemic

Chinese brands have demonstrated strong resilience to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, a London-based brand valuation consultancy.

The total brand value captured in the Brand Finance China 500 ranking of the country's top 500 most valuable brands has remained stable year on year and now stands at $1.94 trillion.

The findings show that brands at the forefront of the nation's successful response to the health emergency and those powering the transition of consumption online — across the pharma, retail, and media sectors — have performed particularly well and recorded the highest brand value increases, while the banking and tech sectors still dominate in terms of the combined value and number of brands contributed to the top 500 ranking.

The latest iteration of the annual study by the consultancy was unveiled at the opening ceremony of the Shenzhen Brand Week on Tuesday, following the National Brand Day celebrated in China on May 10 each year.

With 134 brands represented in the Brand Finance China 500 ranking, the Greater Bay Area is home to more of the nation's top brands than any other region in China, while Shenzhen, in particular is known nationally and globally as a vibrant tech hub. The tech sector is represented by 86 brands in the top 500 ranking — more than any other industry, with hundreds of other brands powered by technological innovation.

David Haigh, chairman and chief executive of Brand Finance, said "Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area are the perfect location for a discussion about Chinese brands and their development. Shenzhen-based WeChat is now the world's strongest brand, ahead of Ferrari and Coca-Cola. Tencent, Huawei, and Ping An — all from Shenzhen — feature among the nation's top 10 most valuable brands. The city is developing fast and its brands are its best ambassadors."

Banking continues to be the nation's most valuable sector by a considerable margin, with its 85 brands featuring in the ranking accounting for 22 percent of the total brand value.

The study finds that Chinese banks have been largely impervious to the issues plaguing their counterparts elsewhere in the world, which is largely attributable to the banking sector's role in China's timely and effective response to COVID-19 that included regulatory policy adjustments for asset management, wealth management, and inter-banking, as well as increased investment into digitalization.

Despite a 10 percent drop in brand value to $72.8 billion, ICBC remains China's most valuable brand, maintaining a healthy lead ahead of China Construction Bank (down 5 percent to $59.6 billion) and Agricultural Bank of China (down 3 percent to $53.1 billion), in 3rd and 9th place respectively.

The report shows that the pharma sector has recorded the greatest cumulative brand value growth in the ranking, up a staggering of 123 percent year-on-year. Leading the way as the sector's most valuable brand is Sinopharm, which has recorded a 58 percent brand value increase to $3.2 billion, jumping 35 spots to 108th position. Sinopharm is making major strides in the global race to produce COVID-19 vaccinations and has since developed a vaccine that has already been distributed to millions worldwide.

The retail sector — and more specifically e-commerce — is one of the few sectors that has truly benefitted from the pandemic, with brands experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand as consumers turned online following store closures.

The nation's top four e-commerce brands — Taobao, Tmall, Alibaba.com and JD.com — have all seen significant brand value growth. Taobao (brand value $53.3 billion) and Tmall (brand value $49.2 billion) have entered the top 10 for the first-time following 44 percent and 60 percent brand value increases, respectively.

In addition to measuring overall brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands based on metrics of marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance.

According to these criteria, WeChat emerges as China's strongest brand, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 95.4 out of 100. As one of China's home-grown tech successes it also enjoyed a rapid boost in brand value, increasing by 25 percent to $67.9 billion and jumping five spots to claim 2nd place among the nation's most valuable brands.

During the pandemic, WeChat ran several government-mandated health code apps to keep track of those traveling or in quarantine, providing access to real-time data on COVID-19, online consultations, and self-diagnosis services powered by artificial intelligence to over 300 million users.