The luxury fashion and accessories sector is continuing to grow massively, while Gucci and Louis Vuitton remain the fastest-growing brands in the world. According to a ranking by consultancy Interbrand, the sector grew overall by nearly 42 percent since 2017. Out of 100 companies that includetechnology, consumer-goods, automotive and financial industries, luxury apparel is listed as the top-performing sector.
Out of any brand on the list, Gucci outperformed and the brand value grew the most by increasing 30 percent to $12.9 billion. Louis Vuitton grew by 23 percent to $28.2 billion. Nine other luxury brands were featured including Hermes, Tiffany & Co, Dior and Burberry. With those other brands, it brought in a combined brand value of $105.8 billion.
Interbrand gave credit to Gucci’s Chief Executive Marco Bizzarri and Creative Director Alessandro Michele as the reason behind the firm’s successful growth, with a “shadow committee” of advisors who assisted in the label appeal to a new generation. Louis Vuitton also appointed a designer Virgil Abloh as its artistic director for menswear in March, which the company hopes will bring youth culture to its label.
Chanel also landed position number 23 on the list, with a brand value of $20 billion, after it finally reported full-year earnings for the first time. The company increased by 18.5 percent compared to the $9.62 billion in revenue it made for 2017.
Luxury apparel companies continue to be so successful due to its ability to respond to cultural trends. “They have managed to immerse themselves in street culture and provide levels of access that, while retaining their authenticity and a level of exclusivity, have made their brands more desirable to more customers,” Interbrand’s report states.
Interbrand bases its annual rankings of the world’s 100 largest brands by measuring how much a brand name contributes to a consumer’s decision to buy a product, according to CNBC, and therefore the premium a company can demand for brand-name goods, over factors including price or convenience. Interbrand also looks at financial performance statistics and how likely a company’s future success is.
Of course, Apple succeeds the list overall, with a value of merely $214.5 billion, which is up 16 percent from last year. Google trails behind Apple, with a 10 percent increase to $155.5 billion, while Amazon is up 56 percent to $100.8 billion. Amazon is another brand that is fastest-growing on the list, who is followed by Netflix, up by 45 percent. While many brands are doing excellent, Coca-Cola and Facebook are the only two brands in the top 10 to actually lose brand value, down 5 and 6 percent.
Interbrand’s list:
- Louis Vuitton – $28.6 billion
- Chanel – $20 billion
- Hermes – $16.4 billion
- Gucci – $12.9 billion
- Cartier – $7.7 billion
- Tiffany – $5.6 billion
- Dior – $5.2 billion
- Burberry – $5 billion
- Prada – $4.8 billion
