The two Minnesota companies ranked near the top of a recent study conducted by Interbrand, which measured the value of retail brands.
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation and Richfield-based Best Buy Company, Inc., are among the world’s most valuable retail brands, according to a new study by Interbrand, a brand consultancy with 40 offices in 25 countries.
The study, which Interbrand says sheds light on the progress of economic recovery, purports to examine “the ongoing investment and management of the brand as a business asset.” The report takes into account companies’ financial performances and multiplies earnings by the percentage of profits that can be attributed specifically to the company’s brand.
View the full report and methodology here.
Target ranked second among U.S. brands—behind only Walmart—with a “brand value” of $23.3 million. The retailer’s brand value declined about 9 percent from 2010, but not enough to knock it out of the second spot.
Best Buy ranked fourth with a brand value of $18.8 million—up 6 percent from the previous year’s report. Home Depot ranked third on the list.
Throughout the United States, the top 50 brands increased in value by about 5.45 percent from 2010, reaching a value of $20 billion. Increased retail spending helped motivate the growth.
Worldwide, clothing retailers and consumer electronics showed strength—especially Best Buy. Grocery retailers from around the world continue to struggle, although Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods bucked the international trend and saw an increase in brand value.
“Consumer confidence has been returning, yet people have been fundamentally changed by the recession, with markets opening up and rapid advances in technology that influence how and where people shop,” Jez Frampton, global chief executive of Interbrand, said in a statement. “For retailers, this means having to create new, exciting opportunities to truly connect with more skeptical and e-savvier customers.”
