Dubai: Amazon grabbed the crown from Apple to become the world’s most valuable brand, worth $299.3 billion, while oil and gas companies Saudi Aramco and Adnoc remained the Middle East’s top brands, a report has said.
Amazon overtook Apple despite a tough year for the tech sector, after the e-commerce major had held the title of world’s most valuable brand from 2018 to 2020.
Aramco’s brand value rose by 4 per cent to $43.6 billion, making it the most valuable brand in the Middle East, the report by consultancy Brand Finance showed.
The London-based consultancy assesses the strengths of global brands, quantifies their value and ranks them annually across sectors and countries.
Aramco’s brand expanded its operations significantly in 2022 as it pledged to meet sustainability goals through partnerships and recently formed a strategic alliance with Chinese petrochemicals company Sinopec to promote the use of hydrogen and renewables, as well as carbon capture in China.
Adnoc recorded an 11 per cent increase in brand value to $14.1 billion, making it the second-most valuable brand in the Middle East, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 2023 rankings. It also has a corresponding Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 79 out of 100.
Globally amongst all brands, Adnoc climbed 28 places to 138th place from 167th in 2022. Within the oil and gas industry, Adnoc rose one rank to 8th place, overtaking Petronas which has dropped to 10th.
The BSI determines the relative strength of brands through a scorecard of criteria evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance.
Globally, Amazon, Apple and Google rounded off the world’s top three most valuable brands in a strong showing for the technology industry amid a tough year for the sector.
Amazon’s brand value rose 36 per cent since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it became a major player across different sectors.
Customer perception of Amazon’s customer service dropped as delivery times became longer and consumers are now less likely to recommend Amazon to others, the research found.
Apple dropped into second place, with its brand value falling 16 per cent to $297.9 billion. This was due to a lower revenue forecast as supply chain disruptions and labour shortages are expected to limit the supply of its hardware products, according to Brand Finance.
Alphabet-owned Google retained its position as third, with a 7 per cent increase in brand value to $281.4 billion as it continued to release new products and services, the report said.
Google emerged as the world’s strongest brand, with a BSI score of slightly more than 93, followed by its subsidiary YouTube with a BSI score of slightly under 93, with both brands earning the top “AAA+” rating.
Retail was ranked the second-most valuable sector as it remained above the $1 trillion mark for the second consecutive year due to a boom in e-commerce during the pandemic, despite suffering a 9 per cent fall in overall brand value in the previous year.
The banking sector had the largest number of brands in the Brand Finance Global 500 2023 ranking, increasing from 64 last year to 72 in 2023, amid a digital transformation spurred by the pandemic.
In terms of regions, the US continues to dominate the ranking, now accounting for 202 out of 500 of the brands and half of its overall value ($4 trillion).
—Agencies
China is home to the second-largest aggregate brand value in the ranking, with an overall value of $1.4 trillion, a 9 per cent annual decline.
Germany, Japan, France, the UK, South Korea and Canada followed in terms of highest brand-value contribution by country.
Agencies

Press Trust of India