BrandZ Top 30 Italian Brands grow 14% in total value

“Made in Italy” brand value continues to grow year-on-year, due to the strong international market presence of well-known Italian brands. According to the 2019 BrandZ^TM Top 30 Most Valuable Italian Brands ranking by WPP and Kantar. Italian brands have increased their brand value over the last 12 months by 14% to $96.9 billion, despite operating in times of economic and political uncertainty.

Luxury fashion label Gucci tops the ranking and is 2019’s fastest riser, growing by a staggering 50% to $24.4 billion over the last year.

Completing the Top 5 brands are telecom provider TIM (No.2 $9.41 billion), energy company Enel (No.3 $7.94 billion), chocolate confectioner Kinder (No.4 $6.80 billion), and luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari (No.5 $4.75 billion).

Four brands in the Top 30 have grown their brand values by more than 20%: Ferrari (No.5) by 36% to $4.75 billion, Fiat (No.20) 23% to $1.39 billion, Campari (No.30) 23% to $591 million and Fendi (No.13) by 22% to $1.88 billion.

As the Top 30’s only new entrant this year, mobile phone and broadband provider Fastweb (No.27 $891 million) has been perceived by consumers as shaking up the telecoms sector with its speedy connections and transparent consumer offer.

‘Brand Italy’ continues to make its mark on the world

BrandZ analysis found that Italian brands have an exceptionally strong presence throughout the world, with 10 brands in the Top 30 having 90% or more of their exposure overseas (a combination of revenue, volumes sold and profitability from overseas). This international approach towards brand building allows them to broaden their potential audience base, spread their exposure to risk, and capitalise on growth in fast-developing markets.

According to research by WPP’s BAV Group, ‘Brand Italy’ performs exceptionally well, in part due to the heritage, authenticity and associated lifestyle of many of the brands.

Further research from BrandZ revealed those Italian brands that have 50% or more of their exposure overseas, increased their brand value by 20% year-on-year, while those brands with less than 50% overseas exposure remained flat.

Massimo Costa, Italy Country Manager, WPP says: “Many of the companies featured in our ranking are what we call ‘Industry Heroes’ and represent a typical Italian business model that is excelling globally. The ranking reveals a cluster of agile, interconnected businesses, driven by a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which dictates the pace of growth and innovation in their business.”

David Roth, WPP says: “The BrandZ Italian Top 30 ranking demonstrates the significant growth opportunities for Italian businesses that are willing to invest in their brands. Moving beyond a brand’s home market requires ambition and bravery, and Italy’s leading brands have shown resilience and innovation in standing apart from other regions to deliver a great consumer experience.”

Creativity helps bridge the innovation gap

Innovation is by far the largest driver of brand value growth in Italy. Those brands seen to be most innovative grew their brand value by 17%, compared to the 1% growth seen by brands regarded as less innovative.

Compared to other BrandZ European rankings, such as France, Germany and the UK, consumers regard Italy’s Top 30 brands as particularly healthy – a measurement that identifies brand purpose, innovation, communications and experience. A key contributor to innovation is creative communications; an area that BrandZ data suggests that Italian brands overall lag behind. Improving innovation through more creative thinking and communications will provide a valuable opportunity to power future growth.

The BrandZ Top 15 Most Valuable Italian Brands 2019

Federico Capeci, CEO of Kantar's Insights Division in Italy, says: “Italy is recognised as a world leader in exquisite food, fast cars and elegant fashion. Our research also shows that Italian brands perform exceptionally well in other sectors such as Energy, Oil & Gas and Cruises, represented in the ranking by brand champions such as Enel, A2A, Eni, MSC Cruises and Costa Cruises. In order to drive further growth, innovation plays a key role. Small but smart incremental upgrades to a product or service, supported by clear and frequent communications will help brands keep consumers engaged and generate growth.”

Category growth dominated by Italian luxury brands

Luxury contributes the largest proportion of the ranking’s value by far – almost 40% – driven by Top 10 brands such as Gucci, Prada and Armani. Italian luxury brands are described as being sexy, rebellious, playful and fun – attributes many people associate with Italy itself. Italian luxury is also extremely exportable with an average of 91% of the seven luxury brands exposure coming from overseas markets.

After Luxury, Food and Dairy contributes the most value to the ranking. The presence of Kinder (No.4), Nutella (No.8), Ferrero Rocher (No.11) and Barilla (No.26) shows the effectiveness of Italian entrepreneurs who have turned single-product brands into global category giants.

Telecom Providers, the third largest category in the ranking, is an increasingly competitive sector in Italy, with both TIM and Wind (No.22) growing in brand value by 2% and 16% respectively to $9.4 billion and $1.3 billion.

Energy is fourth - powered by just two brands – Enel and A2A, which combined, accounts for 9% of the Top 30’s value.

The Cars category is represented by two brands that each showcases Italy to the world, albeit in different ways. For consumers, Ferrari (No.5) stands for boldness, passion, exclusivity, energy and power. While Fiat (No.20) is regarded as the more approachable, friendly face of the Italian motor industry.

About the BrandZ™ Top 30 Most Valuable Italian Brands Ranking

Commissioned by WPP, the valuation behind the BrandZ™ Top 30 Most Valuable Italian Brands was conducted by brand equity research experts Kantar. The methodology mirrors that used to calculate the annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, which is now in its 13^th year.

The ranking combines rigorously analysed market data from Bloomberg with extensive consumer insights from over 3.7 million consumers around the world, covering more than 166,000 different brands in over 50 markets – including opinions from over 60,000 Italian consumers on over 800 brands in over 50 categories.

The ability of any brand to power business growth relies on how it is perceived by customers. As the only brand valuation ranking grounded in consumer opinion, BrandZ’s analysis enables Italian brands to identify their strength in the market and provides clear strategic guidance on how to boost value for the long-term. The eligibility criteria are:

• the brand was originally created in Italy
• the brand is owned by a publicly traded enterprise, or its financials are published in the public domain

The suite of BrandZ brand valuations and reports also includes China, India, Indonesia, Latin America, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, UK, US, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, South Africa and Global rankings.