France’s top brands increase their value by a third since 2021

The value of France’s 50 most valuable brands has risen by 30% over the past two years, as they continue to win worldwide recognition for their quality, while embarking on new paths to ‘regenerative’ sustainability. As a combined force, the Kantar BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable French Brands are now worth more than $424bn, up from $325bn in 2021 when Kantar last evaluated them. By way of comparison, the total value of Germany’s top brands increased by 5% during the same period.

Luxury luminary Louis Vuitton remains at no.1, a position it has held since 2018, growing its value 72% since 2021 to more than $102bn – which also makes it the fastest-growing French brand. Hermès (+48%; $57.5bn) has taken second place from Chanel (+30%; $57.1bn) which is now France’s third most valuable brand. L’Oréal Paris (+17%; $36.5bn) retained fourth place, while Lancôme (+22%; $18.3bn) rose to no.5. 

Never taking growth for granted, Louis Vuitton constantly pays attention to its brand equity, investing in activations that continually set the creative agenda – such as one-off fashion shows in major cities, cultivating a broad stable of celebrity ambassadors, collaborating with cultural icons and promoting its enduring ‘hero’ products.

Much of the ranking’s growth can be attributed to France’s luxury brands, which unceasingly leverage their equity to earn deep loyalty along with the right to charge an ever-increasing premium. In addition to being the ranking’s largest category, contributing 58% of the total value, Luxury is the fastest growing, increasing its value 50% to $244bn since 2021. In all, 14 brand categories are represented in the France’s Top 50 brand ranking. The second biggest is Personal Care, making up 17% of this year’s total value at $71bn, having grown by 20%.

More than a third of the brands in the France Top 50 have increased their value by over 20% since 2021. Five – Louis Vuitton, Cartier (No.9; +51%), Celine (No.30; +69%), Van Cleef and Arpels (No.37; +62%) and L’Occitane (No.40; +58%) more than doubled their value. Nine of the Top 10 fastest-risers are luxury fashion, jewellery, and alcohol brands. These star performers not only improved their financial bottom lines, but also their brand equity in consumers’ minds.

There are six newcomers to the 2023 ranking. Three are completely new entries: gambling brand FDJ (No.27), media brand Canal+ (No.39) and tech retailer Back Market (No.44). Canal+ enjoys strong perceptions of difference versus its competitors and has built customer loyalty through well-designed technology and interesting advertising. Three brands have re-entered the Top 50: Air France (No.48), personal care brand Guerlain (No.46) and cognac brand Martell (No.50).

Sustainability is three times more important to corporate reputation than it was 10 years ago, BrandZ data shows. ‘Regenerative’ sustainability – positively and proactively contributing to society – is becoming firmly rooted as a priority for France’s biggest brand-owners. Brands that have successfully leveraged this as a growth driver include insurer AXA (No.12; +21%), which has made it the axis of its strategy; Société Générale (No.34; +40%), the first French bank to systemically integrate ESG criteria into equity valuations; and Hermès, which explicitly places sustainability at the heart of its craft narrative.