Facebook has tumbled out of a top ten ranking list of the world’s most valuable brands as retail and ecommerce giants Apple, Google and Amazon cemented their dominance in the top three.

The Interbrand Best Global Brands 2019 report, now in its 20th year, ranks 100 of the world’s most valuable global brands.

Apple (US$234,241m), Google (US$167,713m) and Amazon ($125,263m) positioned in first, second and third, respectively, while Facebook (US$39,857m) sank five places to 14.  At its peak, Facebook ranked 8th in 2017 with a brand value of US$42,188m.

Google has flirted with the idea of breaking into travel retail, while Apple already boasts shops in a number of airports worldwide, including the likes of Brazil’s Rio Galeão Tom Jobin International and King Khalid International in Riyadh.

LUXURY ‘FASTEST GROWING SEGMENT’

Amazon’s omnipotent retail power has been touted as a ‘threat’ and ‘opportunity’ for travel retail; its Amazon Go cashless convenience concept has been linked to openings at airports in the US, although that is yet to transpire.

Making up the remainder of the top 10 are: (in descending order starting from fourth) Microsoft (US$108,847m); Coca-Cola (US$63,365m); Samsung (US$61,098m); Toyota (US$56,246m); Mercedes-Benz (US$50,832m); McDonald’s ($45,362m); and Disney ($44,352).

Among the top 100 luxury brands with a presence in travel retail are Louis Vuitton (17), Chanel (22), Hermes Paris (28), Gucci (33), L’Oréal (51), Cartier (68), Dior (82), Tiffany & Co. (94), Hennessy (95), Burberry (96) and Prada (100).

Of the 100 brands ranked, 26 recorded double-digit growth. The combined total value of the top 100 is US$2,130,929m – an increase of +5.7% on 2018.

Interestingly, only 31 brands have secured their slots in the top 100 almost a decade on from the first brand ranking in the year 2000, with Coca-Cola and Microsoft the only ones to have defended their top ten spots during the period in question.

In 2001, cumulative brand revenue for the top 100 totalled a mere US$988bn.

“Twenty years on from our first report, customers today are more informed, more connected and more demanding than ever before through a combination of wealth of choice, erosion of loyalty and shifting frames of reference wanting immediacy, abundance and intimacy – all at the same time,” commented Charles Trevail, Global Chief Executive Officer, Interbrand.

“For decades, the entire discipline of brand-building was based on the concept of brand positioning, but in today’s accelerating markets, customer expectations outstrip static brand positions. Brands can no longer be considered separate to businesses and will be judged on what they do, not just what they say; and about trust, not just delivery.”

*All images courtesy of Interbrand.