In a year marred by the global financial crisis, stock market volatility and cost-cutting all around, India Inc has managed to retain a tally of 19 homegrown companies with a brand value of more than $1 billion each.

With just one company slipping below that mark — last year there were 20 companies with a brand value of more than $1 billion — the latest edition of India’s Most Valuable Brand 2009 (IMVB) study gives a sense of déjà vu with the Top 10 league carrying all the labels from last year’s list, led by Reliance Industries yet again.

The study was carried out by Brand Finance, a London-based global brand valuation firm, exclusively for The Economic Times.

Using the relief-from-royalty method of brand valuation, which assumes that a company does not own its brand and needs to license it from a third party, Brand Finance India’s Top 50 Most Valuable (Company) Brands, 2009, was drawn up from consumer-facing corporate brands listed on BSE. The study left out holding companies such as Hindustan Unilever that own a portfolio of branded business.

All top 10 brands from last year’s list have maintained their place in the roster, albeit with a minor reshuffle in positions.

Reliance Industries consolidated its position as the most valuable brand with a 15% jump in its brand value to $7.8 billion, followed by the country’s largest bank, State Bank of India, which climbed two spots with a 30% spike in brand value at $5.5 billion.

Last year’s No. 2, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), swapped places with the state-owned bank as Indian Oil Corporation retained its third position.

Information technology was among the sectors impacted the most by the global recession, with global clients slashing their IT budgets and driving hard bargains with vendors. Besides TCS, Wipro and Infosys too saw their brand value drop this year.

ICICI Bank, India’s top private sector bank, saw its brand value rating slip three slots to 10. While the global recession has caused significant declines in global enterprise

values, some commentators had suggested that the current economic climate would lead to a collapse in the value of brands because they are seen to be an unnecessary luxury.

Also, in their bid to control the damage, most companies slashed their expenses, particularly the spend on advertisements and brand-building. But the Brand Finance IMVB study indicates that so long as brands continue to reinvent and deliver good value for money, they will do well. Overall, the IMVB Top 50 list doesn’t show any upheaval in last year’s line-up, with only three new entrants into the list compared with 11 last year.

A sectoral analysis shows while the top brands are evenly spread out across sectors pretty much like last year, manufacturing has emerged as a big force this year. Thanks to automobile and steel, manufacturing ruled the list with as many as 20 brands.

The Top 50 list points to the declining influence of companies from the banking and finance services sector that sent nine brands into the list.

Warren Buffett once remarked that “you only know who’s swimming naked when the tide goes out”. Well, the tide has gone out. “Banks, insurance companies and ratings agencies were the first to be found out,” says Unni Krishnan, MD of Brand Finance India. He believes that the next two to three years will challenge companies to introspect about the sustainability of their most prized assets-reputation and stakeholder value.

Yet for all its very real economic pain, within this global crisis there is an opportunity for Indian companies with a long-term value-building agenda. The crisis acts as a great stimulant for change, to innovate and spot robust growth opportunities amidst the rubble.

Source: Economic Times

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