Rolex wins title of consumer superbrand for a second year
LUXURY watch-maker Rolex has come top of an annual chart of consumer “superbrands” for the second year running, leaving Apple and Microsoft trailing in second and third place, a poll published today shows.
The iPad and iPhone-maker jumped 16 places to clinch second place, missing out on the top spot to Rolex.
Over 2,900 British consumers and an independent “expert council” ranked a shortlist of 1,700 brands from the thousands initially considered.
Each brand was scored using factors including quality, reliability and distinction.
While Rolex retained first place, household brands make up half of the top 20 list. These include Kellogg’s, Heinz, Lego, Disney, Nescafé and Facebook, with the latter three making their debut in the top 20.
“As consumers remain unsettled and fearful over what feels like endless economic doom and gloom, malpractice in key institutions and a weakening position for Britain in a changing world, it is perhaps no surprise that we are turning to reassuringly-familiar brands that we have known throughout our lives,” said Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the Superbrands expert council.
British brands like Marks & Spencer also featured on the league table. The company, ranked 17th, was the only retailer to feature on the list, in spite of its dire performance over Christmas.
Heathrow Airport, a new entry, took eighth place. As the prospect of new runways continues to be politically divisive, 71 per cent of UK consumers and 80 per cent of Londoners deemed it a “superbrand”.
In fourth place, British Airways was among the firms racing up the list, after ranking 33rd in 2012.
Apple was named best business superbrand, replacing Rolls-Royce, which tumbled 15 places after two years at the top.
The boom in online shopping boosted the public profile of payments, orders and delivery firms including Visa, MasterCard, FedEx and Royal Mail, which all made the top 20.
Banks also made something of a comeback, with RBS in the top 500 at 180th having not featured since 2009.
Lloyds was up 287 places to 96th and NatWest rose 315 places to 117th position.
TOP CONSUMER BRANDS
1 Rolex
2 Apple
3 Microsoft
4 British Airways
5 Coca-Cola
6 Google
7 Hilton
8 Heathrow Airport
9 Kellogg’s
10 Mercedes-Benz
TOP BUSINESS BRANDS
1 Apple
2 British Airways
3 Google
4 Visa
5 Virgin Atlantic
6 IBM
7 Shell
8 Microsoft
9 London Stock Exchange Group
10 MasterCard