Nike Again Tops Annual ‘Apparel 50’ Study
● Nike maintained its lead in the Brand Finance report despite dropping in value.
PARIS — Nike has once again topped Brand Finance’s annual “Apparel 50” report, which ranked the most valuable labels for the seventh year in a row, in a year that saw the value of leading apparel brands decline by 8 percent, according to the firm’s study.
Nike Inc. dropped 13 percent in value to $30.4 billion while Gucci ranked second at $15.6 billion, down 12 percent from last year. Louis Vuitton overtook Adidas for the third position, valued at $14.86 billion.
Brand Finance said it measures brand value as a label’s earnings related to its reputation, through a method that includes reviewing royalty agreements, estimating “brand strength” with figures like market share as well as other market research, and looking at revenues as a proportion of the parent company.
Marking the steepest drop in value, Coach fell 31 percent to $4.7 billion, according to the brand consultancy firm, which noted that owner Tapestry Inc. forecasts a better year ahead because of e-commerce and a rebound across China.
Fila — which counts members of boy band BTS as brand ambassadors — grew the fastest, up 68 percent, and is worth $2.7 billion, according to the study.
Chinese label Bosideng notably joined the rankings, rising 39 percent to a value estimated by the firm at $1.5 billion.
In a category ranking “brand strength,” which measures marketing investment, customer familiarity, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation, Rolex topped the list, followed by Moncler, Gucci, Nike and Hermès.