South Africa's Top 50 Most Valuable Brands were revealed from a survey conducted by leading independent brand valuation consultancy company, Brand Africa (and its subsidiary, Brand Finance Africa) which provide a measurable and independent account on how brands perform in South Africa each year.
According to the report, despite another year of difficult global trading conditions, South Africa's Top 50 brands went up by 18% from 2013’s valuation of R291bn (USD 29.1 Billion) to R343 Billion (USD 34.3 Billion) this year. Additionally, the top 10 brands accounted for 52% of total brand value amongst the Top 50 with Mobile Telephone Networks, popularly known as MTN, South Africa-based multinational mobile telecommunications company which operates across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, accounting for a massive 16.5% of total brand value. The top brands named are corporations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) that contribute to the country’s GDP and the sustainability of the economy.
Speaking at a breakfast hosted at Brand South Africa headquarters in Houghton, Johannesburg, Thebe Ikalafeng, founder of South Africa-based Brand Africa and Brand Leadership Group and chairman of Brand Finance Africa said "the top 50 brands are a catalyst for South Africa's growth and a winning nation." Surprisingly though, the top 10 brands grew at 14% as opposed to the 22% of the bottom 40 brands, indicating that there was significant economic momentum with smaller companies.
Ikalafeng announced pan-African mobile giant, MTN and one of South Africa's "big four" banks, First National Bank as South Africa’s Strongest Brand because they closely aligned to the core values of the late former-President Nelson Mandela - which resonate strongly with South African consumers. Telecommunications and financial services brands dominated the list because according to Ikalafeng the companies are "catalysts businesses which enable consumers to transact, connect and live their lives."
While Nigeria has surpassed South Africa as the continent's largest economy with the highest GDP in Africa, South Africa dominates the branding landscape across Africa – with 80% of the Top 50 all essential staples in a continent that is transforming itself from being a consumer to becoming a producer. Ikalafeng noted that " if intra-Africa trade was increased by 1%, it would generate USD $50 billion in revenues for Africa." Among the BrandAfrica 100 Most Valuable Brands in Africa, South Africa leads Africa with a 72% share, compared to Nigeria at 26% and Kenya at 2%.
The Top 10 most valuable brands in South Africa including their brand value (in brackets) were:
1. MTN (R56.3 billion; USD $5.63 billion)
2.
3. Vodacom (R18.3 billion; USD 1.83)
4. Standard Bank (R16.7 billion; USD $1.67)
5. Absa (R12.8 billion; USD $1.28)
6. Nedbank (R12.5 billion; $1.25 billion)
7. First National Bank (R11 billion; USD $1.1 billion)
8. Mediclinic (R9.6 billion; USD $0.96 billion)
9.
10. Woolworths (R9.4 billion; USD $0.94 billion)
Oliver Schmitz, Managing Director of Brand Finance South Africa explained that a total of 450 brands were surveyed in the search for South Africa's top 50 brands.
“We looked at brands that have an origin in South Africa and that have been publicly listed,” he said.
Ikalafeng explained that they used the "royalty relief methodology" to valuate the brands which involved estimating a rent or lease amount of the brand, applying an appropriate royalty rate, then discounting estimated future income to determine Net Present Value.
Other brands that made it into the top 50 include telecom companies Telkom, Altech, and Cell C, retailers Pick n Pay, Truworths, Makro and Game, and insurance companies Sanlam, Discovery, Liberty and Santam.
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