Credit for this post goes to Chase Harps, one of my MBA classmates.

I often find myself having to evangelize for the luxury industry, especially to people that may be skeptical of its necessity or long-term viability. For those people, I am posting a link to a new 2012 brand ranking report from Brand Finance. Based on its findings, the company issued a viewpoint on luxury brands. Entitled “Recession Fails to Dent Consumer Lust for Luxury Brands“, the article lists the following main points.

• Consumer appetite for luxury and lifestyle brands fuels growth in The BrandFinance® Global 500 Report by 3.3% to US $3,415 billion from 2011 to 2012
• High end fashion continues to flourish apparently immune from the world’s economic woes as Louis Vuitton (valued at $US 4.9 billion with a 24% increase), Hermès ($US3.4 billion with a 9% increase) and Polo Ralph Lauren ($US 3.4 billion with a 6% increase) significantly increase their brand value
• Apple has been ranked as the World’s Most Valuable Brand at US$ 70.6 billion with 49 technology companies appearing in the BrandFinance® Global 500 making it 2012’s most valuable sector

The statement goes on to say that:

consumers are turning their backs on traditional household favourites and lower end products and embracing luxury lifestyle and indulgent brands despite the grim economic outlook.

I could summarize all that I read, but I encourage you to read the entire statement here. Here is a link to the report, Brand Finance Global 500. It has some very interesting stories on the top 20 brands.

Brands are the most valuable assets in business today. They drive demand, motivate staff, secure business partners and reassure financial markets. Leading edge organizations recognize the need to understand brand equity and brand value when making strategic decisions.

  – David Haigh, CEO, Brand Finance plc

Below are some tables from the brand rankings study.