Best Swiss Brands: Nescafé remains undisputed number one

The Interbrand study, published once again in collaboration with the Swiss business magazine *Bilanz*, shows that despite its continuing decline in brand value, Nescafé—with a value of 10.242 billion Swiss francs—remains the world’s leading coffee brand and thus the most valuable Swiss brand in 2014. Roche follows in second place, with its brand value rising by 12 percent to 8.569 billion Swiss francs. Nestlé takes third place this year, with a brand value of 7.238 billion Swiss francs. The food manufacturer has thus displaced the former number three, Novartis. Despite a 4 percent increase in brand value, the pharmaceutical company has fallen to fourth place.

The winner of this year’s ranking is Julius Bär. The bank’s brand value has surged by 19 percent to 2.061 billion Swiss francs. This is due in part to the values embodied by the company, its excellent performance, and the acquisition of Merrill Lynch’s wealth management business in 2012, the value of which is now being reflected in the rankings. With its expansion strategy into Asia and the Arab world, the Swiss private bank is meeting the needs of the newly wealthy. However, an ongoing legal proceeding involving allegations of aiding and abetting tax evasion is currently casting a shadow over the brand.

Hublot (to 349 million Swiss francs), Lindt (to 2.121 billion Swiss francs), and Swatch (to 853 million Swiss francs) can also celebrate significant increases in value of 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Swatch, in particular, has thus been able to offset a slight loss from the previous year. However, due to the overall sharp rise in value for most brands in the ranking, as well as six strong new entrants, Julius Bär, Hublot, Lindt, and Swatch have nevertheless dropped a few spots in the overall ranking.

The Newcomers of 2014

Asea Brown Boveri, or ABB for short, is a successful newcomer. The energy and automation technology group, headquartered in Zurich, has been one of the flagship companies of Swiss industry for decades. Through consistent brand management, ABB conveys a high level of technical expertise and performance and clearly demonstrates the company’s contribution to solving global challenges.
Partnerships such as the one with Solar Impulse underscore the company’s mission of «Power and productivity for a better world.» Thanks to this success, ABB has jumped directly to seventh place with a brand value of 4.929 billion Swiss francs.

In addition to ABB, five other brands have made their debut in the ranking. Swiss Re (1.948 billion Swiss francs) is the world’s second-largest reinsurer and embodies Swiss tradition, customer focus, and integrity, placing it at No. 17. Syngenta is committed to comprehensive food security and aims to actively address issues such as food shortages as well as environmental and social problems through its «The Good Growth Plan» initiative. Syngenta enters the ranking at No. 18 with a brand value of 1.856 billion Swiss francs. The building materials manufacturer Holcim (1.246 billion Swiss francs) has built a remarkable brand personality, earning it a spot among the top 50 Swiss brands. Holcim stands for strength, performance, and passion—values that have earned the brand the 23rd spot. The Sandoz brand (1.106 billion Swiss francs) disappeared from the spotlight for three years when Novartis was formed from the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz, only to make a comeback as Novartis’s generic drug brand and immediately enter the Best Swiss Brands ranking at number 25. Also new to the ranking is Sulzer (320 million francs) at No. 41.

The Importance of B2B Brands Is Growing

This year, for the first time, B2B brands are also represented in the Swiss ranking. The reason for this is that they represent a very important economic sector in Switzerland that should no longer be overlooked. These B2B brands—such as this year’s newcomers—have now achieved a high level of recognition among the Swiss public and leave a lasting impression.

«The role of branding in the B2B sector has steadily grown in recent years. This is because many companies have recognized that, in highly competitive global industries, branding is one of the few long-term levers for differentiation and thus represents an absolute competitive advantage,» notes Michel Gabriel, Managing Director of Interbrand Zurich.

Strong Industries

The luxury goods industry, with the Swiss watch industry still dominating the sector, posted another increase. In addition to Hublot and Swatch, Vacheron Constantin (up 12 percent), Longines (up 11 percent), and Breguet (up 10 percent) saw particularly strong growth in brand value. Rolex, with 7.211 billion Swiss francs (ranked fifth), and Omega, with 3.709 billion Swiss francs (ranked ninth), further solidified their top-10 positions with brand value growth of nine and eleven percent, respectively. Only Davidoff suffered a 6 percent decline in brand value to 1.749 billion Swiss francs. Slowing growth in the Asian region led high-end watch brands to lose market share to more affordable brands such as Tissot, Longines, and Rado.

«Thanks to its unique reputation, the Swiss watch industry remains in an excellent position and, despite the slowdown in growth in China’s luxury goods sector, has posted solid growth,» Michel Gabriel notes.

Only the chemical and pharmaceutical industry has performed even better, with overall growth of about 28 percent. This is due not only to the strong performance of Roche and Novartis, but also to the newly added brands Syngenta and Sandoz.

The financial services sector also performed very well. The eleven brands in total—seven banks and four insurance companies—increased their combined brand value by more than four percent. Credit Suisse (3.733 billion Swiss francs) and UBS (3.700 billion Swiss francs) were able to maintain their brand value—and, in the case of UBS, slightly increase it—despite difficult circumstances, ranking eighth and tenth, respectively. In addition to the successful newcomer Swiss Re, the other insurance companies are also performing well. Zurich, for example, increased its brand value by three percent to 3.627 billion Swiss francs. Die Mobiliar (295 million Swiss francs) and Swiss Life (270 million Swiss francs) also improved by seven and nine percent, respectively.

Removals from the 2014 Ranking

Due to the generally strong performance of many brands in the ranking and the success of new entrants, some brands were unable to maintain their position in the Best Swiss Brands list. Sika, Tally Weil, Franke, La Prairie, Kaba, and Emmi are no longer among the top 50.

Michel Gabriel concludes: «Anyone who manages a brand today acts as its moderator and sets the tone. Modern brand managers face fascinating challenges. They must constantly learn and work at a fast pace. The proof of this is strong brand value. It translates to a price premium in the target market, appeal to consumers, and the assurance of future earnings. Because that’s what it’s all about: Brands create value for their owners and for consumers.»

Best Swiss Brands 2014 – Top 50 (PDF)