Alibaba’s rise to the top resulted from growing its brand value by 59%, year-on-year, to $141 million. In the past five years, Alibaba has outperformed the WPP/Kantar Top 100 overall, with its brand value climbing 136%, compared to the Top 100’s 92% rise.
Alibaba’s number-one spot for 2019 “reflects the growth of a brand which has contributed to transformational changes in the Chinese market,” the Top 100 publishers said. In BrandZ’s “Brand Power” metric of brand equity, Alibaba’s score was particularly strong “for being ‘Meaningful,’ suggesting the brand known for coining the term ‘New Retail’ has successfully created closer connections with its consumers.”
The Top 100 results show how digitization and the growing sophistication of Chinese consumers is creating a unique marketplace of products and services available with unprecedented speed and convenience – long a sweet spot for Alibaba. Innovators in AI, e-commerce, New Retail performed strongly.