The Brandz Report 2020 has been published, and it shows that despite the impact of Covid-19, the world's biggest brands have continued to grow.

Amazon retain the number one spot, having grown by 32% to $415.9 billion, with Apple remaining in second place (a 14% rise to $352.2 billion).  Interestingly the retail sector grew by 21% in the past 12 months; this has largely been driven by the e-commerce sector, which has proved innovative and agile during challenging times.

The number of Chinese brands in the top 100 grew to an all-time high of 17, showing their resilience and continued importance both inside and outside China.  Alibaba and Tecent ranked 6 and 7 respectively, and both the highest new entry (TikTok, at 79) and the biggest value increase (Moutai, the traditional Chinese alcohol brand) were Chinese brands.

The Brandz Report this year shows that, for the largest brands at least, consumer confidence has remained resilient despite the coronavirus pandemic.  The effect on brands has notably been far less than the economic crisis of 2008-9.  As life may not return to normal for some time yet, however, the Report warns that brands need to think creatively and innovatively in order to sustain growth.

The full report is available here: https://www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz/global/.