Home Archive Ann Summers brand named as ‘one to watch’ in new retail report

Ann Summers brand named as ‘one to watch’ in new retail report

Ann Summers has been named as one of the retail brands to watch in a new valuation consultancy report by Intangible Business, the world’s leading independent brand valuation consultancy.

The company has published the first of what will become an annual league table of the 100 most valuable retail brands in the UK. Over 200 of the country’s leading retail brands were analysed using historical sales data and qualitative expert panel data – providing unique insight into each brand’s financial contribution and strength in the eyes of the consumer.

The UK’s biggest retailer, with sales of £32bn, is Tesco and this is named as the most valuable brand on the High Street. According to Intangible Business, the Top 10 UK retail brands and their estimated values are as follows:
1. Tesco £8.6bn
2. Sainsbuy’s £4.9bn
3. Marks & Spencer £3.9bn
4. Asda £3.6bn
5. Morrisons £2.6bn
6. Boots £1.9bn
7. Argos £1.4bn
8. Co-operative £1.4bn
9. Waitrose £1.2bn
10.John Lewis £1.1bn

The report also identifies key issues that the industry will face this year including the economic climate – with several retailers moving into administration and with retail sales continuing to fall and the cost of debt increasing, everything points to a challenging year for UK retailers – and the growing threat of online; the migration to online consumer spending is set to increase from 5% in 2007, worth £14bn, to 6% in 2008, worth £17.3bn, and up to 9% by 2011, worth £29bn according to Verdict Research.

The five ‘ones to watch’ which appear in the report include Early Learning Centre, Ann Summers, World Duty Free, Boden and Jaeger.

Stuart Whitwell, joint MD of Intangible Business said: “After several years of growth for the UK retail industry, 2008 is starting to show signs of a slow down. Strong brands are more important than ever before as more competition, and the requirement to convince the consumer to part with money from their increasingly squeezed wallet, will require more brand differentiation.”

Whitwell continued: “Some brands this year will inevitably benefit from the downfall of others and whilst some sectors will grow, others will shrink. The only thing certain in 2008 is that everyone will be affected and that this will be one of the most exciting years in UK retail to date.”