Alibaba ranked China’s most valuable brand with an annual growth of 59% to $141 billion
Top 10 most valuable Chinese brands 2019. Source: shutterstock.com
Alibaba has been crowned the most valuable brand in China for the first time in the annual BrandZ top 100 most valuable Chinese brands ranking, published today by WPP and Kantar, having grown its brand value by 59% year-on-year to $141 billion.
Despite China’s slower economic growth and international trade tensions, the total value of the Top 100 Chinese brands increased 30% to $889.7 billion, the highest annual rise since the ranking launched in the year 2011.
The top 10 most valuable Chinese brands
| Rank 2019 | Brand | Category | Brand value 2019 (US$M) | % Change vs 2018 |
| 1 | Alibaba | Retail | 140,953 | 59% |
| 2 | Tencent | Technology | 138,158 | 4% |
| 3 | ICBC | Banks | 40,725 | 9% |
| 4 | China Mobile | Telecom Providers | 39,103 | -21% |
| 5 | Moutai | Alcohol | 36,555 | 58% |
| 6 | Huawei | Technology | 33,167 | 38% |
| 7 | Ping An | Insurance | 26,967 | 21% |
| 8 | Baidu | Technology | 26,710 | 7% |
| 9 | China Construction Bank | Banks | 22,841 | 14% |
| 10 | JD | Retail | 21,183 | 45% |
There is vast potential for further brand growth overseas as China moves beyond the industrial focus of its Belt and Road initiative towards establishing leadership in areas including AI, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and green energy.
Alibaba’s brand value has grown 136% over the past five years in BrandZ’s top 100 most valuable Chinese brands, outperforming the top 100 overall which increased 92% over the same period.
BrandZ’s top-five 2019 takeaways for building valuable brands in China:
- Build difference – As the China market becomes even more competitive the importance of Difference increases.
- Go deep – China is growing fastest in lower-tier cities; relying on insights gained from competing in coastal metropolises can help – but can also create misunderstanding.
- Refine the brand experience – Standing out from sameness requires delivering a memorable brand experience by personalizing one or more aspects of the brand.
- Be intelligent – To produce the extreme convenience lifestyle favored by Chinese consumers, the path to success involves a combination of human and artificial intelligence.
- Build a powerful brand – At the point of sale – physical or online – a powerful brand enjoys an important edge against all other brands trying to convert consumers to customers.
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