Louis Vuitton leads the Kantar BrandZ™ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 report as the most valuable Luxury brand, with a brand value of $124.3bn, up 64% vs 2021. Released today, the study shows an extraordinary overall increase in brand value across the Luxury category, outpacing the growth of other sectors with a combined year-on-year growth of 45%. The top 10 most valuable global luxury brands have a combined value this year of $344.4bn.
With the risk of a global recession rising by the day, the results highlight how luxury brands are leveraging their elevated reputations and pricing power in ways few other brands can. Pandemic-era consumption shifts have also buoyed the Luxury category. As consumers continue to hold off on major travel, dining, and live entertainment expenses, Luxury brands have retained their allure in the face of steady, incremental price increases.
For luxury brands, relationships with consumers in China continue to be strongest. In the Kantar BrandZ Power Index, which measures the ability to drive current market share, luxury brands scored 125 in China versus 113 in the US). Having a stronger point of difference is more important to Chinese consumers and plays a key role in driving brand equity (34% compared to 18% in the U.S.)
| Rank 2022 | Category | Brand |
Brand Value 2022 ($ Mil.) |
Brand Value 2021 ($ Mil.) |
| 1 | Luxury | Louis Vuitton | 124,273 | 75,730 |
| 2 | Luxury | Hermès | 80,323 | 46,371 |
| 3 | Luxury | Chanel | 53,021 | 47,054 |
| 4 | Luxury | Gucci | 37,887 | 33,838 |
| 5 | Luxury | Dior | 10,534 | 7,331 |
| 6 | Luxury | Cartier | 10,110 | 5,368 |
| 7 | Luxury | Rolex | 9,042 | 8,129 |
| 8 | Luxury | Saint-Laurent/YSL | 6,805 | 5,158 |
| 9 | Luxury | Tiffany & Co. | 6,718 | N/A |
| 10 | Luxury | Prada | 5,642 | 3,974 |
Key findings for the Luxury sector in the Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 study include:
• Luxury brands have continued increasing their value over the past three years, more than doubling in value (103%) overall despite the pandemic and the impact of inflation.
• Louis Vuitton is the first luxury brand to reach the Global Top 10 moving up eleven spots ($124.3bn, +64%) and reflecting the rapid growth of the luxury market globally -specifically in China.
• Cartier is 2022’s fastest-growing brand with an 88% year-on-year increase in brand value which can be attributed to its growth strategy centred on a shift away from wholesale retailers, and toward direct-to-consumer sales in its own stores and online.
• Hermès is the second most valuable luxury brand in the ranking, increasing its value by 73% to $80.3bn. Its success shows the benefits of having a distinctive identify, with highly recognisable brand logos and products.
• Tiffany & Co returns to the luxury category ranking as the only non-European brand following new ownership and a revitalised strategy.
• Chanel is the brand with the strongest point of difference in the Luxury sector, supporting its higher price point.
Martin Guerrieria, Head of Kantar BrandZ explains how luxury brands have continued their growth despite economic uncertainty, “Louis Vuitton and Hermès continue to capitalise on their recognisable assets to reinforce distinctive identities. Clear and consistent deployment of key logos, patterns, and products over decades has built clear brand identities for these luxury players. During challenging economic times, more affluent consumers gravitate towards heritage brands that provide a source of solace, comfort, and continuity.”
Brand-Building Best Practices
This year’s results highlight common best practices from luxury brands experiencing the highest growth. These include:
• Redefining service: Luxury brands must be at the forefront of a new kind of high-tech, high-touch customer service culture: one that combines the agility of messaging and commerce apps with the personal relationships built by a brand’s in-store sales ambassadors.
• Crafting experiences: Over the past two decades, luxury houses have branched out to designing experiences like ultra-immersive flagship stores, branded hotels and museum spaces. Now, they are bringing these functions under one roof, to create multifaceted tourist destinations.
• Looking beyond the runway: While fashion shows remain an important publicity tool, during the pandemic, some brands pioneered new and audacious forms of luxury marketing. Balenciaga, most notably, collaborated on a shoppable episode of The Simpsons.
Guerrieria concludes, “For a group of brands that fared better than most during the pandemic, the story of the past year has been less about recovery and more about redistribution - of marketing spend, sales channels, and digital assets, to better reflect necessary lifestyle changes in the wake of Covid-19. To continue compete effectively, luxury brands must keep innovating new ways to demonstrate their meaningful difference - the winning formula for future growth.”
The Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Global Brands 2022 ranking and extensive analysis are now available in the new report via https://marketplace.ktrmr.cn/marketplace/brandz-booth/2022-kantar-brandz-china-report.shtml .