Moutai (“Maotai,” a subspecies of China’s traditional baijiu spirits) has topped the global alcoholic beverage rankings for the eighth consecutive time, according to an annual study by Brand Finance.
The brand, owned by Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd. is valued at $49.7 billion, with its value increasing 16% over the year.
Two more Chinese brands – Wuliangye ($30.3 bln, +5.4%) and Xinghuacun Fen Wine ($8.4 bln, +68%) – ranked second and third.
The fastest growing brands were tequila producers – Mexican 1800 ($424m, +111.5%) and US Casamigos ($934m, +108.5%). Tequila has been outpacing all other spirits in terms of market growth for several years now, notes Henry Farr, deputy director of Brand Finace.
The first place among beer brands in the world took Heineken: its value has increased by almost 10% – up to $7.6 billion. Corona Extra, which headed the list last year, fell to the second position, due to a less significant increase – by 6% to $7.4 billion. The third place was retained by Budweiser – the brand has added in value of almost 20%, reaching a mark of $6.7 billion.
The fastest growth in the beer and beer drinks segment was demonstrated by Chinese brands Zhujiang ($680 mln, +44%) and Tsingtao ($2.1 bln, +39%). Unlike other companies, Zhujiang Brewery did not increase the cost of its products, offering customers an optimal price-quality ratio. This increased demand for its products from young and price-sensitive consumers. Tsingtao’s success is due to the revision of its business model: in 2022, the brand owner opened more than 250 beer houses and presented a new customer-oriented strategy, according to Brand Finance.
In the category of “wine and champagne” the most expensive brand for the third time in a row became Moet & Chandon. Its value is estimated at $1.3 billion, which is 10% less than last year.
Its closest competitor – Chinese Changyu – on the contrary, managed to show a positive dynamics of 33% (up to $1.2 billion) and rise by two positions at once over the year. Despite the fact that this brand is little known in Western countries, Brand Finance experts do not rule out that in the future it may lead the rating due to the growth of the already voluminous wine drinks market in China.
The third line in the wine and champagne segment with an indicator of $1 billion was taken by the American brand Chandon (+8%).
The fastest growing brand in this category was Penfolds ($659 mln, +48%). The Australian company Treasury Wine Estates, which owns the brand, is currently making efforts to increase its global awareness and market share. Thus, the 2022 collection for the first time includes not only Australian, but also French and Californian wines.
Tesla has risen by two lines in the list of the most expensive car brands in the world and topped it for the first time, overtaking Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, according to Brand Finance.
Tesla’s brand value is now valued at $66.2 billion, up 44 percent in one year and five times since pre-demonstration times.
“This increase in brand valuation is a positive signal for Tesla because it indicates better brand awareness, which could lead to higher sales and revenue in the future,” said Alex Hay, director of valuation at Brand Finance.
Toyota dropped to third place, losing 18% of its value ($52.5 billion), while Mercedes-Benz remained in second place (minus 3%, $58.8 billion).
The record jump in value in the sector was demonstrated by the Chinese automobile brand Sokon – by 123% over the year to $739 million.
The analysts of Brand Finance called Ferrari NV the strongest automobile brand having given to it the maximum rating “AAA+”. When evaluating brand strength, the company considers a host of other indicators besides value, including investment in marketing, operating results, and relationships with stakeholders (from employees, suppliers and shareholders to government agencies and community organizations).
The value of the Ferrari brand fell 8 percent over the year, mainly due to the depreciation of the euro against the dollar, to $7.4 billion. In euros, the figure rose 3 percent.
Among auto parts manufacturers, the most expensive brand was once again Japanese Denso, which rose in value over the year by 6%, to $4.5 billion. In the segment of tire manufacturers the French Michelin remained the leader (+2%, to $7.9 billion).
The first in Ukraine store of the Spanish brand of women’s clothing and accessories Bimba Y Lola with an area of 74 square meters opened in the Ocean Plaza shopping and entertainment center (Kyiv), the press service of the mall has told Interfax-Ukraine.
Founded in 2005 by the Dominguez sisters, premium family brand Bimba Y Lola is known for bold prints, fancy cuts and vibrant palettes.
Currently, there are 269 stores of this brand in the world.
Earlier, the Bimba Y Lola brand in Ukraine was represented by a small corner in the Kyiv TsUM (Central Department Store).
The Opel brand in Ukraine in 2020 increased sales of cars (passenger cars and LCVs) by 84% compared to 2019, to 732 vehicles with an overall decline of this market by 2.2% (to 95,500 vehicles), the press service of the PSA group’s representative office in Ukraine, Peugeot Citroen Ukraine, has reported.
According to the report, sales growth was primarily driven by well-known models of the brand: the Opel Grandland X crossover (248 vehicles sold, which is 92% more), the Opel Crossland X compact crossover (174 vehicles, twice more) and the Opel Astra sedan (156 vehicles, 28% more).
Last year, several new models also debuted on the Ukrainian market, in particular, the sixth generation Opel Corsa, sales of which began in the middle of the year, and 37 cars were sold at the end of the year.
In addition, sales of Opel Combo commercial vehicles (passenger version of Combo Life and commercial van Combo Cargo) began in 2020, of which 84 were sold.
“Thanks to the launch of the line of commercial vehicles, the Opel brand is returning to the LCV segment again as a serious player and intends to significantly increase sales in 2021,” the press service said, specifying that last year a full line of Opel commercial vehicles was presented in Ukraine: Combo Life, Zafira Life, Combo Cargo, Vivaro, and Movano.
According to the report, despite all the problems and limitations of 2020, Opel continued developing its own dealer network in Ukraine, in particular, two new dealers were opened in the autumn of the year: Addis-Motors (Odesa) and Newton (Cherkasy), which are the only representatives of the brand in these cities.
At the end of the year, the brand’s dealer network includes 11 representative offices (three in Kyiv, one each in Dnipro, Lviv, Zaporizhia, Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnitsky, Odesa and Cherkasy), and four service partners who can carry out service without losing the guarantee: in Kyiv (two), Ivano-Frankivsk and Zhytomyr.
The international hotel operator Accor (France) has signed a management contract for the Swissotel Living hotel at 13 Luteranska Street in Pechersky district of Kyiv, the opening of which is scheduled for 2021-2022. “This will be an aparthotel designed for long and medium-term accommodation (extended stay). The owner of the hotel and Accor believe that this format has good prospects in the city,” Accor New East Europe Development Director Yekateryna Marchenko told Interfax-Ukraine.
The object will be housed in a historic building near Khreschatyk Street, after restoration it will have 58 rooms.
The expert noted that before joining the Accor chain, the Swissotel brand already made attempts to enter the Ukrainian hotel market, but the planned projects were not implemented.
Accor Group is one of the leading hotel operators in the world. It opened its first hotel under the Novotel brand in Lille (France) in 1967.
Private joint-stock company Volodymyr-Volynsky Poultry Farm (Volyn region), part of Openmind Group, calls to sign a petition to ban from using antibiotics in agriculture and refuse applying them posted on the website of the president of Ukraine.
“The worldwide recognized problem of antibiotic resistance is the focus of the WHO [World Health Organization] and leading countries. Experience shows the impossibility of production without the use of antibiotics. It does not require significant investments, but needs serious changes in business processes, standards, as well as internal discipline of companies for events that need to be implemented,” CEO of Openmind Group of Companies Oleksiy Kovalenko said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
He focused on the fact that the refusal to use antibiotics in agriculture, including the production of chicken meat, is impossible without appropriate government support and amendments to the legislation.
“We urge everyone to support this petition so that it has 25,000 votes and becomes mandatory for consideration,” he said.
According to Kovalenko, in Ukraine, the market for antibiotic-free chicken meat is still estimated at only 2%.
PrJSC Volodymyr-Volynsky Poultry Farm is a Ukrainian-Dutch enterprise, part of the Openmind group of companies. The factory’s infrastructure includes 100 poultry farms, a processing workshop and a feed mill, as well as land for planting fodder crops.
The company is certified under ISO 2200:05 and is implementing HACCP principles in production of raw materials and finished products.
At the end of 2017, the poultry farm launched a unique product on the Ukrainian market – chicken meat without antibiotics and growth stimulants under the Epicurus brand, and in 2019 began the construction of a new meat processing workshop worth EUR 38 million.
