The combined value of the top 75 brands now sits at $379 billion, a decline of 4% over the previous year, according to the Kantar BrandZ India ranking.
The decrease, however, is modest when compared with the global rankings of the top 100 brands, which posted a collective 20% drop over broadly the same period amid the ongoing economic volatility across the world.
To be sure, China's ranking fell 19% this year, Italy's 19%, and the U.K.'s 14%, according to the marketing data and analytics firm. In fact, the value of the top 30 Indian brands has now surpassed that of Japan and the U.K. in 2022.
Moreover, the overseas contribution for the top 30 Indian brands accounts for 31% of brand value, compared to 47% for Japan, 59% for the U.K., and 85% for France. "This has also protected the ranking from the worst effects of international volatility," said Kantar.
"The Indian brands are significant value creators for the economy," said Deepender Rana, executive managing director, South Asia, insights division, Kantar. "Over the last decade, the most valuable brands have almost quintupled in value, as compared with the most valuable global brands, which have grown by 2.4 times."
Rana expects this trend to accelerate in the next decade as "brands continue investing in building equity in order to create future demand".
TCS Tops The List
This year, the top four brands are unchanged. Tata Consultancy Services has retained the top spot on the list, with a brand value of $43 billion.
In second place is HDFC Bank ($33.6 billion), followed by Infosys ($24.17 billion) and Bharti Airtel ($22.5 billion), according to Kantar's study.
State Bank of India rose one position this year to take fifth spot and ICICI Bank is up three places to sixth, pushing Asian Paints down to seventh.
Reliance's Jio is up two places, and Kotak Mahindra Bank and HCL Tech round out the top 10.
At least 58 brands have been in the ranking consistently since at least 2019, and many of those for much longer, Rana said.
Dip In TCS Brand Value
A decline in the overall value of brands in the business technology and services platform category is the main downward force on the overall ranking.
"While some of the brands in this tech sector have a strong focus on local consumers and have proved quite resilient (HCL Tech, for instance, has grown 3% in value), some of the more valuable brands in the ranking are more international and therefore ebb and flow with the conditions in international waters. TCS and Infosys fall into that category, and both saw declines in 2023," stated the Kantar BrandZ report, released on Thursday.
TCS' 6% decline in brand value this year over last year also indicates that even the strongest brands have been hit by the current economic climate. Overall, the business technology and services platform category lost 10% of its value to stand at $86 billion, the report stated.
The biggest contributor of value to the ranking is the financial services category, which has seen a 6% increase in value overall this year, thanks to the continued rise of electronic banking and digital payments.
Axis Bank posted a brand value increase of 28% in 2023, and ICICI Bank rose 18%, according to the Kantar report.
Automotive brands TVS (up 59% in value), Mahindra (up 48%), and Tata Motors (up 24%) have been adept at responding quickly to changing consumer needs, most notably the shift away from a long-standing preference for hatchbacks towards SUVs and away from petrol or diesel vehicles towards electric vehicles, according to the report.
And Royal Enfield (up 19% in brand value) has not only benefited from Harley Davidson's exit from India but has also made itself a cult brand for millennials, with a waiting list of up to six months for new models. The brand, with a value of $1.5 billion, moved 10 places up the top 75 ranking.
Telecom providers have also had a good year. "The price wars that began when Jio burst onto the scene have calmed down, and brands have been focusing on differentiating in ways other than price in their communications, justifying reasons for prices to start going up," the report states. Airtel has had a particularly good year as a result, with its brand value soaring 29% in the past year, while Jio has grown 10%, it said.
Newcomers
There are four new entrants to the 2023 Indian brand ranking, and two brands have re-entered the ranking after some time away.
Kantar BrandZ India ranking
Digital payments brand PhonePe clinched the 21st spot with a brand value of $4.5 billion. In comparison, Paytm is now ranked at 56, and the start-up has seen a whopping 24% drop in brand value, now pegged at $18 billion.
"A government push towards digital payments and the need to go digital during the pandemic have helped electronic financial services become the norm, and PhonePe is the clear market leader, ahead of Google Pay, Paytm, and all the traditional banks' digital offerings," the report said.
Also making their debuts are fintech brand Cred, photo and video sharing app ShareChat, and entertainment platform Star, the report showed.
"The start-ups are not able to spend freely, so that's one of the factors that has impacted their brand value," said Soumya Mohanty, managing director and chief client officer, South Asia, insights division, Kantar. "Also, their value proposition needs to be re-examined because some of it was born right after the pandemic...now they are focused on chasing profitability."
Meanwhile, Bank of Baroda and MRF re-entered the ranking this year.
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