Mexican brands grow in value

Warc, 21 July 2014

MEXICO CITY: The combined value of Mexico's top 25 brands exceeds US$32bn, representing a growth rate of almost 90% over the past five years, new analysis from brand consultancy Interbrand has revealed.

The latest findings mean the top Mexican brands are now collectively worth 80% of Brazil's top 25 brands (US$40bn), 51% of India's leading brands (US$63bn), 46% of Canada's top brands (US$70bn) and 28% of Japan's (US$115bn).

Telecommunications, beverages and financial services comprised six of the country's top ten brands by value, although BBVA Bancomer, the market leader in the financial services sector, was not included in the rankings because it is part of Spanish-owned BBVA group.

Telecom giants Telcel and Telmex were ranked first and third with a valuation of US$5.8bn and US$3.6bn respectively, and these two companies alone accounted for almost a third (29%) of the total value of the top 25 brands.

Despite the comparative success of Mexican telecoms revealed by the report, Interbrand cautioned that the sector will need to increase its infrastructure investment over the next few years as well as become more client-focused.

Beverage companies were well-represented in the top ten, reflecting Mexico's status as the world's largest beer exporter and its sixth largest beer producer.

Corona, part of the Grupo Modelo brewery, was ranked second with a brand valuation of US$4.2bn while Modelo Especial, another brand owned by Grupo Modelo, was ranked sixth with a valuation of US$2bn.

El Jimador, the tequila brand, was ranked 19th with a valuation of US$319m and Interbrand noted that Mexican tequila is seeing "unprecedented growth" in global markets.

Financial services brands were also prominent and included Banorte (#7, US$1.9bn), Banamex (#8,US$1.7bn), Inbursa (#11, US$751m) and Compartamos Banco (#14, US$472m).

Unlike in many other countries, confidence in the financial sector has increased considerably in Mexico over the past five year, Interbrand said.

This was, the report added, partly because of efforts by Mexican banks, notably Compartamos Banco, to improve customer service and to meet consumers' preference for banks to share their values rather than concentrating simply on financial gain.

Rounding out the top ten were Oxxo, the convenience store chain (#4, US$2.6bn); bakery chain Bimbo (#5, US$2.3bn); media group Televisa (#9, US$1.6bn); and Walmart-owned Bodega Aurrera(#10, US$1bn).

Data sourced from Interbrand; additional content by Warc