Tata in list of top 50 brands

Finally, Ratan Tata has enough reasons to smile. The $68-billion conglomerate, Tata Group, has become the first Indian brand to figure in the top 50 global companies. Reliance Industries, however, slipped to 133 from 108 with a brand value of $ 6.99 billion.

The ranking by international brand consultancy Brand Finance is a shot in the arm for the Tata Group Chairman, who had found himself at the centre of a raging controversy over taped conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and members of the media and polity. Ratan Tata had later dragged the government to court for invading his privacy.

The most recent Global 500 report by Brand Finance shows that despite the controversies, Tata Group’s brand value has soared to $15.08 billion for the current year compared to $11.2 billion last year. In effect, it has moved up 15 places in the last one year, says Brand Finance.

“The Tatas have broken the global brand barriers. It has shown that there was no glass ceiling after all and that value-driven value creation was a far more sustainable model to have,” says Unni Krishnan, managing director, Brand Finance India.

But the Tatas and Reliance were not the only companies among the top 500. Seven other Indian names that find mention are ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bharat Petroelum, Infosys, Indian Oil, Bharti Airtel and Wipro. Of the lot, ICICI and BPCL went down, while SBI and Infosys climbed up the rankings, while Indian Oil, Bharti Airtel and Wipro were new entrants.

“It’s heartening to see so many Indian names on the list,” says Harish Bijoor, chief executive officer, Harish Bijoor Consults. “If you ask me about the Tata brand, it has a heritage. It has value, which cannot get dissipated easily. If anything, it will survive and consolidate further.”

Adman Suhel Seth, whose firm Counselage works with a few Tata entities for branding and marketing, says: “I am not surprised with the ranking. It shows that the trust of the consumer in the Tata brand has not wavered.”

To arrive at the global 500 ranking, Brand Finance used a number of parameters, including financial, market, stakeholder and consumer metrics. “At a very broad level, the ranking was about the future cash flow potential of the brand,” says Krishnan. “The Tatas have been in a state of transformation at an accelerated pace under the leadership of Ratan Tata, which is reflected in the ranking.”