Philippines brand-ranking analysis: Resilient economy lifts luxury, online

The economy shows remarkable resilience, as brands in luxury and online retail notch gains.

The Philippines’ economy remained strong during the past year, posting 5.8 per cent growth in 2015 despite weak external demand and damaging typhoons. For 2016, the economy is expected to grow by a similar 6 per cent.

In our exclusive ranking of the top 100 brands in the Philippines, The members of the top 10 remained mostly unchanged, save for movement up or down one spot compared with 2015. The exception is Dove, which ascended from 13 to 9, ousting Coca-Cola from the top 10 (it landed at 11). In addition to the glow from its global marketing, Dove in the past year introduced men’s product ranges in the Philippines and also made effective use of frank, locally produced videos, notably a series with women discussing armpit shaving.

Growth in disposable income, as well as smartphone and broadband penetration combine to explain the brand that scored the biggest jump upward: Online retailed Lazada, which was not in the top 100 at all last year, but made it to 65 this year.

The impact of the strong economy can also be read into healthy rises for luxury brands Louis Vuitton (up 30 spots to 60), Gucci (up 14 to 52), Chanel (up 12 to 32) and Shangri-La (up 11 to 51), as well as midrange brands like Olay (up 24 spots to 37), Calvin Klein (up 26 to 22) and white-goods maker Whirlpool (up 16 to 21).

Turning to travel, AirAsia did well among Filipinos, with AirAsia Zest rising 18 spots to 59 and the parent brand AirAsia climbing to 26, up 14 spots. These gains perhaps came at the expense of national carrier Philippines Airlines, which dropped 20 spots to 67, and Cebu Pacific, which nosedived 31 spots to 122.

The brands that lost the most ground in Philippines were Safeguard (down 54 places to 111), Acer, which dropped 48 spots to 147 (PC brands are facing tough times everywhere), and Yahoo, which killed its Philippines site in 2015 and ended up dropping 32 spots to 53. 

Other notable droppers: Quaker (from 46 to 78), Guess (87 to 118), Red Horse (84 to 112), Nescafe (42 to 68) and Smart Communications (45 to 70).