Of the most 10 valuable Indian, RIL was the only company to have witnessed a value growth of more than 25 percent.
Reliance Industries’ strategic decision to shift its focus from the oil and gas sector to retail, media and telecom sectors has helped augment the brand value, according to Brand Finance India 100 2020 ranking.
Among the top 10 most valuable Indian brands, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has moved up one notch to the third spot in the ranking with 25 percent brand value growth to US$7.9 billion.
Tata Group retained the title of India’s most valuable brand, breaking US$20 billion brand value mark for the first time. LIC, the largest insurer, stood one spot above RIL.
Of the most 10 valuable Indian, RIL was the only company to have witnessed a value growth of more than 25 percent. Reliance Industries’ brand now claims 34 percent share of market revenue in the Indian telecoms sector.
“Reliance has not neglected its core energy business, entering solid strategic partnerships with BP in the UK and Saudi Aramco in the Middle East to support its ambitious growth plan,” the report from Brand Finance stated.
Within the telecom space, the investment in Reliance Jio by Facebook, Silver Lake and Vista Equity Partners, totals $8 billion and is more than 50 percent of the aggregate amount raised by digital companies in CY 2019.
“Data is the new oil,” Ambani had said at the launch on Reliance Jio in 2016.
Reliance Jio has maintained it wants to more than a telecom player and is on track to be as an end-to-end digital behemoth. In its three-and-half years of existence, Jio Infocomm has emerged as India’s biggest telecom service provider with 388 million subscribers.
Its pricing strategy has played a big role in Jio bagging 32 percent market share in terms of subscriber base, way ahead of rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea. The telecom business ties in neatly with the company’s digital ambitions.
On the retail front, Reliance through its Jio Mart revolutionised the grocery segment by tying up with kirana stores and accepting orders on WhatsApp.
Reliance Retail is one of the biggest offline retailer in India with 11,784 outlets. It plans to converge with JioMart offline and online trade not only by driving the online service via inventory from its Smart and Fresh stores but also by spreading hyperlocal ‘Reliance Smart Points’ across the region.
Last week, Jio launched jiomart.com website through which customers can order from various categories such as fruits and vegetables, dairy and bakery, personal care, home care and baby care.
Brand Finance has assessed the impact of COVID-19 based on the effect of the outbreak on enterprise value, compared to what it was on Jan 1, 2020. The likely impact on brand value was estimated for each sector.
The industries have been classified into three categories – limited impact (minimal brand value loss or potential growth), moderate impact (up to 10 percent loss), and heavy impact (up to 20 percent loss) – based on the level of brand value loss observed for each sector in the first quarter of 2020.
Going by the report, the COVID-19 pandemic which has impacted the economy globally that will have a major effect on the Indian’s top 100 most valuable brands and they may lose up to 15 percent of brand value cumulatively, a potential drop of nearly $25 billion compared to the original valuation date of January 1, 2020.
Find the full Brand Finance India 100 2020 Report here.Read our entire coverage on India' Most Valuable Brands 2020 here.
Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Moneycontrol.
