The iconic Taj brand of Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL) has been ranked No. 1 in the list of the strongest Indian brands by Brand Finance in its ‘India 100 2020’ report.

Taj is nation’s strongest addition to measuring overall brand value, Brand Finance,

a leading global brand valuation consulting firm said.

The top 10 Indian brands in terms of brand value for this year include Taj, Jio, HP, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, IndiGo, IndianOil, LIC, ACC and Amul.

Brand Finance, which evaluates the relative strength of brands, based on factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation, has put Taj’s brand value at $309 million.

Taj brand has got Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 90.5 out of 100 and a corresponding elite AAA+ brand strength rating.

“The combination of the successful implementation of the brand’s 5-year plan, which focuses on selling non-core assets, becoming less ownership driven and reducing dependence on the luxury space – and the brand’ strong leadership has thrust the brand back into the ranking, while claiming the title of the nation’s strongest brand,” Brand Finance said.

“The luxury hotels chain prides itself on going above and beyond to ensure world-class customer service and experience reflected in its strong brand equity scores.

The brand has set its sights on expanding its global footprint wider, with 13 new properties and 2,900 rooms already in the pipeline,” it added.

Commenting on this Ajimon Francis, managing director, Brand Finance India, said, “Taj is a rare luxury brand that is both humble and at the same time exquisite in its meticulous customer experience. Taj’s extraordinary scores on customer loyalty and reputation.”

“Empathy and innovative service offerings is a reflection of its being responsive to the socio-economic developments in the country. Taj has truly achieved its position as Taj – the topmost one,” he said.

Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, IHCL, said, “We are humbled that Brand Finance has ranked Taj as the nation’s strongest brand. This recognition comes on the back of the relentless pursuit of Aspiration 2022 as South Asia’s most iconic and most profitable hospitality company.”

“Our unique service philosophy, which we refer to as ‘Tajness’, emanates from the warmth and care Taj has stood for over a century. We remain confident of being able to carry the trust of our guests, employees and all our stakeholders with an even stronger commitment,” he added.

Brand Finance defines Brand Strength as the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures, relative to its competitors.

Each brand is assigned a BSI score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the calculations, each brand is assigned a corresponding rating up to ‘AAA’ in a format similar to credit rating.