Brand Finance has named Taj as India's strongest brand
Mumbai-based hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company's Taj chain of hotels and resorts was ranked first in the list of strongest Indian brands by the London-based consultancy Brand Finance. In its "India 100 2020" report, Taj "got the rare distinction of being ranked the highest across brands in all sectors", Indian Hotels Company said in a statement on Wednesday. Brand Finance gave Taj a brand strength index (BSI) score of 90.5 out of 100, and a corresponding elite brand strength rating of "AAA+", based on factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, employee satisfaction, customer experience and corporate reputation, Indian Hotels 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," said Puneet Chhatwal, managing director and CEO, Indian Hotels Company.
"Our unique service philosophy, which we refer to as Tajness, emanates from the warmth and caring 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 said.
Tata Group retained the top spot in the ranking of the country's most valuable brands, touching the $20 billion brand value mark for the first time, followed by state-run insurer LIC ($8.11 billion) at the second position, according to Brand Finance. The brand value of Tata Group had stood at $19.56 billion in 2019, according to the independent brand valuation consultancy.
With a 25 per cent increase in brand value to $7.93 billion this year, Reliance Industries came in at the third spot in the list.
Infosys, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Mahindra Group, Indian Oil, HCL and Bharti Airtel were the other brands among the top 10.
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.
