Philips narrows the gap on Shell in the BrandZ™ Top 30 Most Valuable Dutch Brands 2021 ranking

COVID-19 shakeout hits some sectors hard – but home consumption also drives growth

AMSTERDAM, Nov. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Philips has entered the top three brands for the first time, in the third annual BrandZ^TM Top 30 Most Valuable Dutch Brands ranking – announced today by WPP and Kantar.

Rising two places to no.2, Philips' brand value has risen 8.2% to $11.9 billion, closing the gap on the Dutch number one brand Royal Dutch Shell ($14.9 billion). Following its transformation from a high-profile entertainment, white goods and lighting business into a leading manufacturer of health technology, Philips' core products also include diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring and consumer health and home care. It was also well-placed to adapt its operations to produce ventilators in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The value of the Top 30 remains concentrated at the top with Royal Dutch Shell accounting for almost one fifth of the entire ranking. Meanwhile, the top three brands – Royal Dutch Shell, Philips and Heineken (no.3; $11.6 billion) comprise 52% of the value of the Dutch Top 30.

Declining by -12% in overall brand value, the BrandZ Dutch Top 30 dropped $11 billion to $81 billion, in line with other BrandZ markets as a result of  COVID-19. Dutch brands hardest hit include banks, travel services, oil & gas, insurance, food and beer. Growth categories, driven by greater in-home consumption, include beverages, lifestyle platforms (food ordering and delivery), retail and technology.

Drugstores Kruidvat (no.27; $0.23 billion) and Etos (no.28; $0.21 billion) are this year's new entries. Their inclusion in the ranking highlights the resilience of the Dutch retail sector during the crisis, as well as the importance of health and wellness to consumers.

Bram van Schaik, CEO Insights Division, Netherlands at Kantar said: "The uniquely connected business climate means the Netherlands has had a high degree of exposure to the global economic downturn. But, true to our country's can-do spirit and progressive values, many Dutch consumers believe we can emerge from the current health crisis with an even stronger presence in Europe. The Netherlands has long been accustomed to punching above its weight on the global stage. In a year when so much is in flux, that at least will not change."

Coffee 'fastest riser' table

There was a pandemic-driven trend for people to consume more products at home, including Douwe Egberts (no.19; $0.76 billion) who recorded a year-on-year growth of 59% in brand value to make it this year's fastest riser. Senseo (no.14; $1.05 billion), renowned for developing one of the first coffee brewing systems, is the third fastest riser, growing 35%. Online food delivery company Thuisbezorgd.nl (Takeaway.com) (no.11; $1.90 billion) and retail brands Action (no.13; $1.29 billion) and bol.com (no.16; £0.91 billion) complete this year's list of top risers, all of which have strong emotional ties with Dutch consumers.

The BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Dutch Brands 2021

Brand personality

Brands that were perceived to be fun, creative and humorous in a sensitive way appealed to consumers during these tough times. For example, Jumbo (no.20, $0.55 billion), the second largest supermarket chain in The Netherlands, grew by over 9% and scored highly on 'creativity' and 'great advertising' indexes with its instantly recognisable and funny advertising commercials.

Brand responsibility

Traits like honesty and respect, as well as care for the environment and employees, allowed brands to differentiate themselves from declining ones and grow their brand value. Dutch consumers also valued reliability in brands; growing brands were more likely to be seen as caring for their customers, offering a superior range of products, and being the best at what they do.

Brand trust

Trust has been core to the success of many Dutch Top 30 brands and can be measured against their scores for the metrics of Identification (establishing a connection at a human level), Integrity (doing what has been promised) and Inclusion (building a sense of kinship). Where 100 is the average, telecom provider KPN (no.6, $4.22 billion) scored 124 for Integrity, Bol.com scored 140 on Identification, and Albert Heijn (no.15; $1.03 billion) scored 129 on Inclusion.

David Roth, Chairman of BrandZ, said: "Few countries are better-equipped than the Netherlands to make a recovery period a true catalyst for social transformation. Businesses and brands will have a crucial role to play in building a stronger nation. As this year's BrandZ analysis shows, strong brands succeed in all types of weather – and the country's iconic brands have already proven themselves to be more than capable of doing good while doing well."

Other key trends highlighted in the BrandZ Dutch Top 30 ranking include:

• Optimistic outlook – More than one in five Dutch consumers wanted brands to "be optimistic and think unconventionally" as their main reaction to the ongoing pandemic, something almost totally absent in other countries. There is room for brands to strike a more positive and proactive tone in both their messaging and their offerings to consumers
• Satisfied customers – Pandemic restrictions have put many brand categories, such as travel services, under pressure as they adapt to new customer needs. Communication providers, such as Ziggo (no.7; $2.61 billion) have increased their category satisfaction scores by anticipating consumers' changing needs by keeping their customers regularly updated, living up to their brand promise and overdelivering on customer experience.
• Brand recognition – Three new awards were presented at the launch of today's report, two of which went to brands outside the Dutch Top 30 ranking in recognition of their growing brand equity and future potential:

1. Most Improved Brand Vitality – KPN achieved the most improved score of all the brands surveyed in the Netherlands across BrandZ's five key indicators of brand health: purpose, innovation, communication, experience and love – which are combined to create a single Vitality Quotient, (or vQ) score.
2. Most Sustainable Dutch Brand – Triodos Bank has consistently positioned itself as the leading expert in sustainable banking through making money work for positive, social, environmental and cultural change.
3. Most Disruptive Brand – DSW, a small brand in the health insurance sector, has carved a niche for itself by disrupting the status quo, making it an alternative to the big four health insurers that control around 90% of the market.

The BrandZ™ Top 30 Most Valuable Dutch Brands ranking, report and extensive analysis are available online here and via BrandZ.com. The reports, rankings, charts, articles and more can also be accessed through the BrandZ app, which is free to download for Apple IOS and all Android devices from http://www.brandz.com/mobile or by searching for BrandZ in the iTunes or Google Play app stores.

About the BrandZ™ Top 30 Most Valuable Dutch Brands Ranking

Commissioned by WPP and Kantar, the valuation behind the BrandZ™ Top 30 Most Valuable Dutch Brands was conducted by brand equity research experts Kantar. The methodology mirrors that used to calculate the annual BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, which is now in its fifteenth year. The ranking combines rigorously analysed market data from Bloomberg with extensive consumer insights from over 3.8 million consumers around the world, covering more than 17,801 different brands in over 51 markets – including opinions from over 41,300 consumers across the Netherlands about 579 brands from 44 categories.

The BrandZ Top 30 is the most definitive and robust ranking of the Dutch brands available, and the brands ranked all meet these eligibility criteria:

• The brand originated in Netherlands or one of its domiciles
• The brand is owned by an enterprise listed on a credible stock exchange or by a private enterprise with its complete financial statements available in public domain

The suite of BrandZ^TM brand valuation rankings and reports currently includes Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru), the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, UAE & KSA, the UK and the US.

Access a suite of customised reports and data packages from BrandZ via https://www.kantar.com/marketplace/solutions/brand-insights

About Kantar

Kantar is the world's leading evidence-based insights and consulting company. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks, our innovative analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire growth. For more information, visit www.kantar.com 

About WPP

WPP is a creative transformation company. We use the power of creativity to build better futures for our people, clients and communities. For more information, visit www.wpp.com

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