HDFC Bank was ranked as India’s top brand for the seventh consecutive year in a row in the 2020 BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands rankings, released by WPP and Kantar on Friday.

LIC, Tata Consultancy Services, Airtel, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Jio, Flipkart, Paytm and State Bank of India were among the other brands ranked in the top 10 most valuable brand rankings.

The challenging economic and social conditions created by the global pandemic and a pre-Covid-19 slowdown in the Indian economy adversely impacted the brand value of Indian companies. "This year’s ranking was worth $216 billion in brand value, a decline of 6 per cent over last year, driven largely by a slowdown in the banking and automotive sector. Despite this, 26 brands increased in value, and five were new entrants. India’s top brands also performed well against other countries where declines in brand value were much greater, " the rankings report stated.

Retail, telecom and personal care brands were among the fastest-growing categories. While retail brands witnessed a growth of 33 per cent, personal care grew by 32 per cent, and telecom segment was up 25 per cent in terms of increase in brand values.

At a time when the retail sector displayed agility to cater to the evolving needs of consumers amid the pandemic, Reliance Retail witnessed a 102 per cent growth in brand value moving up 30 places to number 25 in the brand rankings. " The brand’s core grocery offerings, as well as its integrations with other Reliance Group partners, have become agile assets for its parent company during the Covid-19 lockdown," the rankings study stated.

Preeti Reddy, the CEO - South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar, said: "The performance of retail, telecom and FMCG brands has shown that being agile in times of crisis is critical for growth. Brands need to constantly innovate in order to survive and re-purpose themselves for the future, or risk being left behind."

Brands such as Flipkart, D-Mart and Nestle's Maggi also witnessed a significant increase in their brand values this year. Meanwhile, Dove, Indraprastha Gas, Close Up, and Crompton were among the brands that featured for the first time this year in the rankings.

Reddy pointed out that with shrinking wallets due to the pandemic induced economic downturn, brand salience and market differentiation have become among the key factors for brands to navigate the current challenges. " Trusted brands weathered the crisis better. There has also been a rise in support of local Indian brands as the sentiment to support homegrown businesses has developed among Indian consumers," she added.

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