The 50 most valuable brands | companies in Germany

The 50 most valuable brands in Germany have a combined value of €263 billion, according to a new study, which places Germany’s top companies ahead of their peers in the UK and France. SAP, Deutsche Telekom, BMW, Daimler and Deutsche Post lead the way, with automotive the country’s standout sector.

The analysis, conducted by professional services giant WPP, assessed the ‘brand value’ of Germany’s top companies – which is a measure of how much a brand alone contributes to corporate value, both in terms of financial value and non-quantitative components.

The data found that similar to in other countries, but more so in Germany, value is concentrated at the top of the ranking, with the top two brands – SAP and Deutsche Telekom – between them accounting for 29% of the value of the leading 50 brands combined. In comparison, in the UK, the top two brands provide 21% of the top 50’s value.

Unsurprisingly, the automotive industry plays a key role in Germany’s brand elite. There are five leading global car brands in the German Top 50, a feat which is unmatched in any other national WPP ranking for Western economies. Combined, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and Volkswagon account for a staggering 22% of the total €263 billion brand value.

“Germany itself has become synonymous with the design and engineering of the many automotive brands it has produced. These are brands that have made consumers all over the world willingly pay a premium for “Vorsprung durch Technik”, without even knowing quite what it meant,” said David Roth, CEO of The Store, WPP’s division that serves the retail and fast moving consumer goods sectors.

Germany is also the only European market to be led by a technology brand. With a brand value of $48.9 billion, SAP is the undisputed leader in Germany, alone accounting for 16% of the value of the entire German top 50. The company, which was founded in the early 1970s by five entrepreneurial engineers with a vision to change the way companies do business, is today a world leader in enterprise applications – 87% of Forbes Global 2000 companies are a user of SAP software.

Given the strength of Germany’s reputation as a leader in the sector in finance, the relatively small influence of financial services brands is apparent – there are only a handful of banking and insurance businesses in the top 50, including Deutsche Bank and Allianz. Across the board, the top 50 is comprised of brands from 19 different categories, spanning home appliance, apparel, beer, travel, aviation, grocery and media, among others.

Germany’s 50 most valuable brands

An overview of the most valuable brands in Germany, including headquarter city and when the company was established:

1. SAP
Brand Value: $48,943 million
Headquarter City: Walldorf
Category: Technology
Year Formed: 1972

2. Deutsche Telekom
Brand Value: $39,215 million
Headquarter City: Bonn
Category: Telecom Providers
Year Formed: 1995

3. Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)
Brand Value: $24,606 million
Headquarter City: Munich
Category: Cars
Year Formed: 1916

4. Daimler
Brand Value: $23,587 million
Headquarter City: Stuttgart
Category: Cars
Year Formed: 1883

5. Deutsche Post
Brand Value: $18,344 million
Headquarter City: Bonn
Category: Logistics
Year Formed: 1969

6. Siemens
Brand Value: $15,224 million
Headquarter City: Berlin/Munich
Category: Conglomerate
Year Formed: 1847

7. Aldi
Brand Value: $12,893 million
Headquarter City: Essen (ALDI Nord) and Mülheim (ALDI Süd)
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1913

8. Adidas
Brand Value: $11,820 million
Headquarter City: Herzogenaurach
Category: Apparel
Year Formed: 1949

9. Bosch (part of Robert Bosch)
Brand Value: $9,816 million
Headquarter City: Munich
Category: Conglomerate
Year Formed: 1886

10. Audi
Brand Value: $8,580 million
Headquarter City: Ingolstadt
Category: Cars
Year Formed: 1909

11. Lidl
Brand Value: $8,178 million
Headquarter City: Neckarsulm
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1973

12. Allianz
Brand Value: $7,707 million
Headquarter City: Munich
Category: Insurance
Year Formed: 1890

13. Nivea (part of Beiersdorf)
Brand Value: $7,344 million
Headquarter City: Hamburg
Category: Personal Care
Year Formed: 1911

14. Fanta (part of The Coca-Cola Company)
Brand Value: $6,315 million
Headquarter City: Atlanta, USA
Category: Soft Drinks
Year Formed: 1940

15. Porsche (part of VW)
Brand Value: $5,658 million
Headquarter City: Stuttgart
Category: Cars
Year Formed: 1931               

16. Knorr (part of Unilever)
Brand Value: $4,512 million
Headquarter City: Heilbronn
Category: Food & Dairy
Year Formed: 1838

17. Volkswagen
Brand Value: $4,136 million
Headquarter City: Wolfsburg
Category: Cars
Year Formed: 1937

18. Deutsche Post
Brand Value: $3,749 million
Headquarter City: Bonn
Category: Logistics
Year Formed: 1947

19. Deutsche Bank
Brand Value: $3,591 million
Headquarter City: Frankfurt am Main
Category: Banks
Year Formed: 1870

20. Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe
Brand Value: $3,137 million
Headquarter City: Berlin
Category: Banks
Year Formed: 1778

21. 1&1 (part of United Internet)
Brand Value: $2,706 million
Headquarter City: Montabaur
Category: Telecom Providers
Year Formed: 1988

22. EDEKA Zentrale
Brand Value: $2,341 million
Headquarter City: Hamburg
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1898

23. DPD (part of Le Groupe La Poste)
Brand Value: $2,316 million
Headquarter City: Aschaffenburg
Category: Logistics
Year Formed: 1976

24. Schwarzkopf (part of Henkel)
Brand Value: $2,303 million
Headquarter City: Düsseldorf
Category: Personal Care
Year Formed: 1904

25. Miele
Brand Value: $2,250 million
Headquarter City: Gütersloh
Category: Home Appliances
Year Formed: 1899

26. Lufthansa
Brand Value: $2,142 million
Headquarter City: Frankfurt
Category: Airlines
Year Formed: 1926

27. Hugo Boss
Brand Value: $2,072 million
Headquarter City: Metzingen
Category: Apparel
Year Formed: 1924

28. Beck’s (part of Anheuser-Busch InBev)
Brand Value: $1,946 million
Headquarter City: Leuven, Belgium
Category: Beer
Year Formed: 1873

29. Metro Wholesale & Food Specialist
Brand Value: $1,806 million
Headquarter City: Düsseldorf
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1964

30. Puma
Brand Value: $1,369 million
Headquarter City: Herzogenaurach
Category: Apparel
Year Formed: 1948

31. REWE Group
Brand Value: $1,336 million
Headquarter City: Cologne
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1927

32. TUI
Brand Value: $1,257 million
Headquarter City: Hannover
Category: Travel Agencies
Year Formed: 1923

33. Kaufland Stiftung & Co.
Brand Value: $1,249 million
Headquarter City: Neckarsulm
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1984

34. Commerzbank
Brand Value: $1,219 million
Headquarter City: Frankfurt am Main
Category: Banks
Year Formed: 1870

35. Unicredit
Brand Value: $999 million
Headquarter City: Munich
Category: Banks
Year Formed: 1780

36. Krombacher Brauerei Bernhard Schadeberg
Brand Value: $919 million
Headquarter City: Kreuztal-Krombach
Category: Beer
Year Formed: 1803

37. Otto Group
Brand Value: $912 million
Headquarter City: Hamburg
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1949

38. West (part of Imperial Brands)
Brand Value: $877 million
Headquarter City: Hamburg
Category: Tobacco
Year Formed: 1981

39. Tchibo (part of Maxinvest)
Brand Value: $854 million
Headquarter City: Hamburg
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1949

40. ERGO (part of Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellschaft)
Brand Value: $810 million
Headquarter City: Düsseldorf
Category: Insurance
Year Formed: 1997

41. Hasseröder (part of Anheuser-Busch InBev)
Brand Value: $792 million
Headquarter City: Leuven, Belgium
Category: Beer
Year Formed: 1872

42. OBI (part of Tengelmann Warenhandelsgesellschaft)
Brand Value: $759 million
Headquarter City: Wermelskirchen
Category: Retail
Year Formed: 1970

43. Hipp
Brand Value: $744 million
Headquarter City: Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm
Category: Food & Dairy
Year Formed: 1932

44. Alfred Ritter
Brand Value: $706 million
Headquarter City: Waldenbuch
Category: Food & Dairy
Year Formed: 1912

45. Hermes
Brand Value: $706 million
Headquarter City: Hamburg
Category: Logistics
Year Formed: 1972

46. Bild (part of Axel Springer)
Brand Value: $696 million
Headquarter City: Berlin
Category: Entertainment
Year Formed: 1952

47. Aral (part of BP)
Brand Value: $618 million
Headquarter City: Bochum
Category: Motor Fuels
Year Formed: 1898

48. Dr. August Oetker
Brand Value: $610 million
Headquarter City: Bielefeld
Category: Food & Dairy
Year Formed: 1891

49. Nestlé
Brand Value: $519 million
Headquarter City: Nonnweiler-Otzenhausen
Category: Food & Dairy
Year Formed: 1968

50. HUK-Coburg
Brand Value: $518 million
Headquarter City: Coburg
Category: Insurance
Year Formed: 1933