Samsung Electronics may be reeling from the after-effects of all the negative press following the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, but the company has reportedly managed to retain its top-ten position on Interbrand’s “Best Global Brands” for the year 2016. The company ranks seventh on the list that’s largely dominated by technology and automotive companies. Apple and Google hold the top two spots much like last year, followed by Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Toyota and IBM at numbers three thru six. Amazon, Mercedes-Benz and GE round out the top ten. Samsung’s ‘Galaxy’ brand had earlier retained its top-spot in the list of top 100 brands in South Korea ahead of local retail store E-Mart and mobile messaging service KakaoTalk, which came in at numbers two and three, respectively.
According to Interbrand, Samsung has a brand value of $51.8 billion this year, which is an increase of about 14% from the company’s value last year. In spite of the controversy surround the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung Electronics has indicated that it expects to increase its sales this year, although many analysts believe that its smartphone business may lose in excess of $5 billion because of the Galaxy Note 7 recall. It will be interesting to see how the company manages to assure people about its quality control process following the much-publicized problems, but the company has been leaving no stone unturned in order to assure people about the safety of its new Galaxy Note 7 units that come with a green marker to differentiate them from the older, fire-prone units.
This year marks the 17th time that New York-based brand consultancy firm, Interbrand, has released its annual Best Brands list that ranks 100 global companies based on their perceived brand values. While Samsung has managed to increase its brand value by around 14 percent this year, the companies at the top of the list, Apple and Google, reportedly increased their value by 5% and 11% respectively. While Apple’s brand is now said to be worth $178.1 billion, Google’ brand value now reportedly stands at $133.2 billion. Meanwhile, American companies continue to dominate the top-ten list with seven out of the top-ten global brands based out of the country. Japanese automotive powerhouse Toyota and German automaker Mercedes-Benz are the only two exceptions alongside Samsung.