Brand Godrej valued at US$ 2.86 bn!

The Godrej Group has taken an important next step towards synergising its business units around a central brand, by publishing a brand valuation report that will help guide future business investment and decision making in a sophisticated, brand driven manner. This marks an emerging practice where companies increasingly organise all their actions around the brand assets in order to delight their chosen consumers. Brand valuation helps by making the relatively empirical brand discourse more objective and business focused.

The detailed methodology which helps make the "brand centricity' discourse integrated and objective was delivered by global brand consultancy Interbrand. The exercise has valued Godrej at nearly 3 billion USD, strengthening the multinational company's status as a major world player. The strength of this valuation can be gauged from the fact that the 100th brand in Interbrand's global league table has a valuation that is similar. With Godrej going global also, one can expect Godrej to break into that hallowed list soon.

The methodology adopted goes beyond just valuation figures into sophisticated diagnostics thus helping the business take stronger decisions. The valuation represents a critical milestone in Godrej's quest to position the "Brighter Living' brand at the heart of its global organisation, and it will help the Mumbai-based company to leverage the total value of its brand within the fast-changing Indian marketplace.

Going beyond the measure provided by the valuation, the exercise has helped Godrej spotlight some key actions for the future like re-energising portfolio propositions and innovations around usage experiences, consumer empathy based research, institutionalising design as powerful lever for the future, shared knowledge management system especially across it's globalised presence helping leverage consumer insights and brand platforms for higher value. With valuation led management of the brand, Godrej hopes to continually break new ground in creating value for it's consumers, brands and businesses.

Commenting on the brand valuation Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group, stated, "Businesses in India today can no longer have a local outlook but rather a globolocal understanding since lines between regions are consistently blurring. Within this context, it is important to have a scientific approach towards brand development and with the focus not just on product brands but the whole brand franchise. This valuation enables us to springboard towards aligning our diverse business units under the same compelling brand idea, enabling businesses to maximise return on brand investment across the portfolio".

"As consumers seek more value and a deeper experience from their favourite brands, we need to hold clearer discourse with our customers," explained Tanya Dubash, Executive Director & President, Marketing, Godrej Group, "Godrej remains a vibrant part of India's daily life after more than a century because we won't stop adapting to the needs of the marketplace and the needs of consumers.

By putting a distinctive brand at the core of our company actions across the portfolio, we will be even better positioned to meet the advancing expectations and desires of billions. Interbrand's valuation helps us to construct a brand-focused framework that will guide future decision-making and create a common language understood by all our business units across India and beyond."

The brand value of 2.86bn USD (INR 12,689 Crores) places Godrej above iconic brands such Nissan, HTC, Yamaha, Shiseido, Kraft, Lenovo and Sharp. The report reveals that the Godrej masterbrand also accounts for more than 75% of the total brand value, illustrating the importance of the masterbrand as a strategic business asset and its potential to improve with further investment. This value implies that more than 30% of Godrej's firm value [Tangible capital + Brand and other intangibles], is accounted for by the brand. As a ratio, this compares extremely favourably with Indian and global benchmarks especially considering the diversified nature of the brand portfolio.

Ashutosh Tiwari, Executive vice-president, Strategic Marketing, Godrej Group explained, "Interbrand's diagnostic approach found that business units such as Good Knight, Properties, Locks and Security Solutions performed strongly on brand strength relative to international benchmarks. These successes reflect our focused investment in building strong brands inside the portfolio that will compliment the masterbrand story. Interbrand's valuation also identified a range of important themes that will speed us on our journey towards brand centricity. We are excited about moving on as a next step in our journey of brand development".