Walmart tops list of most valuable retail brands

New York — Walmart topped the list retailers on the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, according to a study commissioned by WPP Group and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study identifies and ranks the world's most valuable 100 brands by their dollar value, an analysis based on financial data combined with consumer measures of brand equity.

Walmart earned its top spot (No. 17 out of all global brands) by meeting the needs of the digitally connected consumer in a number of ways, including rebalancing its portfolio between online and physical activity and offering mobile customers with no credit the opportunity to order goods direct from their phones and pay when they are picked up in store.

This strategy has helped Walmart move up one place in the retail ranking knocking Amazon from the top position despite a brand value decrease of 8%. Walmart's brand is worth $34.4 billion, while Amazon's brand declined by 9% and is now worth $34 billion.

Meanwhile, Target ranked No. 6 out of all retail brands, and No. 76 out of all brands, with a value of $10.5 million.

"Walmart was boosted by international expansion- including into Africa, one of the world's fastest growing regions, through its acquisition of Massmart," said Peter Walshe, Global BrandZ director at Millward Brown. "The appeal of retail remains strong with traditional online only brands such as Amazon, now retail outlets, while Apple has rolled out its retail network well beyond a few flagship stores. Tesco has now slowed the pace of physical expansion and renewed its focus in the United Kingdom on customer service, recently announcing that it would be employing another 8,000 frontline staff.

The most valuable retail brands of 2012 are:

Download the complete BrandZ ranking, including regional and category breakdowns at Millwardbrown.com/BrandZ.