BusinessWeek/Interbrand Report Highlights SAP As One of the Biggest-Gaining Brands Over the Past Year
Singapore — SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) today announced that a newly released BusinessWeek/Interbrand report has ranked SAP as the world’s 35th most valuable global brand. The report cited SAP as one of the biggest-gaining brands over the past year with a 14 percent increase in brand value. Interbrand estimated the value of the SAP brand at US$7.1 billion, an increase of approximately US$.32 billion from the year before and editorialized that SAP “survived the tech downturn looking more solid than ever.”
“SAP has always placed the utmost importance on helping our customers to become best-run-businesses—something at the very heart of our brand,” said Hans-Peter Klaey, SAP Asia Pacific President. “This designation as one of the world’s most valuable brands illustrates the value the market places on that commitment to customer ROI. A brand is really a customer promise and, with the uncertainty in the industry right now, SAP stands apart from its competitors as a safe haven with clear market leadership and a reputation for integrity in the business software market. That is one of the key reasons we were able to add 85 new customers in Asia Pacific and grow license revenue 33 percent (excluding Japan) in Q2 despite the sluggish economy.”
“The strength of our brand in Asia and specifically in Singapore has been a tremendous asset for us during these challenging times,” said Chan Wai Leong, managing director Singapore, SAP Asia. “It has been one of the key reasons we’ve been able to continually increase market share even with certain markets maturing. Our brand leadership will prove to be a key point of competitive advantage as we expand our presence in the SMB market with new offerings and a vertical industry focus.”
Published in the August 4th 2003 issue of BusinessWeek magazine, the “World’s Best Brands” list details the world’s most valuable brands based on an analysis of the brand name’s contribution to sales. BusinessWeek has compiled the rankings every year since 1999 in cooperation with the brand consultancy Interbrand. To be included companies must meet a number of criteria including having brand values greater than $1 billion, deriving at least a third of their sales from outside their home countries and having significant distribution throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. To calculate the brand’s strength, Interbrand looks at a variety of factors, including the brand’s market leadership, its stability, and its ability to cross geographic and cultural borders.
