The writer, author of ‘Fair or Foul: the Lady Macbeth Guide to Ambition’, is a visiting professor at Bayes Business School, City St. George’s, University of London
‘It’s hard work building a brand,” declared Mary Portas, the retail consultant, to contestants on an episode of BBC television show Interior Design Masters. The “Queen of Shops” (a reference to her own TV series) knows what she is talking about. In the 1990s she helped transform the once sleepy Harvey Nichols department store into the most talked about retail destination in London.
Comparing the most valuable brands, as measured by Kantar, today and from 20 years ago, it is clear some have worked hard to stay relevant and valuable, while others have fallen away. Luck, technological innovation and management, good and bad, have all played a part in this process.
Familiar tech giants sit at the top of today’s league table, with McDonald’s (in eighth place) the highest-ranking non-tech company. Twenty years ago GE, Coca-Cola, Marlboro and Toyota all made it into the top 10. Coca-Cola — which had the tagline “happiness in a bottle” — is still highly valuable and in 14th place in 2025, but Marlboro now stands in 40th place, Toyota is down at 77th, and of GE there is no sign.
