Mumbai: The Tata group’s intense activities in 2007 have seen it rising 45 places to No. 57 in Brand Finance Top 500 Global Brands, a widely respected ranking of brands by brand value published by the UK-based Brand Finance Plc. No other Indian brand figures in the top 100; Reliance Industries comes in at No. 151 and IndianOil at No. 215.
The study, which valued the Tata brand at $11.8 billion (Rs47,082 crore), is based on brand value at the end of 2007.
Brand stand: Tata group’s Ratan Tata. The Nano, and the Jaguar and Land Rover acquisition, could help Tata break into the top 50 in 2008. (Ramesh Pathania / Mint)
In 2007, one Tata company, Tata Steel Ltd, acquired UK steel maker Corus Group Plc. for $11.3 billion in January. By the end of the year, it was clear that Tata Motors Ltd, another group company, was the front-runner to acquire the Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford Motor Co. The deal was eventually announced on 26 March.
The end of the year also saw interest building up around Tata Motors’ small car Nano, which was unveiled on 10 January.
Unni Krishnan, managing director, Brand Finance India, said the Jaguar and Land Rover acquisition and the Tata Nano launch could help Tata break into the Top 50 in 2008. He added that the Corus acquisition helped boost Tata’s brand value because it brought to the group more products and capacity, a wider geographical reach, and the heritage value of British Steel.
Corus was formed in 1999 through the merger of British Steel and Dutch firm Koninklijke Hoogovens.
BREAKING INTO THE BIG LEAGUE (Graphic)
According to the Brand Finance study, the Tata brand is rated AA+ (indicating “robust strength”) in terms of brand strength, a measure that reflects its current value and future prospects. About 80% of Tata’s brand value actually stems from the three engines of steel, motors and consulting, and the thrust of the action is in these areas, signalling a positive future for the brand, Krishnan added.
“In recent times, have we done something dramatically different. Yes. The company has been restructuring, and been active in global mergers and acquisitions,” said R. Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons Ltd, the group’s holding firm that owns the Tata brand.
He added that this is consistent with the Tata gene which has always been entrepreneurial—from getting into software 40 years ago to starting the Taj chain (of luxury hotels) even earlier.
Krishnan of Brand Finance said the Tata brand’s ascent was based on two significant changes in the group itself. “With Corus, and a string of truly blue-chip brand acquisitions, the centre of gravity of the Tata group has shifted out of India—about 60% of its revenues would be out of India now. We are seeing the transformation of what was once perceived to be a rather fuddy-duddy B2B (business to business) brand into a sophisticated global conglomerate and B2C (business to consumer) brand with much more consumer-facing businesses,” he explained.
