Woolworths, Harvey Norman and David Jones have won top spots in an Asia Pacific Best Retail Brands study conducted by Interbrand.According to the 2012 Best Retail Brands report released this week, Woolworths comes in number one, Harvey Norman 3rd, Myer 4th and David Jones 5th. It’s not known how the Company measured the retailer’s performance as both David Jones and Harvey Norman are currently struggling in the Australian market. Missing from the top 10 list was JB Hi Fi.

The report claims that global clothing brands such as Uniqlo, Zara and H&M in particular are thriving in some markets particular China and expanding out from key markets such as Beijing and Shanghai to second or third tier cities. However the report states that, despite the thriving consumer conditions seen in emerging markets such as China and India, “Asian retail brands remain behind their Western peers. In fact, there is no truly Asian Retailer yet”.

In markets such as Singapore brands like H&M and Abercrombie and Fitch are preferred over local brands.
Local Chinese electronics manufacturer Sunning have benefited from growing local incomes and a rapidly expanding middle class says Interbrand.
 
Though Australian supermarket Woolworth’s might be the most valuable brand, data released January 14 by comScore shows that the most popular brands in the Asia-Pacific region, in terms of online visits, were Alibaba Corporation and local Amazon sites.

The top ten most valuable Asia Pacific brands, according to Interbrand’s Best Retail Brands of 2012 report were as follows:
01.   Woolworths (http://www.woolworths.com.au) -supermarket
02.   Uniqlo (http://www.uniqlo.com) – fashion
03.   Harvey Norman (http://www.harveynorman.com.au/) – household/electronics
04.   Myer (http://www.myer.com.au/) – fashion/household/electronics
05.   David Jones (http://www.davidjones.com.au/) – household/cosmetics/electronics
06.   Suning (http://www.cnsuning.com/) – household electronics
07.   Muji (http://www.muji.com/) – household
08.   Belle (http://www.belleintl.com) – women’s footwear
09.   Nitori (http://www.nitori.co.jp/) – household
10.   Yamada Denki (http://www.yamada-denki.jp) – household electronics