2009 Brand Winners...as per the Fortune 500

As outlined in the Fortune 500 as well as the Interbrand Design Forum "Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands" shows that despite being in the heart of a recession and us being fed the fact consumers are scared to spend, various retailers are yielding great successes as a result of this "contracted" market. More now then ever brands must find out what drives their consumer to purchase and what they find most valuable in their shopping. Is price the main factor?? Is brand confidence important?? Is differentiation vital to brand success?? These are all questions that retailers are trying to determine when it comes to forecasting their consumers decision making. The brands that typically are at the pulse of their consumer trends continue to yield success. The brands that are flexible and can adapt to the ever changing climate are able to continue to flourish.

Walmart jumps back to No. 1 in the Fortune 500 and to no surprise. Anybody who wants to run to their local Walmart for a gallon of milk is always greeted by about 300 of their peers all seeking the attractive prices Walmart continues to provide. When it comes to sheer volume of sales, it is hard pressed to find someone who does it better then the Waltons. With everyone pinching their pennies, they turn to brands they know can provide them with the best value and the most options. Walmart's store remodeling project to reduce inventory and widen store aisles showed great promise. the massive expansion of the "great value" brand in their grocery department proved to pay huge dividends in terms of sales. Everyone is looking to purchase more store brands as opposed to the national brands. Walmart realized this and provided their customers with quality products at a fraction of the cost. National brands continued to have troubles in the fact they receive less space on Walmarts "highly sought after shelves" as well as decreased demand.

this proved to be the case with clothing retailers Abercrombie and Fitch and GAP realized just how fragile the value of a brand is when consumers do not have the high amount of disposable income. According to Interbrand Design Forum's A&F brand plummetted 82%!! that is massive and shown in their sharp decline in sales for 2009. This could be that consumers found the same quality in other brands such as American Eagle and those offered at large retailers such as Kohls (both shown increased sales in 2009). This also could be the fact the "novelty" period for A&F has come and passed and they need to "rebrand" their product to meet the changing customer climate. American Eagle is very in tune with their customer base and continue to utilize Social Media and a "rewards" program to entice their patrons into the store. As someone who receives email marketing from A&F as well as American Eagle and Aeropostale, it is obvious that organizations that just get it. This is shown in the Fortune 500 and the Interbrand report.

All retailers are under the impression that price is the main determinant as it pertains to the purchasing decision. This couldn't be more false. Now more then ever, retailers need to stay on top of what their consumers actually want from a brand. Quality product still maintains high importance. Price is important but consumers want a product they can trust. They want a product they can count on for value, not just affordability. Consumers also want a product that "gets them." This brand will understand their needs and offer products within the scope of these needs. This "custom-tailoring" of products is what increases same store sales and further catapults the convenience aspect. With superstores such as Walmart and Target, it is increasingly important to provide customers with convenience along with quality products.

Speaking of Target, what a great story 2009 provided. While their sales decreased, their profitabilty increased greatly!! Streamlining process and efficiency were vital to get Target back to its core products. Instead of adding product lines and diving into businesses in which they are not the industry leaders can lead to consumers lacking confidence in other areas of your business. Target getting back to their core products in which they are far superior to their competition has proved to increase customer loyalty and therefore allow more accurate forecasting, which in turn allows them to remain efficient.

Retailers that are willing to put in the work and hire individuals who are in turn with the customer climate will be the ones who continue to reap the benefits of the evolving market. The products that live on "reputation" alone and feel the customers will come regardless of aforementioned determining factors, will continue to see double digit brand value.