H&M revealed as Europe's top retail brand - study

BARCELONA, April 11 (Reuters) - Swedish fashion chain Hennes
& Mauritz (HMb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) has emerged as the top performing European
retail brand with a value of 10.4 billion euros ($16.45
billion), according to research by brand consultancy Interbrand.

Other top performers in Interbrand's ranking of Europe's 25
most valuable brands are French supermarket group Carrefour
(CARR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), global furniture retailer Ikea, and British retailing
leaders Tesco (TSCO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

Valuing brands, a murky science involving tracking both
financial strength and customer reaction, has become a key
indicator for companies, with research showing highly rated
brands may often outperform in stock market indices.

Interbrand, publishing its first ranking of retail brands at
at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, gave findings that
showed the top retailers -- like H&M and Ikea -- generated value
for their brands by investing in and exploiting their own label.
Three of the top five retailers sold only own label goods.

Tesco was a leading example of being savvy at expanding
brand to new categories, having gone from offering groceries
under its label to mobile phones, furniture and credit cards.

International expansion proved to be more successful when
the brand was a key driver of the business' growth, Interbrand
found.

A strong brand acted as a "passport to create customer
demand" in new markets that could help overcome operational
obstacles faced by lesser or unknown brands.

Being nimble with format and responding to customer demand
for sustainability or evidence of corporate good citizenship
also proved to be a winning combination for Europe's top brands.

The top 10 brand rankings are as follows, with brand value
referring to billions of euros. The full results are available
at www.interbrand.com

Company Country Brand Value

H&M Sweden 10.4

Carrefour France 6.6

Ikea Sweden 6.5

Tesco UK 5.6

M&S UK 5.1

Zara Spain 6.1

Aldi Germany 2.6

Boots UK 2.0

El Cortes Ingles Spain 1.93

Auchan France 1.86

(Editing by Rory Channing)