Brand Finance has released the country report for South Africa’s top 100 brands. It ranks MTN as the country’s top brand and Vodacom at number two, as per the 2021 ranking.



In third place is Standard Bank, up from #4 in 2021, which pushes FNB down from #3 in 2021. Absa retains its fifth spot. MultiChoice moves up from #10 in 2021 to #6 in 2022, and Woolworths moves into seventh place (up from twelfth in 2021). Shoprite is ranked #8 (previously #11), Nedbank is #9 (previously #7) and Mondi moves down from #9 in 2021 to #10 in 2022.

The ratings for 2021 and 2022 are also shown. FNB went from AAA to AAA+ and Woolworths from AA+ to AAA+. MTN went from AAA- to AAA. Vodacom is also AAA. Shoprite went from AA to AAA-, while Standard Bank and Nedbank are both unchanged at AAA-. Multichoice is up from A+ to AA+ and Absa remains at AA+. Mondi went from A+ to AA.

Banking dominated the listing (19.83%), followed by Telecoms (17.28%) and Retail (15.12%). The single-digit sectors were: Insurance – 9.49%; Mining – 7.01%; Chemicals – 4.53%; Media – 3.80%; Oil & Gas – 3.42%; Beers – 3.28%. The “Other” category provided 18.45% of the rankings
The aggregate value of the top 50 South African brands grew 15% in post-Covid-19 rebound, while the top 100 grew by 17%. The top 50 brands are up from R452 billion in 2021 to R519 billion in 2022, while the top 100 are up from R488 billion in 2021 to R570 billion in 2022.

Checkers is the fastest growing brand, “up 71% to R11.1 billion”, and Woolworths and Shoprite are also growing quickly. The strongest brand is Capitec Bank.

The “booming demand for commodities” is also seen in the ranking, with: Northam Platinum (R8.1 billion) moving into #23; Anglo American Platinum at #34 (R5 billion); Implats at #36 (R4.7 billion). AngloGold Ashanti #39 (R4.1 billion); Kumba Iron Ore at #40 (R3.9 billion); Gold Fields (R3.2 billion) at number 43.

Last month, we reported on the Top Brands in the world, as per the annual Brand Finance report. The US dominates the top rankings, followed by China, then Germany, Japan, France, the UK and South Korea, which are all much further behind. There is no South African brand in the world top 10 list.