The story of Apple has to be one of the most interesting stories in American business history.
Not too long ago, Apple was a dying brand, another casualty of the Microsoft empire, a complete and utter lost cause.
Then someone named Steve Jobs came back to the house he initially built, and took Apple from certain death, to profitability, to desirability, all the way to the world’s most valuable brand.
While it’s not surprising that Apple is 2011’s most valuable brand given its recent success, when you look at the big picture, it’s an incredible accomplishment…
Here’s what the Brandz Sixth Annual Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report had to say about Cupertino’s finest:
The brand increased in value by 84 percent to $153.3 billion. Apple’s rise came as the value of the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands appreciated by 17 percent to $2.4 trillion, driven by year-on-year growth in all 13 product sectors studied.
What makes this even better for Apple is looking at who came in at the number 2 spot. Since their relationship with Google has, to put it lightly, “cooled off,” Apple is no doubt enjoying this revelation.
One thing to note is that compared to the majority of the companies on the list, Apple is relatively small when taking into account their product line. I think we’ll see more companies beginning to take on this philosophy of “less is more,” as they try to imitate Apple’s efficient and streamlined business model.
Needless to say, next year’s report should be an interesting one.
Want to see the full report for yourself? You can view the PDF here.
What do you think about Apple’s accomplishments? Are you amazed, or do you think it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be?