Category: general

Apple, creator of the iPod, is the fastest growing brand in the world, with internet brands Google, Amazon, Yahoo! and eBay following close behind, pushing notoriously powerful brands like Coca-Cola off the list.

According to marketing consultants Vivaldi Partners and Forbes, Apple has managed to increase its brand value by 38% in the last four years — largely thanks to the ubiquity of its portable music device iPod.

Handheld email and phone device Blackberry and internet search engine Google tied in second place with 36% growth, putting websites Amazon and Yahoo! in fourth and fifth place respectively with 35% and 33%.

Power brands like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, which typically spend the most on advertising, did not even make it into the top 20.

Sports giant Nike came in 16th place while Japanese car marque Toyota, with the highest brand value of $25.8bn, came in 17th place.

The report describes the growth brands as having “outperformed their peers in their respective markets during the past four years and are likely to continue to do so into the future”.

The Next Generation of Growth Brands is based on compound annual growth rate in brand value between 2001 and 2005.

Brand Value Increase

1. Apple 38%
2. Blackberry 36%
3. Google 36%
4. Amazon 35%
5. Yahoo! 33%
6. eBay 31%
7. Red Bull 31%
8. Starbucks 24%
9. Pixar 23%
10. Coach 22%

Der US Kongress stimmte am Montag für ein Gesetz zur Strafverschärfung bei Raubkopien.
Grund sind Milliarden US Dollar Verluste durch gefälschte Bekleidung, Taschen und Accessoires.

Das Gesetz verschärft die Strafen für die, die mit gefälschten Labels oder Verpackungen handeln oder diese herstellen. Unter anderem können zukünftig Maschinen zerstört werden, die zur Herstellung von Labels oder Verpackung gefälschter Waren benutzt werden.

Ebenso sieht das Gesetz Schadensersatz für den Markeninhaber vor.

Bisher waren diese Vergehen straffrei. Das Gesetz geht nun in den Senat, wo man Zustimmung erwartet.

The House passed a bill Monday that would increase criminal counterfeit penalties at a time when bogus apparel, handbags and accessories are costing U.S. companies billions of dollars in lost sales a year.

The bill would expand penalties to those who traffic in bogus labels and packaging, and would require the forfeiture of the equipment used to make the items.

The Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, sponsored by Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R., Mich.), which was approved on a voice vote, would also require that restitution be paid to the trademark owners whose brands were counterfeited.

Under current law, trafficking in counterfeit labels or packaging is not illegal if they are not affixed to the finished counterfeit product, and if a counterfeiter is convicted, the fake products are destroyed but not the equipment used to make them, according to lawmakers.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where passage is expected.

According to a November 2004 report issued by William C. Thompson Jr., New York City comptroller, about $456 billion was spent on counterfeit goods worldwide in 2003.

Unilever verkauft weltberühmte Parfum-Marken

Der niederländisch-britische Konsumgüterkonzern Unilever verkauft für 800 Millionen US-Dollar (637 Millionen Euro) seine Abteilung für Luxusparfums an das US-Unternehmen
Coty.

Wie der Konzern am Freitag in Rotterdam mitteilte, kann der Verkaufserlös noch um weitere 100 Millionen Dollar steigen, falls sich der Absatz gut entwickelt.

Die Vereinbarung mit Coty Inc. umfasst die Parfumlizenzen für Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Vera Wang, Chloé und Lagerfeld sowie ein Produktions- und Distributionszentrum in Mount Olive im US-Bundesstaat New Jersey und ein Distributionszentrum in Lille (Frankreich). Die Beschäftigten sollen von Coty übernommen werden.

Im vorigen Jahr erreichte Unilever mit Luxusparfums weltweit einen Umsatz von mehr als 600 Millionen US-Dollar (490 Millionen Euro). Die Sparte wurde von Unilever jedoch nicht zu den
Kernaktivitäten gezählt.

Unilever sells world famous perfume brands

The Dutch-British Unilever consumer product group sells its division of luxurious perfumes for US$ 800 Million or 637 Million Euros to the American Coty.

According to Unilever, the price can increase by 100 Million US Dollars, if perfume sales will go up.

The agreement with Coty includes brand licenses like Calvin Klein, Cerruti, Vera Wang, Chloé and Lagerfeld.

Coty also takes over production- and distributions facilities in Mount Olive, New Jersey, a distribution center in Lille (France) and all employees.

Last year, global sales of luxurious perfumes at Unilever reached more than US$600 Million (490 Million Euro). The division was not considered to be inline with the core activities of Unilever.