Huawei Jumps to Number 72 on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands Report
Steady revenue growth, continued investment in R&D and new product innovations raise Huawei’s profile
Huawei ranked 72 on the Interbrand’s 2016 Best Global Brands report, moving up 16 spots from its ranking in 2015. This is the second consecutive year Huawei has risen on Interbrand’s list since the company became the first mainland Chinese brand to be recognized as a Best Global Brand in 2014.
According to Interbrand, “Huawei is once again a highlight in the 2016 Best Global Brands report released by Interbrand. Its brand value, approximated at USD $5,835 million, increased by 18% compared to a year ago. In Interbrand’s annual report, it is also one of the fastest rising brands in the technology sector, climbing from #88 to #72 in ranking. Huawei’s significant progress stems from the belief that customers always come first, and the persistence in providing value-driven products and services. Through its brand campaign, Huawei illustrates how innovative ICT products, services and solutions can build a better connected world. In particular, the brand is currently enjoying rising awareness in Europe, a key market for the brand’s carrier and enterprise businesses, as well as its aggressive expansion and innovations in the consumer space. This year, Huawei has launched a series of products that have raised its profile. Huawei has been a leader in China for some time, and now has begun to establish a global strategy presence.”
Huawei’s increasing brand influence is mirrored by its steady revenue growth, driven in part by the company’s consumer business. Between 2011 and 2015, Huawei achieved CAGR of 18%, with Group revenue last year of CNY 395 billion (USD $60.8 billion). Of this amount, the Huawei Consumer Business Group contributed CNY 129.1 billion (USD $19.36 billion), up 72.9% from 2014. Huawei shipped 108 million smartphones worldwide in 2015, up 44 percent year-on-year.
“Huawei wants to build a better connected world – an intelligent world with ICT as its cornerstone, particularly cloud, software-defined networks, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence,” said Kevin Zhang, President or Huawei Corporate Marketing. “A commitment to staying customer-centric and creating value for customers forms the foundation of Huawei’s brand. Huawei adheres to the principle of open collaboration and shared success, accelerating the development of an intelligent digital society.”
In its carrier business, Huawei is innovating to support telecom operators’ digital transformation across four core areas: business, operations, architecture and networks. The company is driving development of cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and IoT connectivity, which promise to reshape the role of telecom operators across numerous industries.
Huawei’s enterprise business is rapidly evolving as the company continues to develop open systems and drive collaboration with customers and partners. As a result, enterprises increasingly recognize Huawei’s innovative, industry-leading products and solutions. Huawei’s cloud computing, storage, SDN products, Safe City and Electric Power IoT solutions have been widely adopted in sectors including finance, power, transport, public security, education and media.
Huawei’s consumer business group has maintained steady global growth. Its flagship products, such as the P9, Mate 8 and Honor V8 smartphones, as well as the MateBook, Huawei’s first 2-in-1 laptop, have all seen significant adoption by consumers around the world. Huawei has become one of the top device brands in nearly 30 countries. The MateBook is now available in dozens of countries, and Huawei shipped 108 million smartphones in 2015, surpassing the 100 million benchmark for the first time. Strong growth in shipment forecasts through 2021 is also reinforcing the company’s position as a leading global smartphone brand.
“Our improved Interbrand ranking validates Huawei’s strategy of focusing on delivering groundbreaking technologies to meet our customers’ needs and desires. The Huawei brand is increasingly recognized and appreciated by consumers around the world,” said Glory Zhang, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Huawei maintains a careful balance of being a bold innovator as well as a rising challenger in the global market, and we have seen success out of our focus on R&D, product quality and customer satisfaction.”
As a leading technology company, Huawei earmarks more than 10 percent of its annual sales revenue to research and development efforts, and has established 16 research centers around the world. Among these facilities is the Huawei Aesthetics Research Center in Paris, where French luxury brands work with Huawei’s engineers to align technology with future fashion trends. Huawei’s newest R&D center is the Max Berek Innovation Lab in Wetzler, Germany, where Huawei and Leica are jointly researching technologies to improve mobile device camera and image quality. Huawei also has more than 10 open labs in China, Europe and other locations, where it works with more than 600 partners. At the same time, Huawei has launched a $1 billion USD Developer Enablement Program to support partners and application developers.
