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The Hardest Working Brands for 2009: The Year Of The Dog
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A look at the “hardest working” major brands for 2009 shows that a number of them belong to companies which have done poorly and, in at least one case, may file Chapter 11. This is due to the definition of a hard-working brand, which is based on the ratio of its value to the market capitalization of its parent company.
CoreBrand reviewed the top 100 hardest working brands for the final quarter of 2009. Their researchers point out that “the food industry moves to the top of the list, reflecting the economy and the general improvement of consumer staples businesses. Hershey’s (HSY), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K) make it into the top 5.” On the other hand “troubled industries like financial services and auto manufacturers have seen dramatic decline.”
Harley-Davidson (HOG) is in the top 10 among the hardest working brands. Before rumors of a buy-out, the motorcycle firm’s stock languished at $25, down from $42 less than two years ago. Harley’s stock trades for a low 1.2 times sales. Also near the top of the list is crippled book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS), which trades for .3 times sales. Blockbuster (BBI) is in the top 25, with a ratio of .1x sales. The firm said in its 10-K that it is at risk for filing Chapter 11.
| Company | Brand Equity % of Market Cap Rank | Brand Equity $ Value Rank | Ticker Symbol | Industry |
| Hershey Company, The | 1 | 102 | HSY | Food |
| Coca-Cola Company, The | 2 | 9 | KO | Beverages |
| Harley-Davidson Inc. | 3 | 126 | HOG | Hotel & Entertainment |
| Campbell Soup Company | 4 | 85 | CPB | Food |
| Kellogg Company | 5 | 64 | K | Food |
| Colgate-Palmolive Company | 6 | 33 | CL | Toiletries, Cosmetics |
| American Express Company | 7 | 31 | AXP | Diversified Financial |
| Barnes & Noble Inc. | 8 | 230 | BKS | Retailers |
| FedEx Corporation | 9 | 52 | FDX | Transportation |
| UPS – United Parcel Service Inc. | 10 | 29 | UPS | Transportation |
| MasterCard Inc. | 11 | 47 | MA | Diversified Financial |
| Starbucks Corporation | 12 | 76 | SBUX | Restaurants |
| Johnson & Johnson | 13 | 4 | JNJ | Medical Supplies & Services |
| Visa Inc. | 14 | 22 | V | Diversified Financial |
| CBS Corporation | 15 | 104 | CBS | Hotel & Entertainment |
| Mattel Inc. | 16 | 114 | MAT | Hotel & Entertainment |
| Del Monte Foods Company | 17 | 185 | DLM | Food |
| General Mills Inc. | 18 | 60 | GIS | Food |
| Wendy’s Arby’s Group Inc. | 19 | 189 | WEN | Restaurants |
| Walt Disney Company, The | 20 | 30 | DIS | Hotel & Entertainment |
| Black & Decker Corporation | 21 | 151 | BDK | Industrial Equipment |
| Estée Lauder Companies Inc, The | 22 | 96 | EL | Toiletries, Cosmetics |
| Blockbuster Inc. | 23 | 338 | BBI | Retailers |
| McDonald’s Corporation | 24 | 24 | MCD | Restaurants |
| Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. | 25 | 100 | BBBY | Retailers |
| Lowe’s Companies Inc. | 26 | 45 | LOW | Retailers |
| Honda Motor Company Ltd. | 27 | 28 | HMC | Motor Vehicles |
| Target Corporation | 28 | 38 | TGT | Retailers |
| Sony Corporation | 29 | 42 | SNE | Electronics, Electrical Equip. |
| PepsiCo Inc. | 30 | 17 | PEP | Beverages |
| American Greetings Corporation | 31 | 262 | AM | Packaging |
| Liz Claiborne Inc. | 32 | 284 | LIZ | Apparel, Shoes |
| Kodak – Eastman Kodak Company | 33 | 211 | EK | Precision Instruments |
| Gap Inc., The | 34 | 87 | GPS | Retailers |
| YRC Worldwide Inc. | 35 | 69 | YRCW | Internet |
| Nike Inc. | 36 | 50 | NKE | Apparel, Shoes |
| La-Z-Boy Inc. | 37 | 285 | LZB | Furniture/Home Furn. |
| Avon Products Inc. | 38 | 93 | AVP | Toiletries, Cosmetics |
| New York Times Company, The | 39 | 209 | NYT | Publishing |
| Sara Lee Corporation | 40 | 111 | SLE | Food |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 41 | 12 | TM | Motor Vehicles |
| Home Depot Inc., The | 42 | 32 | HD | Retailers |
| Whirlpool Corporation | 43 | 136 | WHR | Industrial Equipment |
| GE – General Electric Company | 44 | 5 | GE | Diversified Industrials |
| Xerox Corporation | 45 | 118 | XRX | Office Equipment |
| Wal-Mart Stores Inc. | 46 | 3 | WMT | Retailers |
| Microsoft Corporation | 47 | 2 | MSFT | Computer Software |
| Western Union | 48 | 99 | WU | Diversified Financial |
| J. C. Penney Company Inc. | 49 | 135 | JCP | Retailers |
| Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation | 50 | 116 | RL | Apparel, Shoes |
| Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The | 51 | 170 | GT | Auto Parts |
| Boeing Company, The | 52 | 37 | BA | Aerospace/Defense |
| Charles Schwab Corporation, The | 53 | 73 | SCHW | Brokerage |
| IBM – International Business Machines Corporation | 54 | 8 | IBM | Computers, Peripherals |
| Sherwin-Williams Company, The | 55 | 121 | SHW | Chemicals |
| Marriott International Inc. | 56 | 108 | MAR | Hotel & Entertainment |
| Ford Motor Company | 57 | 43 | F | Motor Vehicles |
| Kraft Foods Inc. | 58 | 36 | KFT | Food |
| Nissan Motor Company Ltd. | 59 | 48 | NSANY | Motor Vehicles |
| AT&T Inc. | 60 | 11 | T | Telecommunication Services |
| Apple Inc. | 61 | 7 | AAPL | Computers, Peripherals |
| Procter & Gamble Company, The | 62 | 6 | PG | Toiletries, Cosmetics |
| H&R Block Inc. | 63 | 128 | HRB | Diversified Financial |
| Dell Inc. | 64 | 62 | DELL | Computers, Peripherals |
| FujiFilm Holdings Corporation | 65 | 84 | FUJIY | Electronics, Electrical Equip. |
| Kohl’s Corporation | 66 | 88 | KSS | Retailers |
| Verizon Communications Inc. | 67 | 23 | VZ | Telecommunication Services |
| Sunoco Inc. | 68 | 180 | SUN | Petroleum Refining |
| Allstate Corporation, The | 69 | 86 | ALL | Insurance |
| Motorola Inc. | 70 | 90 | MOT | Telecommunications Equipment |
| Walgreen Company | 71 | 51 | WAG | Pharmacy Serv. |
| DuPont – E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company | 72 | 53 | DD | Chemicals |
| Pitney Bowes Inc. | 73 | 156 | PBI | Office Equipment |
| Staples Inc. | 74 | 82 | SPLS | Office Equipment |
| H. J. Heinz Company | 75 | 95 | HNZ | Food |
| Office Depot Inc. | 76 | 228 | ODP | Office Equipment |
| Rite Aid Corporation | 77 | 240 | RAD | Pharmacy Serv. |
| Google Inc. | 78 | 10 | GOOG | Internet |
| Exxon Mobil Corporation | 79 | 1 | XOM | Petroleum Refining |
| Hormel Foods Corporation | 80 | 150 | HRL | Food |
| DirecTV Group | 81 | 56 | DTV | Cable TV |
| Loews Corporation | 82 | 92 | L | Diversified Financial |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb Company | 83 | 34 | BMY | Pharmaceuticals |
| eBay Inc. | 84 | 57 | EBAY | Internet |
| Tyson Foods Inc. | 85 | 148 | TSN | Food |
| OfficeMax Inc. | 86 | 245 | OMX | Office Equipment |
| Sears Holdings | 87 | 107 | SHLD | Retailers |
| CVS Caremark Corporation | 88 | 41 | CVS | Pharmacy Serv. |
| Morgan Stanley | 89 | 49 | MS | Brokerage |
| Philip Morris International Inc. | 90 | 25 | PM | Tobacco |
| Canon Inc. | 91 | 35 | CAJ | Electronics, Electrical Equip. |
| Tiffany & Company | 92 | 158 | TIF | Retailers |
| Papa John’s International Inc. | 93 | 282 | PZZA | Restaurants |
| Honeywell International Inc. | 94 | 63 | HON | Diversified Industrials |
| Panasonic Corporation | 95 | 55 | PC | Electronics, Electrical Equip. |
| Capital One Financial Corporation | 96 | 91 | COF | Diversified Financial |
| Chevron Corporation | 97 | 14 | CVX | Petroleum Refining |
| Sprint Nextel Corporation | 98 | 113 | S | Telecommunication Services |
| Delta Air Lines Inc. | 99 | 119 | DAL | Transportation |
| Continental Airlines Inc. | 100 | 202 | CAL | Transportation |
| Aetna Inc. | 101 | 103 | AET | Medical Supplies & Services |
| Texas Instruments Inc. | 102 | 67 | TXN | Semiconductors |
Douglas A. McIntyre [email protected]
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