Bling is still king on the high street

The thirst for bling, designer handbags and the latest gadgets is showing no sign of waning as consumers ditch household favourites for top end luxury brands.

According to the latest league table from BrandFinance Global 500, the value of luxury goods brands has rocketed this year with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Ralph Lauren increasing their brand values by up to 24 per cent, while supermarket brands such as Sainsbury’s and Asda have seen their brand value fall.

The supermarkets woes are in stark contrast to the growth in upmarket brands – luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co made the Global 500 for the first time with a brand value of $2.9bn while purveyor of luxury cars - Rolls-Royce – saw a 17 per cent increase in the value of the brand. Luxury goods houses Prada and Coach re-entered the top 500 this year and Christian Dior and Burberry join Tiffany as newcomers.

David Haigh, the chief executive of Brand Finance, said: “The rise to prominence of luxury and lifestyle brands in this year’s report is impressive. Whilst the world remains shrouded in economic misery, people are investing their hard earned cash in brands they rely on to produce quality and long lasting products.”

As well as luxury goods, the techonology sector is the strongest contender in the brand stakes with 49 technology companies making the top 500 and Apple crowned king – it is ranked as the world’s most valuable brand at $70.6bn.