As a mature, blue-chip ASX 200 share, Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is one of the most widely held stocks in Australia. No one can question Woolworths' dominance of the grocery sector and its presence in the everyday lives of most Australians.
So if you are one of Woolworths' numerous shareholders, you might be delighted with some recent news about the company.
Regular readers here at The Motley Fool might have spotted a fantastic piece by my colleague Bernd last week, concerning another blue chip Australian stock.
That stock is Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN). As we covered at the time, the 2023 brand ranking report from Brand Finance Australia found that Qantas is now the 41st strongest brand in Australia. That's down from 1st place back in 2019.
However, the company that defended its pole position among the most valuable brands in Australia in 2023? It was none other than Woolworths.
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Own Woolworths shares? You own a $15 billion brand
Brand Finance found that the Woolworths brand was worth $15.4 billion, albeit 5% lower than where it was valued last year. Not bad for a company with a market capitalisation of $43.57 billion.
Following Woolworths was Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), with a brand value of $13 billion (down 1%) year on year). Then there was Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). CBA's brand value stood at $10.6 billion (down 7%).
Woolies' arch-rival Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) came in at fourth place. That was with a brand value of $9.8 billion. In some potential schadenfreude for Woolies shareholders, the value of Coles' brand fell by a far more drastic 9% from where it was in 2022.
Brand Finance noted that the retail sector (which the report lists Woolworths shares under) was "severely affected by inflation in 2023 which led to a reduced growth rate".
It also addressed Woolworths directly:
…while the Australian economy managed to avoid a recession in 2023, the retail sector faced other challenges. For instance, real retail spending experienced a decline for three consecutive quarters due to consumers tightening their discretionary purchases amid rising living costs. This impacted brands such as Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings.
Bunnings is of course owned by Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).
So Woolworths shareholders certainly have something to feel good about today. It's quite the feather in the cap to own the most valuable brand in Australia.
