Louis Vuitton is synonymous with luxury: $500 belts, $1,440 quilted vests, $555 cufflinks. Any brand with productsworth that much must be valuable, right?Then there's Nike, which is synonymous with what? Certainly not Kanye! Nike apparel is the stuff you sweat in, the stuff that gets torn up from intense workouts. Even when approached as fashionable streetwear—as it often is—Nike's highest-end stuff is priced relativelyaccessibly (even if it can be maddening trying to score the latest Jordan drop).It's apparel for literally everyone—worn by superstar athletes, school kids, blue-collar workers, professional skateboarders, probably evenyou at this very moment.
So:two very different brands, both demonstrably valuable. But onForbes's latest list of world's most valuable brands, Nike nowrankshigher than Louis Vuitton. Nike, the list's highest ranking for anapparel or luxury brand, comes in at 18—valued at $27.5 billion with $30 billion in revenue. Comparatively,Louis Vuitton lands at No. 19 with a value of $27.3 billion and $10 billion in revenue.Last year, Louis Vuitton ranked at 10, with Nike still at 18. Within that time, Louis Vuitton's value dropped from an estimated $28.1 billion in 2015 to the current level (which might have something to do with disappointing sales recently).
"The most valuable brands are ones that generate significant earnings in industries where branding plays a major role," according to Forbes. Both Nike and Louis Vuitton fit the bill, but this year, Nike slid into the top spot.
What's interestingis that despite a growth in international markets and an estimated revenue of $15.3 billion, Adidas still came in at No. 90 on the list. Within the last few years, Adidas has made strides toward catching up to Nike, thanks to an incredibly successful branding strategy. Uniqlo, which is still most powerful in its home base ofJapan, lands at No. 91 on the list.
For now, Nike is the king of apparel. No wonder LeBron James is willing to kiss his signature sneakers.
Culture Editor
Matt Miller is a Brooklyn-based culture/lifestyle writer and music critic whose work has appeared in Esquire, Forbes, The Denver Post, and documentaries.
