The brand power of Korean goods and services increased this year on the strength of companies’ effort to boost their brands despite the global economic slowdown, the state-run Korea Productivity Center said Monday.

The KPC-provided National Brand Competitiveness Index, a key indicator for the brand power of Korean goods and services, stood at 73.5 points on average, up from 72.3 points last year. The KPC surveyed a total of 232 brands in 64 industries.

“The index increase is important for companies as brand competitiveness actually affects consumers’ behavior of purchase,” said a KPC official.

In the manufacturing sector, the KPC said, Korean television makers were the most competitive brands by earning 79 points, reflecting the nation’s global dominance of premium TVs.

They were trailed by brands for large sedans and tablet, each with 77 points. Brands for gas boilers, home furniture, kimchi refrigerators, men’s wear, washing machines, smartphones and air conditioners, also had high scores.

In the service sector, brands for duty-free shops topped the NBCI ranking, followed by those for social commerce, mobile telecommunications, and overseas call.

The KPC said this year’s index showed a notable improvement of brands that ranked third as their competitiveness saw the highest increase rate from a year ago, narrowing gaps with the best and the second-best.

Regarding the index ranking by brand, Samsung TV retained No.1 title, gaining 80 points of the NBCI index.

“It is hard for TV makers to create new demand as the market is being matured. Furthermore, Chinese makers are fast trailing Korean brands, and global tech giants including Google are entering the smart TV market,” an analyst said.

“Nevertheless, Korean tech giants like Samsung and LG are maintaining top positions globally thanks to their continued efforts to improve design and quality,” he added.

Samsung Electronics is focusing its future strategy on the TV segment with quantum dot technology that produces better picture quality than traditional displays. LG Electronics is leading the display market with organic light-emitting diodes.

The brand competitiveness in the duty-free shop industry came in second thanks to its high growth generated by the increase of Chinese tourists. KPC officials said duty-free operators are continuing their investments in renovation of shops and better customer services.

The banking industry saw its sharpest fall of band power as they are struggling to overcome the protracted economic slowdown and to survive the heated competition to attract customers as the nation introduced a newly-introduced individual savings accounts or ISA, early this year.

By brand, tech giant Samsung Electronics topped in the NBCI rankings as expected. It was the only brand that has scored the 80-point barrier.

Instant noodle Shin Ramyun manufactured by Nongshim, Lotte Duty Free, rice cooker brand Cuckoo, and bakery chain brand Paris Baguette were also placed in the 2016 top 10 index list.

Others were LG TROM washer, home furniture-maker Hansem, Hyundai Motor’s luxury sedan Equus, its midsized car Sonata, and Samsung’s Galaxy tablet brand.

Notable was bakery brand Paris Baquette whose NBCI index ranking improved from 8th last year to 5th this year. Fast food chain Lotteria also became the top in its industry in terms of brand power.

The number of brands which won 70 points or more in the NBCI index sharply increased from 40 in 2004 to 215 in 2016, the KPC said. Last year, the number was 179. 

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)