When it comes to luxury brands the whole world drools over, Louis Vuitton is tops

By Dian Vujovich

Whether you’re buying or not, a stroll along Worth Avenue and into any of it many via’s takes you by shops representing the world’s most successful and recognizable luxury brand names. So if buying status is high on your to-do list, here’s the perfect list for you.

With salaries higher for many last year over the previous one— CEO’s on average enjoyed a pleasant pop—it ought to come as no surprise that there’s been plenty of buying going on at luxury retailers like Louis Vuitton.

According to the seventh annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands, that leather luxury retailer is the world’s most valuable luxury brand. The value of Louis Vuitton’s products increased seven percent last year while luxury brand sales overall increased 15 percent.

Unlike other studies and surveys, BrandZ also considers what people think about the brand along with financial info etc., when doing its research.

One of the many things the Louis Vuitton brand has going for it is that the company is not about to discount its goods even during times of recession.

“It (Louis Vuitton) has not fallen into the trap of other brands, which is to overextend in order to gain share when things are not going so well,” said Mario Simon, managing director at Millward Brown Optimor, New York, the group that conducted the study. “It is one of the few that has weathered the storm pretty well and has done well in terms of availability and is still considered an asset.”

With that in mind, here in order of ranking are the top 10 luxury brands named in that study: Louis Vuitton; Hermes; Rolex; Chanel; Gucci; Prada; Cartier; Hennessy; Moet & Chardon; and Burberry.

Happy shopping!