Click to enlarge.
FORTUNE — Interbrand has released its 2013 report on the Best Global Brands, and although most of the coverage Monday focused on the changing of the guard at the top of the list — with a sugar-water company, Coca-Cola (KO), ceding the No. 1 spot it held since 2000 to a technology company, Apple (AAPL) — the results were a little more nuanced than that.
There’s no question technology dominated this year’s list. Seven of the top 10 spots were taken by tech companies, and tech represented four of the five fastest rising brand values: (Facebook (+43%), Google (+34%), Apple (+28%) and Amazon (+27%).
But tech companies were also among this year’s biggest losers. Nintendo (-14%) and Dell (-10%) were down sharply and Nokia (-65%) experienced the largest decline in brand value since Interbrand began surveying the field. Yahoo! and Blackberry, both one-time leaders, fell off this year’s ranking entirely.
The other trend Interbrand noted — and perhaps the key to Apple success — is the continued strength of the so-called luxury sector, represented by Louis Vuitton (+6%), Gucci (+7%), Hermes (+23%), Cartier (+26%), Prada (+30%), Tiffany & Co. (+5%), and Burberry (+20%).
A tech company with the appeal of a luxury brand is not a bad place for Apple to be — assuming Congress doesn’t push the U.S. Government into default and trigger another recession.
“Every so often, a company changes our lives—not just with its products, but with its ethos,” said Interbrand’s Jez Frampton in Monday’s press release. “This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Apple now ranks #1. Tim Cook has assembled a solid leadership team and has kept Steve Jobs’ vision intact — a vision that has allowed Apple to deliver on its promise of innovation time and time again.”
Below: The top 25 brands. You can get the full list here.
