The force is with Disney, according to a ranking of the world’s top brands.
The US entertainment group has been named the world's most-powerful brand, pushed to the top spot by the success of last year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, parts of which were shot in Abu Dhabi.
While Apple remains the world’s most-valuable trademark – at a value of a staggering US$145.9 billion, 14 per cent more than last year – Walt Disney is the most powerful in terms of its brand alone, according to Brand Finance.
The UK-based consultancy ranked Disney’s brand to be worth more than $31.6bn, a 3 per cent increase on 2015.
“The most-powerful brand this year is Disney. It was Lego last year, which is second now, and which Disney has knocked off the top spot. This is in part because of the massive success of Star Wars,” said Robert Haigh, the marketing and communications director at Brand Finance in London. Disney agreed to buy George Lucas’s Lucasfilm for $4bn in 2012, a price Mr Haigh said was “shrewdly negotiated” and had help to boost its brand valuation.
The Star Wars franchise itself has a brand valuation of about $10bn, Brand Finance said. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on course to pass $2bn in takings worldwide.
“Although Disney doesn’t have a massive visual presence in any of the Star Wars material, it is Disney that has masterminded the creative process, with the appointment of the director and the way it has been merchandised. And therefore it has reinforced Disney’s brand,” said Mr Haigh.
Brand Finance today released its Global 500, ranked according to both their brand strength – factoring in things like advertising spend, marketing investment and brand equity – as well as their financial performance.
Disney was rated AAA+, higher than Apple. Disney is ranked the “most powerful” when the overall revenue performance of the business is discounted – and is thus a more accurate indication of the brand strength.
Apple remains the world’s most valuable brand despite the recent results in which the tech company said iPhone sales growth had dramatically slowed. “People are obviously pessimistic about Apple, but in our opinion that is very premature. If you look at their PC and laptop sales, they are holding up pretty well, and they are really bucking the trend in that segment of the market,” said Mr Haigh.
“Although we have just had the worst quarter in terms of sales growth of the iPhone, it’s a bit of a misrepresentation to focus on that figure, because the reason the growth has been so slow is because it has been so utterly phenomenal over the course of 2015. In terms of technological innovation, and commitment to the consistency of its brand, Apple has still got it in spades.”
John Brash, the chief executive of Brash Brands, which has a Dubai office, said: “One day, a purely digital brand like Google or Facebook might pass them, but Apple’s mix of brand strength and product appeal remains unbeatable – for now.”
Just four Arab firms were in the Brand Finance top 500 ranking, with Qatar Airways making an entry in the ranking this year. Emirates remains the most valuable Middle Eastern brand, with a valuation of $7.7bn – a 17 per cent increase on last year.
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
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Star rating: 2/5
NO OTHER LAND
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Results for Stage 2
Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
Overall leader: Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)
Stage winners: 1. Fernando Gaviria COL (UAE Team Emirates) 2. Elia Viviani ITA (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) 3. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
