Four Italians among the world's 100 most famous brands

The 2005 classification drawn up by Interbrand in cooperation with Business Week of the 100 companies, which represent the brands with the highest value worldwide, has been recently published.

It includes four Italian companies, one more than last year: the new entry, in 94th position, is Bulgari, Prada is number 93, and Armani has stayed at number 95. Once again, the first place for the most famous Italians goes to Gucci at number 49.

'it's no coincidence that these names belong to the fashion and luxury sector', Manfredi Ricca, director of Interbrand Italy, explained, 'a true to life account of the competitive situation in our country. Traditionally strong in this segment, but with troubles in the highly-technological sectors. We're also dealing with a financial market that slows up the establishment of our companies as high-value international brands'.

Still at first place in the classification is Coca-Cola, followed by Microsoft (with a 2% downturn in value), IBM, General Electrics and Intel (+6%). Disney and McDonald's have been overtaken by Nokia which has moved up from number 8 to number 6 and has increased its value by 10%.

(Source: Corriere della Sera)