Forbes has published a new ranking of the most valuable brands in the sports industry.
The first line was occupied by the manufacturer of sportswear and footwear Nike. Analysts value the brand at $36.8 billion. Over the past two years, Nike shares have appreciated in value more than twice as fast as adidas and more than four times as fast as Under Armor.
The American cable television channel ESPN was second in the ranking of sports brands according to Forbes, with an estimate of $13.1 billion. Adidas closed the top three, which announced a partnership with Beyoncé in the spring to create a joint collection of clothes and shoes. The brand is valued at $$11.2 billion.
Reebok took 10th place in the new ranking - brand sales in 2018 decreased by 3%, but the company managed to return to profitability. Under Armor is in 7th place - the company's operating profit has decreased over the past two years by 72%. Against this background, experts note the real rise of the German brand Puma, whose shares have risen in price in the first three quarters of 2019 immediately by 60%. With a valuation of $6 billion, Puma is ranked 6th in the rankings.
Six years ago Puma was rapidly losing profits against the backdrop of significant growth in Nike and adidas. An incredible market turnaround in the growth of demand for the brand's products was due to successful collaboration campaigns with Rihanna and Usain Bolt. Over the past year, Puma stock has gained 74% against adidas' 46% and Nike's 25%. This allowed the company to enter the Forbes Fab 40 ranking for the first time, debuting immediately in 6th place.
The Forbes ranking also calculated the potential value of the most expensive athletes in the world. The most expensive was the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer - $62 million. Having earned $86 million for the year on advertising contracts, he was far ahead of Tiger Woods, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi.