2 September, 2021 – Clicks has been voted the Top Brand for Convenience in the annual Kantar BrandZ Top 30 Most Valuable South African brands survey. The retail pharmacy chain increased its brand value 10% in the past year to US$449 million which saw it move up two places to No. 22.
The BrandZ ranking is an annual survey conducted by Kantar, a leading data, insights and consulting company which is widely regarded as the most definitive study of brand value, quantifying the contribution of brands to business’ financial performance.
Clicks was also voted one of the three most value-driven brands in the country, providing South Africans with excellent value in a challenging economic climate. However, as Ivan Moroke, CEO of Kantar South Africa, points out, value is about more than a price point.
“We can expect consumers to respond to our new economic reality with ever-increasing value sensitivity. However, money is not the only currency in the value equation,” he says, adding that solving the value equation requires a more nuanced approach than winning a race to the bottom on price. Part of that includes understanding that money is not the only currency, with South Africans increasingly valuing things like trust and convenience.
Clicks is South Africa’s largest retail pharmacy chain with a national footprint of 777 stores situated throughout the country. Providing customers with convenient access to affordable healthcare has long been a key focus of the group, reports Clicks Managing Executive Vikash Singh.
“Currently, 51% of South Africans live within five kilometres of a Clicks store and within six kilometres of a Clicks pharmacy. Long-term we plan to expand this footprint even further with a pharmacy operating in every store.”
For the first time this year Kantar included new brand structures analysis to identify the drivers behind building a meaningfully different and salient brand. This revealed four brand-building fundamentals that drive consumer demand. They include offering superior experiences across all branded touchpoints; creating a range of well-designed products and services; convenience and ensuring that this fits well into consumers’ everyday lives; and cutting through with advertising which features memorable icons and message.
Kantar’s report found that they key drivers for growing brands in South Africa have been meaning, value and difference.
Singh attributes Clicks’ growth in brand value to its continued focus on convenience, coupled with a customer-centric approach, ‘3 for 2’ promotions and ‘you pay less’ promise.
Clicks is currently the largest private Covid-19 vaccine provider in South Africa with more 300 registered vaccination sites situated throughout the country, with the capability of 600 000 per month once all its sites are registered. The group recently introduced a new online portal allowing customers to conveniently book for their Covid-19 vaccines and to help reduce queues and waiting times.
“As a group we have a long heritage premised on being a value retailer,” says Singh. “We’re proud to have stayed true to this heritage and adapted our business to provide great value to cash-strapped consumers. A key element of our value offering is through our loyalty programme, Clicks ClubCard, which remains a big driver of growth by providing customers with convenient and easily accessible cashback rewards.”
Moroke says that Kantar BrandZ data has proved that those brands that continue to invest in building a strong brand are the ones that grow faster. “Building brand equity by getting the four identified fundamentals of exposure, function, convenience and experience right is imperative, much like this year’s special award winners – which includes Clicks – which are all brands with high-performing scores against these critical factors that underpin brand value.”
Singh says winning the Top Brand for Convenience accolade and being rated as one of the three most value-driven brands in the country at a time when customers are under more pressure than ever is an honour and a privilege. “We could not be more delighted with this result,” he concludes.
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Issued by Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants on behalf of Clicks Group
For further information kindly contact
Susann Caminada
Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants
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