SCHWYZ, Switzerland, June 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Trademark Comparables AG, a privately held Swiss based IP advisory company, launched its brand valuation web portal MARKABLES(R) (http://www.markables.net), a searchable database containing the results of thousands of audited trademark valuations published in the financial reportings of public companies.
Brands can be the most valuable asset of an enterprise, and the need to calculate the financial value of brands arises more and more often. MARKABLES® provides benchmarks, multiples and comparables for the valuation of brands from an easy-to-use online application. It is a unique database supporting appraisers, auditors, brand managers, analysts, investors, trademark lawyers and courts with relevant, up-to-date and accurate peer group data.
"A lot of efforts have been made to understand the drivers of brand equity, to develop methodologies for measuring brand value, and to establish valuation standards. Hundred thousands of brands are valued every year. Still, very little is known about the results of these valuations. MARKABLES® is the first of its kind tool that allows using and comparing the results of realized brand valuations with different ratios, and against other assets", said Dominique M. Hanssens, Bud Knapp Distinguished Professor of Marketing at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles and member of the advisory board of MARKABLES®. "I am convinced that MARKABLES® will make an important contribution to the understanding of how brands drive – or don't drive - enterprise value."
Currently, MARKABLES lists more than 4,500 published and audited brand valuations from all over the world, with brand values ranging from close to zero up to US$ 17 billion. The average brand value is US$ 139 million. Porsche® and IKEA® are among the most expensive brands in absolute terms. In relation to brand revenues or enterprise value, some of the most valuable brands include – among numerous others - John Middleton® cigars, Absolut® vodka, Cobra Golf®, St. Tropez® tanning and Charles Worthington® hair care.
But MARKABLES® is much more than just consumer goods brands. MARKABLES® contains relevant comparables for brand valuation exercised in virtually all industries and services, including but not limited to medical practitioners, mobile apps, cruise lines, funeral services, real estate developers, growers, colleges, or stock exchanges.
Brands and trademarks are not traded on an active market at market prices. In order not to fish in muddy waters, the trademark appraiser needs comparable data to arrive at a financial value. Until now, such comparables were limited to trademark licensing and royalty data. In a recent study published by World Trademark Review, it was found that trademark licensing data are barely comparable to trademark ownership and – if not applied with caution - can lead to a systematic overestimation of brand value. "MARKABLES® closes the gap between wildcat royalty rates and expensive, non-transparent proprietary methodologies. It provides most relevant comparables to perform brand valuations in a reliable, fast and cost-efficient way," said Dr. Christof Binder, brand licensing expert and co-founding partner of MARKABLES®.
The MARKABLES® database is updated on a regular basis and will comprise 6,000 records by the end of 2014. Access to the search engine of the database is free; online payment is required per downloaded record. A sample record for the Spanish airline brand IBERIA is attached for reference.
About Trademark Comparables AG
Trademark Comparables AG is a privately held, Swiss based company engaged in the valuation and capitalization of IP, notably brands and customer relations. Trademark Comparables AG develops valuation methods and provides input data for valuation algorithms to appraisers, auditors and investors all over the world. For more information regarding MARKABLES®, please visit http://www.markables.net.
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