Great brands not only make great investments, but eventually will outperform the market in 3 to 5 years, said Omar Saad, retail analyst at Credit Suisse. He shared his market strategies and brand plays.
“Brand is a great competitive advantage,” Saad told CNBC.
“In today’s modern industry, there are not many competitive advantages we can lean on and 'brands' is one of them."
"Brands are underestimated by the marketplace,” he added.
According to research, Saad said companies that spend at least 2 percent of their sales on marketing have outperformed the S&P 500 by 400 basis points a year since 1997.
“It's most exciting to own a brand in its emerging stage—that’s when it’s still in its entrepreneurial, rapid-growth stage—but there’s a lot more risk associated with that level,” he said.
“The 'transform and proliferate' stage—that’s when a brand company becomes really good at leveraging its brand power, simultaneously investing in the brand strength and leveraging the brand to go into new markets.”
Investors can look beyond the typical consumer space for brands, said Saad. For example, he said there’s also room for branding in sectors such as financials, health care and industrials.
Saad Likes:
Whole Foods
Coach
Goldman Sachs
Nike
Toyota
Wal-Mart
EBay
Southwest Airlines
Ralph Lauren
Under Armour
Counterpoint:
______________________________
More Market Point/Counterpoint:
______________________________
CNBC Data Pages:
______________________________
CNBC Slideshows:
______________________________
______________________________
Disclosures:
No immediate information was available for Saad or his firm.
______________________________