Resesi menurunkan nilai beberapa merek dagang terkemuka dunia, kata laporan mutakhir. Laporan tersebut menyimpulkan, sebagian produsen mobil dan barang mewah sangat terpukul akibat kelesuan ekonomi.

Dengar ceritanya

It's hard to put a financial value on a well-known corporate name but every year the marketing consultancy Interbrand has a go. For example, it claims the world's top brand Coca-Cola is currently worth $68bn, a couple of billion dollars less than 12 months earlier.

Its latest survey suggests the recession has had a considerable impact on the corporate pecking order. Car companies, such as BMW and Toyota, along with Harley Davidson motorcycles, have seen above average declines in the value of their brands - as have some luxury firms, like watchmakers Cartier and Rolex, and Armani clothing. The lesson seems to be consumers don't value expensive things they don't actually need to buy so much when times are hard.

Meanwhile, firms associated with relatively cheap products - McDonalds fast food and Kellogg's cornflakes, for example - have seen the value of their brands rise relative to others in the recession. The Google brand has also done well - maybe that's because more people are bargain-hunting on the internet.

According to the survey, the world's five most valuable brands are Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, General Electric and Nokia, unchanged from last year.

Mark Gregory, BBC News

Dengar kata-katanya

to put a financial value on
menaksir nilai sesuatu

has a go
mencoba

top brand
produsen atau pembuat paling berhasil (brand adalah nama merek dagang brand yang menjadi pengenal produk suatu produsen)

has had a considerable impact on the corporate pecking order
menimbulkan dampak berarti pada atau sangat mempengaruhi peringkat perusahaan

have seen above average declines
terkena dampak penurunan di atas tingkat rata-rata yang biasa terjadi

luxury firms
perusahaan-perusahaan yang memproduksi barang-barang mewah, barang mahal yang tidak diperlukan tapi diminati, seperti perhiasan

the lesson seems to be
kesimpulan yang mungkin adalah

associated with
yang diasosiasikan atau dikait-kaitan dengan produsen

bargain-hunting
mencari produk/jasa dengan harga lebih murah