Tata Group, India’s top brand, may face turbulence ahead
The Tata Group has once again been ranked as India's top brand by Brand Finance. But it faces headwinds
- Aug 2, 2025,
- Updated Aug 4, 2025 10:34 AM IST
The Tata Group has been ranked as India’s top brand in terms of valuation by the UK-based consultancy Brand Finance for the 15th year in a row. This makes it seem like a routine development. Yet, there are some factors that make it worth a deeper look.
The group faced a big setback after a London-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad crashed in June, resulting in the deaths of 260 people. Incidentally, the Brand Finance report was finalised before the crash. Its impact on the brand’s valuation will be known next year.
Otherwise, too, the going has not been too good for the salt-to-software conglomerate, lately. Sentiment has been muted because of the underperformance of flagship companies, such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors, and Tata Steel, over the past few quarters. The consolidated revenue growth of the group’s 25 listed companies decelerated to 4%, the slowest in four years, and net profit decreased 0.1% to Rs 90,547 crore in FY25 over the previous year.
The group’s digital business, primarily the super-app Tata Neu, has faced hurdles in scaling up.
Yet, brand Tata is going strong. Per the Brand Finance report, the group has not only retained its numero uno status in India’s crowded and fast-growing brand universe, but its brand value has grown 10% to $31.6 billion. With that, it has also broken into the club of global brands valued above $30 billion.
“There are only about 50-odd brands globally that have crossed $30 billion in brand value,” says Ajimon Francis, Managing Director, Brand Finance India. “Brand Tata crossing this threshold, therefore, is a significant achievement,” he adds.
To be sure, brand valuation is not the best indicator of a business’ financial health, but it’s a strong marker of the business’ inherent strength.
“The omnipresence of brand Tata in the consumption universe of Indians cutting across socio-economic segments, does foster a sense of familiarity. That, in turn, lends to a greater top of mind recall, which is a key attribute of any strong brand,” says Santosh Desai, Managing Director and CEO of brand and consumer consultancy Future Brands. “Yet, familiarity and recall are not enough to grow brand’s valuation year after year, and that’s where brand Tata stands out,” he points out.
Third, the inclusion among the world’s top 60 most valuable brands comes at a time when Ratan Tata, under whose stewardship the group first became India’s most valued brand, is not around.
“Reaching the top is not as difficult as is staying on the top,” says Harish Bijoor, Founder of business and brand strategy consulting firm Harish Bijoor Consults.
Ratan Tata’s Legacy
The contemporary recall of brand Tata is largely attributed to Ratan Tata. After taking over the reins in 1991, he orchestrated a large-scale transformation of the group into a global force, especially with his audacious bets such as the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover and Corus Steel.
“He was known for his personal integrity and philanthropy besides the strategic clarity with which he not only consolidated what he had inherited but made strides into many new sectors that kept the group relevant and the brand Tata resonant with changing times,” says Richard Rekhy, Vice Chairman, Grant Thornton Bharat.
Chandra’s Touch
Since taking over the reins of Tata Sons in 2017, Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has galvanised the group by consolidating operations, cutting down the debt pile, boosting cash flows, and positioning it for tech led growth. “The group has aggressively ventured into futuristic domains such as semiconductors, advanced electronics manufacturing, and the consumer internet space,” says Francis.
Some in the industry, however, feel that he lacks the Rata Tata touch. “Chandrasekaran is an extremely competent professional, and he’s, indeed, turned around Tata Group’s fortunes with his One-Tata strategy, yet he is like any other CEO you might find in the Ambani, Adani or Jindal group,” says Rekhy.
The verdict on Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata seems more unanimous. Desai, Rekhy and Bijoor agree that his leadership has ensured that the group remains committed to its founding principles.
All is (not) well
The group is facing some headwinds. The underwhelming performance of flagship businesses may be blamed on the unstable world order, but there are some challenges that are unique to Tata Sons.
After a spectacular transformation, Tata Motors needs to be steered in the right direction again. Likewise, TCS needs a fix and the group’s digital ambitions need better execution. The biggest challenge, according to Rekhy, is Air India, which will need cautious strategy and big investments to recover from the crash. “Of course, it may impact brand Tata depending upon the outcome of the investigations, and how the crisis is handled,” he adds.
Brand Finance’s Francis, however, feels the manner in which Team Tata has acted “quickly and transparently will help it bounce back faster and it may even restore the parent brand’s equity.”
Meanwhile, Brand Finance’s global list of most valued brands brings home a humbling reality. It is dominated by US-based tech companies led by Apple with a staggering brand value of $574.5 billion. In other words, the valuation of the world’s top brands is nearly 18 times more than India’s top brand.
The Tata Group has been ranked as India’s top brand in terms of valuation by the UK-based consultancy Brand Finance for the 15th year in a row. This makes it seem like a routine development. Yet, there are some factors that make it worth a deeper look.
The group faced a big setback after a London-bound Air India flight from Ahmedabad crashed in June, resulting in the deaths of 260 people. Incidentally, the Brand Finance report was finalised before the crash. Its impact on the brand’s valuation will be known next year.
Otherwise, too, the going has not been too good for the salt-to-software conglomerate, lately. Sentiment has been muted because of the underperformance of flagship companies, such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors, and Tata Steel, over the past few quarters. The consolidated revenue growth of the group’s 25 listed companies decelerated to 4%, the slowest in four years, and net profit decreased 0.1% to Rs 90,547 crore in FY25 over the previous year.
The group’s digital business, primarily the super-app Tata Neu, has faced hurdles in scaling up.
Yet, brand Tata is going strong. Per the Brand Finance report, the group has not only retained its numero uno status in India’s crowded and fast-growing brand universe, but its brand value has grown 10% to $31.6 billion. With that, it has also broken into the club of global brands valued above $30 billion.
“There are only about 50-odd brands globally that have crossed $30 billion in brand value,” says Ajimon Francis, Managing Director, Brand Finance India. “Brand Tata crossing this threshold, therefore, is a significant achievement,” he adds.
To be sure, brand valuation is not the best indicator of a business’ financial health, but it’s a strong marker of the business’ inherent strength.
“The omnipresence of brand Tata in the consumption universe of Indians cutting across socio-economic segments, does foster a sense of familiarity. That, in turn, lends to a greater top of mind recall, which is a key attribute of any strong brand,” says Santosh Desai, Managing Director and CEO of brand and consumer consultancy Future Brands. “Yet, familiarity and recall are not enough to grow brand’s valuation year after year, and that’s where brand Tata stands out,” he points out.
Third, the inclusion among the world’s top 60 most valuable brands comes at a time when Ratan Tata, under whose stewardship the group first became India’s most valued brand, is not around.
“Reaching the top is not as difficult as is staying on the top,” says Harish Bijoor, Founder of business and brand strategy consulting firm Harish Bijoor Consults.
Ratan Tata’s Legacy
The contemporary recall of brand Tata is largely attributed to Ratan Tata. After taking over the reins in 1991, he orchestrated a large-scale transformation of the group into a global force, especially with his audacious bets such as the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover and Corus Steel.
“He was known for his personal integrity and philanthropy besides the strategic clarity with which he not only consolidated what he had inherited but made strides into many new sectors that kept the group relevant and the brand Tata resonant with changing times,” says Richard Rekhy, Vice Chairman, Grant Thornton Bharat.
Chandra’s Touch
Since taking over the reins of Tata Sons in 2017, Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has galvanised the group by consolidating operations, cutting down the debt pile, boosting cash flows, and positioning it for tech led growth. “The group has aggressively ventured into futuristic domains such as semiconductors, advanced electronics manufacturing, and the consumer internet space,” says Francis.
Some in the industry, however, feel that he lacks the Rata Tata touch. “Chandrasekaran is an extremely competent professional, and he’s, indeed, turned around Tata Group’s fortunes with his One-Tata strategy, yet he is like any other CEO you might find in the Ambani, Adani or Jindal group,” says Rekhy.
The verdict on Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata seems more unanimous. Desai, Rekhy and Bijoor agree that his leadership has ensured that the group remains committed to its founding principles.
All is (not) well
The group is facing some headwinds. The underwhelming performance of flagship businesses may be blamed on the unstable world order, but there are some challenges that are unique to Tata Sons.
After a spectacular transformation, Tata Motors needs to be steered in the right direction again. Likewise, TCS needs a fix and the group’s digital ambitions need better execution. The biggest challenge, according to Rekhy, is Air India, which will need cautious strategy and big investments to recover from the crash. “Of course, it may impact brand Tata depending upon the outcome of the investigations, and how the crisis is handled,” he adds.
Brand Finance’s Francis, however, feels the manner in which Team Tata has acted “quickly and transparently will help it bounce back faster and it may even restore the parent brand’s equity.”
Meanwhile, Brand Finance’s global list of most valued brands brings home a humbling reality. It is dominated by US-based tech companies led by Apple with a staggering brand value of $574.5 billion. In other words, the valuation of the world’s top brands is nearly 18 times more than India’s top brand.