Kantar’s BrandZ Most Valuable South African Brands 2024 Report reveals that the overall value of South Africa’s Top 30 brands declined 6% this year due to difficult operating conditions including high inflation and rising interest rates leading to reduced consumer spend. Successful brands, however, particularly those which are Meaningfully Different, grew their brand value. This includes Clicks which grew its brand value by 3% and moved up one place on Kantar’s Most Valuable South African Brands Report to be ranked 21. Clicks is one of only 12 of the top 30 brands that grew their value in the past year and one of three retail brands that grew in value.

Kantar says part of Clicks’ growth in brand value reflects the increased availability of the brand to more South Africans. Clicks has over 900 stores and 715 in-store pharmacies. More than half of South Africans live within 5km of a Clicks pharmacy, ensuring the brand is present to more people.

“Everything we do is centred around delivering value, convenience and a truly personalised customer experience,” explains Dr Mel van Rooy, Head of Marketing at Clicks Group. “This means knowing who our customers are, understanding their evolving needs, and using data analytics and insights to engage with customers across the omnichannel to continually make a meaningful difference.”

It’s a strategy which is clearly working for Clicks. Kantar says that not only is Clicks the most Meaningfully Different brand in its category, having increased its Meaningfulness score by a remarkable 18 index points in a single year, but it also has the highest Experience score of any brand in Kantar’s ranking, a lead that it has maintained since 2019. Kantar says Clicks is especially good at inspiring trust in consumers.

Meaningfully Different brands, says Kantar, are successful, strong, resilient and able to weather challenging financial environments. Experience and exposure are major contributors to being Meaningfully Different.

Van Rooy says, “Clicks is committed to continue expanding its store footprint and has increased its long-term store opening target from 900 to 1 200 stores in Southern Africa, with 40 to 50 stores and 40 to 50 pharmacies planned to open each year. We’re also continuously using digital innovation and data-driven insights from our iconic ClubCard Loyalty Programme to add value to our customers’ lives.”