Amazon (#15, +25%): It was another banner year for Amazon, “Earth’s most customer-centric company.” Amazon’s commitment to responsiveness has become part of the brand’s mythos. It continues to grow its core business through services such as Amazon Prime, which, at one point, garnered more than a million subscribers in a single week. Expansions on previously popular product lines—the new Kindle Paperwhite and Fire Phone—brought more customers into the Amazon ecosystem, while a content licensing agreement with HBO helped it to make a bigger push into the entertainment sector.

Volkswagen (#31, +23%): Volkswagen, Europe’s leading automaker and one of this year’s top-rising Best Global Brands, is striving to become the world’s leading automaker by 2018. Its latest model, the XL Sport, recently debuted at the Paris Motor Show and served as yet another symbol of the innovative power, passion, and technical competence of the Volkswagen brand. Beyond its manufacturing and design capabilities, Volkswagen’s “Think Blue” concept continues to prove that ecological sustainability remains a top corporate objective.

Nissan (#56, +23%): Nissan continues to drive up the Best Global Brands ranking with improved financial and brand performance. Nissan’s leadership consistently pushes brand building as a major priority across the organization, clearly identifying the link between a strong brand and market share. Nissan’s recent car launches—Qashqai, Murano, and Rogue—have demonstrated how its “Innovation and Excitement for EVERYONE” brand positioning is shaping its product lineup.

2014 NEW ENTRANTS: DHL (#81), Land Rover (#91), FedEx (#92), Huawei (#94), and Hugo Boss (#97)

DHL (#81): The burgeoning e-commerce market has opened a sea of opportunity for delivery and logistics companies. As international online shopping continues to grow—and is poised to grow 200 percent in the next five years—brands like DHL and FedEx have made strides in bolstering their e-commerce capabilities. The most valuable brand of the new entrants to this year’s Best Global Brands ranking, DHL announced recently announced a five-year strategy plan aimed at tapping emerging markets to grow its global market share. As part of its plan, its MAIL division will be renamed Post – eCommerce – Parcel to better reflect its character under the new strategy.

FedEx (#92): FedEx is also realigning its business to make the most of the booming e-commerce sector. Earlier this year, the company launched a new service designed to make it easier for customers to control when and where packages are delivered. The service is called FedEx Delivery Manager and is available through multiple digital platforms, including a free mobile app. Customers can request alerts via email, SMS text, or phone. FedEx has also developed a host of Web-based services to help brick-and-mortar retailers boost their online sales. Retailers can easily integrate FedEx’s Web Services platform into their own Web systems—allowing them to track shipment information. With FedEx’s Web Integration Wizard, its customers can track the shipments directly via the retailer’s home site.

Land Rover (#91): British carmaker Land Rover continues to refine its product lineup with fresh styling, high-tech platforms, and downsized engines. Since being acquired by Indian automobile company Tata Motors in 2008, Land Rover has witnessed double-digit growth each consecutive year. This past year, Land Rover’s unit sales rose 15 percent year-over-year to nearly 350,000.

Huawei (#94): As mentioned previously, Huawei is both a new entrant and the first Chinese brand to ever appear on the Best Global Brands ranking. In 2013, the Chinese telecommunications and network equipment provider reported a net profit increase of 34.4 percent to CNY ¥21 billion (USD $3.38 billion) up from CNY ¥15.6 billion in 2012. As companies, as well as entire industries, continue to shift from legacy storage and equipment to more agile products (cloud services, 3G routing, security solutions, etc.), Huawei is poised to dominate key areas of the IT market—from mobile phones to carrier-grade networks.

“Huawei’s rapid growth and long-term investments in its brand helped it earn a place among the world’s most valuable brands,” said Frampton. Despite its low brand awareness in the U.S., Huawei has gradually expanded its reach around the world. It continues to demonstrate its technological prowess in both its consumer products as well as in its enterprise solutions—and it remains well positioned to meet the needs of customers in both emerging and developed markets.”

Hugo Boss (#97): Hugo Boss, the German fashion house, was one of the strongest-performing apparel brands globally in the past year. The company saw revenue grow 10 percent in Europe, where it makes more than half its sales, while the Americas grew 7 percent, and Asia grew just 2 percent, largely due to China’s slowing economy. On the whole, Hugo Boss is moving away from selling through partners and starting to run its own stores, allowing it to have greater control over price points and the way the clothes are presented. This year, Hugo Boss celebrated its 20 <