These are the BrandZ Top 50 Most Valuable Germany Brands in 2018. Many are known only to Germans. But the top 20 are known worldwide.
What do the top German brands have in common: efficiency, reliability, and quality. Made in Germany.
build a better mousetrap
“Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door” is attributed to the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson from the late 19th century.
It may, however, be a misquotation of “If a man has good corn or wood, or boards, or pigs, to sell, or can make better chairs or knives, crucibles or church organs, than anybody else, you will find a broad, hard-beaten road to his house, though it be in the woods“.
The phrase “to build a better mousetrap”, has come to signify a false belief that companies need only build a better product for them to succeed, as if the sales and marketing of that product played an insignificant role. Americans rarely believe that a product can sell itself.
World-class whiners
Jammern auf hohem Niveau – whining at a high level. This is one of the many ways in which Germans complain about their complaining. And, indeed, the Germans complain quite a bit. Nothing seems to be right, or just right, or good enough.
Sven Astheimer wrote a very interesting editorial in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in June of 2015. His basic argument was that German whining – a more accurate term is German Unzufriedenheit or dissatisfaction – is one of the German people’s great strengths.
Never being fully satisfied. Always “looking for the hair in the soup.” Striving for perfection. “Geht nicht, gibt’s es nicht” is a very well-known German figure of speech. It translates loosely into: “It can’t work, doesn’t work for me.” Or “It’s impossible, is impossible.”
Astheimer fears that Germans are becoming too satisfied. The country is extraordinarily successful. Strong economy. Balanced federal budget. A finely meshed social net protecting the weak and the unfortunate (and the lazy).
In other words, Jammern is under threat. Germany does not have abundant resources. It has only the creativity, the innovation, the strong minds of its people. Knowhow. And knowing how to do something – how to do it better or in a new way – is driven, is sparked, by Unzufriedenheit.
Work efficiently
eRetail sector: The EU Department of Statistics states that Germany has the lowest food prices in Western Europe. This can be attributed to the large percentage – 40% – of discounters in the market, whose aggressive pricing force the other supermarket chains to hold the line on price.
Discounters are known for constantly offering sales. They have been able to maintain their margins by constant increases in efficiency and cost reduction. In addition, they stock on those products which move fast, maintain modest store sizes, choose inexpensive locations, and pay only for targeted advertising.
Business consultants: Every segment of the German economy strives to improve on efficiency. Process optimization, cost reductions, the focus on core competencies, improved product portfolios, increased competitiveness. All of these areas enjoy special attention of top management.
This is why business consulting continues to grow at a steady pace in Germany. Although its economy accounts for roughly 20% of Europe‘s output, consultants do more than 25% of their business for German companies.
Ten Principles of Design – Dieter Rams
Innovative. Useful. Aesthetic. Understandable. Honest. Unobtrusive. Long lasting. Consequent to the last detail. Environmentally friendly. As little as possible.
“Konsequent bis ins letzte Detail.” Translated as thorough down to the last detail. That’s a lousy translation. Rams says literally consequent/consistent to the last detail. Meaning, integrated in each and every aspect.
German house
Wirkung. Effect. Wirkungsgrad. Difference between output and input. Wirtschaftlichkeit. Difference between goals reached and resources used.
In most German buildings – residential or commercial – the lights in the hallways go off automatically after a short amount of time. Switches on the walls near the doors and in the middle of the hall allow one to turn the light back on. Germans refer to the lights being on as brennen, burning, as in a candle, oil lamp or burning fuel.
Germany, with 80 million inhabitants and large portions of its territory devoted to agriculture, is the size of the American state of Montana. Germans are well versed in maximizing the use of space. Rarely is there a house or apartment in a German city or town with an attic or basement which has not been renovated for use as an additional bedroom, study or storage space.
German supermarkets, too, are rather compact. As are the packaging of consumers items, often fit to the size of the content. No oversized breakfast cereal boxes or potato chip bags.
During the cold months down blankets at night keep old and young warm and comfortable while the heat is turned down or even off. Down blankets are expensive, but they last for many years.
When walking, cycling or driving by new house construction one can see stacks of insulation material waiting patiently to make their contribution to energy conservation, their necessity legislated by state and local building codes. In fact, the German government provides generous subsidies for renewable energy sources: wind, solar, biomass.
As for electricity-gulping air conditioning, you’ll find very few residential homes outfitted with it. The majority of office buildings allow you to simply open the windows. Hazy, hot and humid weather comes to the northern and middle European climate for only a few weeks a year. The nights always cool down, allowing for buildings to take in natural air conditioning.
Wüsthof knives
The state-of-the-art production facilities of Wusthof in Solingen: From the Design and Engineering Department, Forging, Tempering, Grinding and polishing, Etching, Sharpening and Quality control to Packing and Warehouse. Quality – made in Germany/Solingen.
YouTube comments:
“I’ve got a complete 20 years old set of the classic line from my father three years ago. The Knifes are still sharp and I love them all. I think, twenty years later they will be a nice present to my children.”
“I have an old chefs knife that is simply amazing. It holds and edge forever but can be resharpened with just a few strokes with a diamond hone. Thanks, Wusthof family!”
“I have a set of those knives over 30 years and no problems with them!!”
“I have purchased two sets of these knives. To say the least they are the last knives you’ll ever have in your kitchen. Like anything they will last a lifetime given the proper care. My set has white handles and I haven’t seen any other set of knives with white handles.”
“I have a 1st World War Mauser bayonet made by Solingen from 1917. Nice to see you guys in business after all that time and history.”
Wirkung
Effizient. Latin efficiens, efficient; a large effect based on little effort; to achieve much with less; economic, economical.
Wirkung. Effect, output, results; a change realized by energy, effort, input; infuence; a sustained, positive effect.
Wirtschaftlich. Economical; concerning the economy; monetary, financial; to work intelligently; to be frugal, to save money; to achieve the maximum based on available resources.
Weniger ist mehr. Less is more. To focus on the essence, on the core. Functionality trumps design, thus saving time, resources, money. Often heard in the fields of design and architecture.
Effizient, nicht effektiv arbeiten. Work efficiently, not just effectively. A figure of speech often heard in the German workplace, meaning to do more than reach your goals by doing it efficiently.
Kleine Ursache, große Wirkung. Literally small cause, large effect. A figure of speech pointing out how small things – good and bad – can lead to very significant outcomes. In the German context it is a warning to pay close attention to the details of one‘s work.
Was nicht in die Masse dringt, ist unwirksam. What doesn‘t reach the masses, is ineffective. A quote attributed to Karl Jaspers, one of Germany‘s most influential philosophers of the post-War era. It is often used in discussions about the effectiveness of advertisement.
German bread
What do most Germans miss when they are abroad? Their bread! Hannah Hummel at Deutsche Welle explains why people in Germany are so crazy about it, how Germany developed such a huge bread diversity and why so many bakeries are under threat nowadays.
Her German father baked bread for the family in Scotland. It is very common for Germans living outside of Germany to bake their own bread.
Mobility
Automobiles: The Hummer H2 is perhaps the best example of unapologetic disregard for efficiency. This vehicle weighs around 6,400 pounds and travels about 10 miles on one gallon of gas. They sell for $40-$50,000, although sales have declined sharply since 2005.
Americans tend to value large, powerful cars despite their inefficient use of gasoline. For example, the Ford Mustang was first sold in 1964 and is currently in its fifth generation. The newest Mustang’s 5.0 liter V8 gets a boost of eight horsepower from 412 hp (307 kW; 418 PS) to 420 hp (313 kW; 426 PS), and the V6 remains rated at 305 hp (227 kW; 309 PS) and 280 lb·ft (380 N·m). Although fuel efficiency was formerly ignored in favor of power, the Mustang was redesigned to be more efficient and now gets around 30 miles per gallon.
Energy use: According to World Bank statistics Americans use an average of 7,069 kg of oil per capita in 2011. This is more than double of most European nations and about four times China’s per capita oil use.
Car size: Although Western Europeans actually own more cars per capita than Americans, American cars tend to be much larger. Americans also tend to live in suburban areas that are quite a distance away from their workplace, so they spend an average of an hour or more commuting to and from work every day.
The average width of American roads allows for much larger trucks and passenger cars. Taxi cabs also tend to be far larger in the United States than in Europe or Asia, even though they carry the same number of passengers (1-3) at a time.
Increased fuel economy standards: In response to growing concerns about pollution and global warming, President Obama in April 2012 finalized standards which mandate an average fuel economy of 54.5 miles per gallon for the 2025 model year. These tough standards aim to force car manufacturers to create more efficient gasoline-based vehicles as well as electric and hybrid cars. Fuel efficient vehicles such as the Toyota Prius are gaining in popularity as highly inefficient vehicles. Sales increased sharply in 2004 and Toyota has sold more than 120,000 Prius vehicles each year since 2007.
Car pooling: Another growing trend in many cities which aims to decrease pollution and fossil fuel use is car pooling: people riding together to and from work in order to save money and decrease the number of cars on the road. Most Americans still travel a fairly long distance to work each day, usually alone in their car. Local governments have sought to encourage people to share cars by introducing „High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)“ lanes that are only open to vehicles with more than three passengers.
Citizens have created solutions such as „slugging,“ a common practice in Washington, D.C. where drivers pick up impromptu riders to meet the HOV requirements of high-volume interstates. Some commuters also form car pooling groups that rent vans and leave from specified locations at the same time every morning. The riders split the cost of the van and driver.
Biking: In some cities in America bike trails have been constructed from popular suburbs into downtown office locations. These trails encourage commuters to ride bikes to and from work and often involve bridges or tunnels that allow for an easy commute. This practice is still fairly uncommon among American workers, but as traffic continues to get worse and gas prices rise, more commuters may consider this option.