What’s in a name? Well if you’re Vespa, it’s worth over Euro 1 billion. And that’s not the value of factories, machinery and work in progress owned by the world’s best known scooter manufacturer, just the name.

Piaggio commissioned branding experts Interbrand to take a long hard look at the Vespa name – one of the most recognisable in the world – and work out how much it was worth. “Interbrand employed proven, proprietary brand valuation techniques,” went a statement from Piaggio, “incorporating financial analysis with primary and quantitative data collected through a global market research, conducted across Vespa’s 10 key markets (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, USA, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China and India)…The study confirms that Vespa is globally perceived (as) more than just a scooter.”

Which begs the obvious question, what are the other global motorcycle brands worth? Harley-Davidson, Honda, BMW, Triumph?

BMF Chair Jim Freeman was intrigued. “Whatever their share price is multiplied out by the number of shares issued? Interbrand are good at puffing their client’s brands, its what they get paid for. There’s a less polite way of putting it, they’re professional BS creators. The value of any brand is what people are prepared to pay for it. If Vespa are perceived to have added value outside of scooters, I’d like to know what that is. Vespa might be cool, but if you applied it to anything other than a scooter, would that make another product more desirable? It’s not Porsche or Louis Vuitton.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Piaggio Group