Superbrands of 2013: Rolex and Apple on Top

Luxury Swiss watchmaker Rolex topped the list of U.K. consumer superbrands for the second year in a row, above both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), which scored second and third place, respectively. Apple moved up an impressive 16 places from last year to steal the second place spot from last year’s winner, Rolls-Royce, and the tech company scored a number-one spot on the list of top U.K. business superbrands.

Next on the list, in order, are: British Airways (up to fourth place from 33rd last year), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Hilton, and Heathrow Airport. Approximately 71 percent of all voters and 80 percent of Londoners, specifically, considered the airport to be a superbrand.

“This year’s [Business Index] results are a nod to the importance of those businesses supporting the virtual economy, which is likely to continue outpacing the wider business services market,” explains chairman of the Superbrands Expert Council, Stephen Cheliotis. “The results also show Apple’s dominance of the technology sector coming under increasing pressure from Samsung and second placed British Airways continuing to outperform bitter rival Virgin Atlantic.”