Study says H&M Europe's top retail brand

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz (HMb.ST) has emerged as the top performing European retail brand with a value of 10.4 billion euros (8.34 billion pounds), according to research by brand consultancy Interbrand.

Other top performers in Interbrand's ranking of Europe's 25 most valuable brands are French supermarket group Carrefour (CARR.PA), global furniture retailer Ikea, and British retailing leaders Tesco (TSCO.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L).

Valuing brands, a murky science involving tracking both financial strength and customer reaction, has become a key indicator for companies, with research showing highly rated brands may often outperform in stock market indices.

Interbrand, publishing its first ranking of retail brands at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, gave findings that showed the top retailers -- like H&M and Ikea -- generated value for their brands by investing in and exploiting their own label. Three of the top five retailers sold only own label goods.

Tesco was a leading example of being savvy at expanding brand to new categories, having gone from offering groceries under its label to mobile phones, furniture and credit cards.

International expansion proved to be more successful when the brand was a key driver of the business' growth, Interbrand found.

A strong brand acted as a "passport to create customer demand" in new markets that could help overcome operational obstacles faced by lesser or unknown brands.

Being nimble with format and responding to customer demand for sustainability or evidence of corporate good citizenship also proved to be a winning combination for Europe's top brands.

The top 10 brand rankings are as follows, with brand value referring to billions of euros. The full results are available at www.interbrand.com