M&S is the top UK brand yet again despite hack attack

Last year might have been a classic annus horribilis for Marks & Spencer following the devastating ransomware attack that brought the retailer to its knees but it seems even that has not dimmed its light, with the company topping the list of the strongest brands in the UK for the fourth year running.

The top ten, compiled by YouGov’s BrandIndex tool, shows M&S with an overall index score of 52.7, followed by Ikea, Samsung, John Lewis, Netflix.

Interestingly, most big tech brands are absent from the UK rankings, with only WhatsApp (6^th) making it into the top ten, followed by Sony, Lindt, Boots and Cadbury.

To compile the top brand lists, more than six million interviews were conducted across 28 global markets.

The rankings were then derived from YouGov’s BrandIndex data analysis tool, which delivers “always-on” tracking across key brand health metrics to give a complete and granular picture of brands’ public perception over time.

YouGov’s global analysis looks at the brands with the highest ‘Index’ score, which combines metrics for impression, quality, value, satisfaction, recommend and reputation scores to give an overall picture of brand health.

The rankings also measure which brands made the greatest improvements to their Index score during 2025.

YouGov  stated: “The key to M&S’s success is broad based strength across multiple BrandIndex measures. It has achieved the highest score in the top ten. That strength in depth is a key indicator of long term brand resilience.”

Globally, WhatsApp topped the rankings, followed by Samsung, YouTube, Google, and Adidas.

Meanwhile, the Post Office heads the list of brands that saw the largest year-on-year increase in their Index scores, followed by Royal Mail, Fujitsu, J D Wetherspoon and Henry in fifth place.

M&S CEO Stuart Machin said: “This one means a lot, because it’s based on what our customers say about us. Your trust is at the heart of everything we do.

“This motivates us to be even better. We’re staying positively dissatisfied as we look forward, because we know there is still so much to do, and so much opportunity ahead of us.”

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