Retailers Dominate Brands-to-Watch Roster

As part of its “Best Global Brands 2026” report, Interbrand compiles a list of 10 up-and-coming companies it deems likely to eventually land on that list. And this year, seven of the 10 businesses in the latter category are retailers.

“Across finance, technology, luxury and wellbeing, the ‘Brands to Watch’ are creating stronger, more fundamental reasons for customers to choose them – and new opportunities to translate that preference into economic value,” states the just-released report.

Here’s the study’s full summation of those noteworthy companies, with brief descriptions of what they sell added to them by Shop!.

“Distinctiveness is opening new avenues for growth. Loewe (luxury fashion house) has made craftsmanship a structural asset and a platform for cultural experimentation, connecting luxury with art and design. Rimowa (luggage and travel accessories) uses unique design as a recognizable expression of identity. Aesop (skin, hair and body care) displays coherence across products, language and architecture demonstrates how an entire customer experience can sustain desirability.

“ON (shoes, apparel and accessories) and Arc’teryx (global outdoor apparel brand) are extending technical credibility into broader cultural relevance. Their opportunity is to reach new audiences while protecting the performance delivery that earned customer trust. SKIMS (next-generation underwear, loungewear and shapewear) has translated an understanding of underserved needs into expansion across categories and partnerships with a clear and strong personality. Oura (ring-based health monitor available through such retailers as Best Buy, Costco, Target and Walmart) has made health insights accessible through discreet and intimate design, building an ongoing customer relationship around sleep, recovery and wellbeing – as well as a wealth of data.”

Rounding out the top 10 up-and-coming roster are these non-retail businesses: AI giant Anthropic (best known for Claude, its conversational assistant), and NuBank and Revolut (digital financial-services platforms/neobanks) .

Click here to register to receive the full report, including the main roster of the top 100 brands – led again by Apple – and the up-and-comers, including descriptions of the six criteria Interbrand uses to identify those companies.