Tiny but mighty

Where do we find more share growth: among big or small brands? Looking at some 5000 brands across many markets for which we have at least five years of data, we analysed brands with a big share (> 20%) in 2010 through to those with a small share (< 5%). We then split each group into the brands that gained or lost share over the next five years. The percentage of winning brands within the big-brand segment (34%) is lower than the percentage of winning brands within the small-brand segment (47%). It appears that once brands reach a certain size there are more barriers to grow share.

Among winning brands, however, the average increase of 4.7 percentage points in market share for the big brands is substantially higher than the average increase of 1.5 percentage points for small brands (note that big brands also need less additional penetration to gain an additional share point). Not surprising, the average share losses for losing brands are larger for bigger brands as well. At an aggregate level, however, the small brand tier gains more. Together all small share winners added 2,347 percentage points in market share, whereas their big counterparts could only reap a total of 862 percentage points. So if you’re after growth (and who is not), the small share tier offers opportunities.