Wegmans, Amazon.com top corporate reputation list

Wegmans Food Markets, Costco, Publix and CVS are among the highest ranked companies in terms of corporate reputation, according to a new poll.

The 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study ranked the reputations of the 100 most visible companies. Scores range from excellent (scores of 80+) to poor (scores of 50 to 64).

"Reputation is far from static and is a business asset that is earned every day as people evaluate companies through the lens of what matters most to them. Wegmans has spent years building a sterling reputation in the communities they serve, through its employees, one shopping experience at a time," says Carol M. Gstalder, Reputation & Public Relations Practice Leader for Harris Poll. "Samsung has steadily climbed up the ranks in recent years with consumers rating it among the 5 best on key reputational dimensions of products and services, emotional appeal, financial performance and vision and leadership. Apple's performance, while still excellent, has fallen 5 points since 2012."

Ranking third on the list, Samsung outperformed all other technology companies, surging past Apple and Google, at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively, and achieving a near-reversal in position from 2012 when Apple was No. 1, Google was No. 2 and Samsung ranked 13th in corporate reputation.

Harris Poll expanded the list to 100 companies this year, up from 60, to offer deeper insight by industry. As a result, three of the top 10 companies are debuting on the list, including No. 1 Wegmans, No. 7 L.L. Bean and No. 8 Publix Supermarkets.

"Expanding the study allows companies to see how they stack up within their industry as well as compared to best in class reputations across industries," Gstalder said.

JC Penney showed the strongest improvement in the past year as its turnaround strategy gains traction. The Coca-Cola Company, Honda, Hyundai and General Motors experienced the largest declines. Unprecedented automotive recalls explain the reputation hits suffered by General Motors, Honda and Hyundai. Coca-Cola, whose reputation score is in the "very good" range, fell 6.8 points this year, largely due to public perceptions of its products and declining intent to purchase.

"The American public strongly believes reputation matters and acts on that belief. This year's results show that more than half of the public actively seeks out information about companies they hear about or do business with, and 36% say they've decided against doing business with a company because of something they learned about its conduct," Gstalder added. "Companies need to evaluate and understand the increasing expectations consumers have when it comes to corporate reputation, specifically what they think, say and do, as well as how best to engage with them."

A complete ranking of the RQ's 100 most visible companies can be found in the 16th Annual RQ Summary Report.