Wegmans edges out Amazon to top Harris corporate reputation poll

New York — With just 85 stores, Rochester, New York-based Wegmans Food Market edged past online giant Amazon to take the top spot for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study.



Harris Poll expanded the list to 100 companies this year, up from 60, to offer deeper insight by industry. As a result, three of this year’s 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," said Carol Gstalder, reputation and public relations practice leader for Harris Poll.



The reputations of the 100 most visible companies range from excellent (scores of 80+) to poor (scores of 50 to 64). A total of 12 companies earned excellent scores, including the rest of the top 10 with Costco at No. 4, up from No. 6 in 2014, and No. 5 Johnson & Johnson and No. 6 Kraft, both moving back into the top tier after falling out of it in 2014 and 2013, respectively. J.C. Penney showed the strongest improvement in the past year as its turnaround strategy gains traction.



Here are the top 10 companies in the 16th annual Harris Poll Reputation Quotient study:



1. Wegmans Food Markets

2. Amazon.com

3. Samsung

4. Costco

5. Johnson & Johnson

6. Kraft Foods

7. L.L. Bean

8. Publix Supermarkets

9. Apple

10. Google



A complete listing of the 100 companies in the poll is available here.