21 Retailers Make Roster of Reputation Rankings

A total of 21 retail firms have made the latest Axios Harris Poll, which ranks the reputations — from best to worst — of the 100 companies most on the minds of Americans. Based on a framework used by Harris since 1999, respondents evaluate companies’ reputations against such dimensions as ethics, trust, vision, and products and services.

Landing first within the retail category is Costco, which came in #2 in in the overall listing (and up a whopping 24 places from a year ago). Rounding out the top 10 overall finishers from the industry are Trader Joes (#4, down from #3 last year) and Amazon.com (#8, unchanged).

Click here to see the other 18 retailers to make roster (enter Retail, Wholesale, Distribution in the “filter by” box on the top right of the page).

Overall, the 100 are divided into reputation-related subgroups ranging from “excellent” at the top and “very poor” at the bottom. Topping the list is Patagonia, which is listed in the lifestyle and fashion category, while the Trump Organization (listed as “other”) came in last.

This year’s rankings are based on a survey of 16,310 Americans from a nationally representative sample conducted March 13–28. The two-step process starts by surveying the public’s top-of-mind awareness of companies that either excel or falter in society.

Respondents are asked which two — in their opinion — stand out as having the best reputation today and which two have the worst. All nominations are compiled into an aggregate list to determine the “most visible” companies. Subsidiaries and brands are tallied within the parent company to create a total number of nominations for each company.

Respondents rated those 100 most visible companies on nine dimensions of reputation to calculate the company’s Reputational Quotient score for inclusion in roster.