Regional Brands Show Strength in Best Retailers Rankings

Quality products, reasonable prices and excellent customer service are the attributes that allow retailers to succeed, Newsweek Global Editor in Chief Nancy Cooper writes in the introduction to that publication’s latest rankings of the Best U.S. Retailers. That report, compiled in conjunction with Statista, sliced and diced the data gathered in a variety of ways, including the Top 10 best overall.

That listing, in turn, reflects the power that regional brands have when it comes to creating and keeping connected with customers. Consider the top three finishers on the list: No. 1 is the Factory Connection (Guntersville, Ala.), a discounter with nearly 300 stores in 17 Midwest and Southern states. It’s followed by luxury handbag specialist Brahmin (Fairhaven, Mass.), which has six boutiques and four outlet stores, and Buc-ee’s (Lake Jackson, Texas), a fast-growing c-store chain with 50 locations, including 36 in its home state of Texas.

Here is the rest of the roster’s Top 10

Retailer/Category

4. Great Wall Supermarkets/Supermarkets
5. Cartier/Clothing-Jewelry (High-End)
6. Tommy Bahama Apparel
7. Shane Co./Jewelry
8. BoxLunch/Fashion Accessories
9. Warby Parker/Eyewear
10. Von Maur/Department Stores

Survey participants were asked how likely they are to recommend a retailer and to give their thoughts on an outlet’s prices, selection and atmosphere. Customer service and accessibility were also considered.

Working with Statista, Newsweek identified the best retailers based on responses from more than 7000 U.S. customers who have either made purchases, used services, or gathered information about products or services in the past three years. The survey was conducted on retailers from 40 categories, providing results for a broad-spectrum of customer experiences in traditional retail.

Click here for the full rankings report.