Patagonia Has Top Company Reputation in Axios Harris Poll
Patagonia sits atop the 2021 Axios Harris Poll 100 list of companies ranking them by reputation, a 31-point improvement from last year. Costco, Amazon, REI, Adidas and Nike also performed well.
The Axios-Harris Poll 100 has ranked reputation since 1999. The Reputation Quotient (RQ) ranking of the survey is based on the company’s performance in seven key areas:
- Trust – “Is this a company I trust?”
- Vision – “Does this company have a clear vision for the future?”
- Growth – “Is this a growing business?”
- Products and Services – “Is this company developing innovative products and services that I want and enjoy?”
- Culture – “Is this a good company to work for?”
- Ethics – “Does this company meet high ethical standards?”
- Citizenship – “Does this company share my values and support good causes?”
The Axios Harris 100 poll is based on a survey of 42,935 Americans in a nationally representative sample. April 8-21, 2021. The two-step process begins each year with a consumer survey of companies that have excelled or failed. These 100 “most visible companies” are then ranked by a second group of consumers in the seven key areas of reputation to arrive at its ranking. If a company is not on the list, it has not reached the level of visibility to be measured.
Patagonia led the rankings with a score of 82.7, up from 32 in 2020. The outdoor brand scored high in all seven key areas with the highest scores in Products and Services, Ethics and the growth.
In the active lifestyle space, REI ranked 11th, the same as last year. REI’s overall score was 79.9 in all seven key areas with its best scores on products and services, vision, culture and ethics.
Adidas, with a rating of 75.1, ranked 49, the same as last year. Adidas’ best scores are about products and services, growth and vision.
Nike, with a score of 72.8, was ranked 62, up from 68 in 2020. The brand scored highest in products and services and growth and was lower in citizenship.
Among more traditional retailers, Costco landed 9 to 11 in 2020; Amazon, 10 to 3; Kohl’s, 55 to 71; Nordstrom, 63, compared to 65; Macy’s, 64 to 70; Walmart, 83 to 81; and JCPenney, 89, versus 86.
Among the larger insights from this year’s study:
- Most visible: Amazon and Walmart are the two most visible companies in the United States, followed by Apple, Facebook, Google, Target, Microsoft, Wells Fargo, Nike and McDonald’s.
- New in the list: Moderna, SpaceX, Chewy, REI, Subaru, In-n-Out Burger, Wayfair, Kaiser Permanente, Goya, Reddit, Robinhood, GameStop, Huawei, My Pillow, TikTok and Wish.
- Top 10 the most visible and reputable companies: Patagonia, Honda, Moderna, Chick-fil-A, SpaceX, Chewy, Pfizer, Tesla, Costco, and Amazon. All of them are only separated by small degrees, they do well in almost all reputation categories, and it is continuous reputation improvement that keeps most of them at the top, with the exception of Amazon. Amazon is the only company in the Top 10 with a decline in reputation compared to last year.
- Industry movement: Consumer packaged goods and financial services are the top 2021 winners among all companies in all industries. The technology is declining in reputation again this year with Google (down 5.03%), one of the biggest year-over-year declines, along with TikTok, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. Apple is the only major tech company to have improved reputation with a 2.82% year-over-year gain.
- Vaccine interpreters: The pharmaceutical industry remains strong after COVID with two main strengths. Moderna is new to the list with an excellent reputation, and Pfizer posted its biggest year-over-year reputation gain of any company at 9.86%. Johnson & Johnson’s reputation is well below that of Moderna and Pfizer, with stable performance year over year.
- Large oil: Major oil companies have improved or stabilized with BP up 4.04% and ExxonMobil stable.
- Airlines: Performance is mixed, with Delta down 3.98%, but United Airlines up 1.05%. On a related note, Boeing was the biggest decline in the past year, but rebounded with a 4.05% improvement.
- Wars streaming: Streaming services were down with Hulu down 1.08% and Netflix down 2.54%.
- Touch of musk: Elon’s companies are doing well with SpaceX and Tesla in the Top 10 for reputation companies and Tesla up 2.66% year-over-year.
- The biggest improvements year over year: Pfizer (9.86%), Dollar General (8.79%), Patagonia (8.69%), Hobby Lobby (6.20%), JCPenney (4.48%), Unilever (4.39%), Trump Organization (4.37%), eBay (4.36%), BP (4.04%) and Bank of America (4.0%).
- The biggest year-over-year declines: Fox (-6.14%), TikTok (-5.21%), Google (-5.03%), Adidas (-4.63%), Delta Air Lines (-3.98%), Sears (- 3.95%), Yum! Brands (-3.90%), Publix Supermarkets (-3.72%), Uber (-3.68%) and Procter & Gamble (-3.59%).
Photo courtesy of Patagonia