Wegmans, Publix rank high in Harris Poll report

Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans and Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix Super Markets ranked second and third, respectively, in the Harris Poll’s 18th annual Reputation Quotient (RQ) Summary Report, which reveals corporate reputation ratings for the 100 most visible companies in the United States as perceived by the general public.

Wegmans and Publix are both well-known for their store brands. Publix, which offers three tiers of own brands, is featured in Store Brands’ February issue as the magazine’s 2017 Retailer of the Year.

Amazon reclaimed the top spot Harris Poll’s report, marking the ninth consecutive year the online retailer has ranked in the top 10.

The top 10 companies for corporate reputation in 2016 are (in order): Amazon, Wegmans, Publix, Johnson & Johnson, Apple, UPS, The Walt Disney, Google, Tesla Motors and 3M Co.

Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco ranked 14th and Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co. was 21th.

The RQ measures companies’ reputation strength based on the perceptions of more than 23,000 Americans across 20 attributes classified into six corporate reputation dimensions: social responsibility, emotional appeal, products and services, vision and leadership, financial performance and workplace environment. The reputations of the 100 most visible U.S. companies range from “excellent” (scores of 80+) to “very poor” (scores of 50 to 54).