photo credit: CarlMalamud via Flickr.
photo credit: CarlMalamud via Flickr.

The company that sells you just about anything online, and delivers books right to your Kindle, has a better reputation among U.S. consumers than any other company in the world.

For the second year in a row, Amazon has been named the most reputable company in the U.S., according to the Reputation Institute, a Boston-based consulting firm. Meanwhile, Apple, which is known for having a strong bond with its customers, didn’t even crack the top 100. It’s listed at 187th.

reputationThe other 10 top companies are: Kellogg’s, LEGO, Fruit of the Loom, Campbell Soup Company, Levi Strauss & Co., Snap-on, Hershey Company, Panera Bread and Briggs & Stratton Corp.

To determine a company’s ranking, the Reputation Institute conducted more than 50,000 interviews during the first quarter of 2015 to measure how U.S. consumers view brands and their emotional connection to them.

What makes Amazon’s victory this year particularly notable is the amount of competition it had. In a release, Reputation Institute explained this year nine of the top 10 companies achieved excellent reputations, with scores in the 80s, whereas last year only Amazon achieved a score in the “excellent range.” Furthermore, Amazon’s rating continues to improve, rising steadily over the past four years. In 2013, Amazon ranked third, falling below The Walt Disney Company and Intel.

Other Northwest companies that made the top 100: Costco (No. 32), Microsoft (No. 46) and Nike (No. 76). After Amazon, the next technology company to make the list was Netflix (No. 15), followed by Samsung (No. 28), and Tesla Motors (No. 35). Google ranked at No. 51.

Reputation Institute said Apple dropped to 187th from 57th in 2014, and isn’t even in the top 20 in its own industry. A consumer’s emotion has seven dimensions: innovation, leadership, governance, citizenship, workplace, performance, and products/services. It said Apple ranked poorly because of poor governance and citizenship.

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