Iconic Outdoor Brand Tops List of Most Well-Respected Companies
Popular reputation often plays a key role in a brand's success. No one knows that better than Patagonia. The outdoor clothing and gear giant just ranked number one on Axios' annual poll measuring company reputation across the U.S. It's a return to the top spot for the California-based business, which first topped the list in 2021.
More than 16,000 Americans were asked by Axios and Harris to list “companies that either excel or falter in society” as part of the survey. Pollsters compiled a list of the top 100 companies that were scored on a rubric measuring their character, trajectory, vision, culture, and ethics, among other things. They were then each given a score out of 100. Patagonia reigned supreme with an 83.5.
Behind Patagonia in second place is Costco, which made a big jump from number 25 last year. John Deere made its debut on the list this year at number three.
Yvon Chouinard, the founder of the iconic outdoor brand, reflected on the its success in an April 2023 interview with McKinsey. For him, Patagonia's unconventional place in the business world has turned out to be its strong suit.
"Patagonia has time and again broken the rules of traditional business and proven we still can be successful," he said proudly. "The average lifespan of a corporation currently is a little over 20 years, but we’re still here after five decades of doing things on our own terms. I’m proud of our employees for getting us to this point. Our success is based on quality in whatever we do, and we’re taking that into the future."
Check out the Top 10 list below.
- Patagonia (83.5/100)
- Costco (82.1/100)
- John Deere (82.0/100)
- Trader Joe's (81.7/100)
- Chick-fil-A (81.4/100)
- Toyota (81.0/100)
- Samsung (81.0/100)
- Amazon (80.7/100)
- USAA (80.6/100)
- Apple (80.6/100)