one place to rank 5th overall according to the annual survey. Both the NZ and Australian Corporate Reputation Index are part of a global study conducted each year by research consultants, AMR in conjunction with the Reputation Institute. The study examines how Aussies feel about the country’s top 60 companies on seven individual drivers of reputation; products and services, innovation, workplace, citizenship, governance, leadership and financial performance.  It is the first time Air New Zealand has taken line honours in the index, climbing five places from its ranking of 6th overall in 2016. Air New Zealand also ranked highest for its reputation in New Zealand. Aldi placed ninth, down two spots from last year but still well-ahead of 19th Wesfarmers which also dropped a spot and Woolworths in 26th, up 14 spots on last year. Speaking to IRW, AMR managing director Oliver Freedman said the grocery names’ rankings were not necessarily influenced by the supermarkets different product mixes, but more so by who demonstrated innovation more successfully. “In terms of authenticity, it’s the sense of a company having vision and leadership of where it’s headed,” he said. “And we know that also makes an impact on trust and the overall direction for a company. From a perception point of view, Aldi slightly leads the other two particular dimensions.” Myer dropped a place to 22nd while Harvey Norman fell eight spots to 28th. “The community doesn’t have patience forever,”said Freedman. “You have to continue to adapt and change to the needs and show that to customers.” Australia Post’s plummet Pointing to Australia Post’s dramatic fall on the rankings, Freedman said the impact of previous CEO Ahmed Fahour’s public wages being divulged had little bearing on the results and more with its failure to demonstrate innovation to the public. “It’s about being seen to adapt to the change or environment in terms of how they interact with us,” he said. Australia Post, which ranked first in 2009, has continued its reputational decline, falling 10 places from last year to rank 29th overall in 2017. “Australia Post now falls into the ‘average’ reputation category, and is viewed poorly on the individual measurements of innovation, leadership, and financial performance in particular,” said Freedman. “Its rankings on citizenship and governance also continue to fall, pointing to further degradation of trust over time. This does not bode well for its reputational future.” Several companies also saw a significant drop in overall reputation according to the 2017 rankings. Samsung fell from third in 2016 to rank 14th overall this year. Freedman said issues related to the Galaxy battery fires had led to the decline, with the individual measurements of governance and products falling significantly from last year. “This suggests significant work is still to be done by Samsung to regain its lost reputational capital,” Freedman said. Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.