The Most Reputable Retail Companies in the U.S., According to American Consumers

What are the qualities of a reputable company? According to the Reputation Institute consulting firm, reputability is a calculable sum of innovation, citizenship, financial performance, leadership, governance, and, particularly in the retail industry, quality of products and services.

Almost 25,000 people were interviewed by the Reputation Institute consulting firm to determine which companies U.S. consumers considered to be the "most reputable." This is what accounts for the difference between this list and "The Most Admired Retailers" list, which is determined based on the opinion of stock experts and retail analysts. They "admire" money. Regular people have other concerns.

What follows is a list of the U.S. retail industry companies that were ranked on the 2010 "America's Most Reputable Companies" list published by Forbes magazine. The number in the left column indicates the ranking that each retailer was given, out of 150 American companies that were included on the list.

America's Most Reputable Retail Companies in 2010:

4      The Walt Disney Company

7      Google

12      Apple

13    Publix Super Markets

17    Staples

21    Amazon.com

30    JC Penney

31    Rite Aid

34    Dell

36    Toys 'R Us

38    Home Depot

40    Goodyear

41    Nike

43    BJ's Wholesale Club

45    Target

47    Kroger

48    Walgreen

50    Avon Products

52    Office Depot

53    Costco Wholesale

56    Best Buy

58    McDonald's

60    CVS Caremark

61    Kohl's

69    Macy's

73    Gap

75    Nordstrom

77    Hess

80    Starbucks

92    Verizon Communications

99    Marathon Oil

102    Ford

104    Sears Holdings

107    Sunoco

111    Supervalu

115    Wal-Mart

116    Auto Nation

119    ConocoPhillips

128    Chevron

141    General Motors

More About Reputable Retail Companies:

• 2010 Most Admired Retailers
• Best U.S. Retailers to Work For
• World's Most Admired Companies