It seems the Galaxy Note 7 debacle may have been detrimental for Samsung after all. The company recently reported its highest gains in three years, and a Reuters poll near the end of 2016 said that the company’s reputation hadn’t suffered. Now, a new poll by Harris Poll, conducted between late November and mid-December, 2016, says Samsung’s Reputation Quotient Ratings has indeed fallen.
According to the new poll, called the 2017 Reputation Quotient Ratings, the South Korean smartphone maker dropped by 42 places compared to 2015. Samsung went from number 7 in 2015 to number 49 in 2016, falling just in front of the US Postal Service, Macy's and PepsiCo. Amazon, Apple and Google took the first, fifth and eighth position, respectively.
Further, Harris Poll surveyed as many as 30,000 US adults, asking them about brands and their vision/leadership, social responsibility, financial performance, products and services and workplace environment, and even their emotional appeal.
The Galaxy Note 7, launched last year, had to be recalled after major battery issues led to the phone spontaneously catching fire. Interestingly, Samsung has confirmed that it is not killing off the Note brand and there will be a Note 8 smartphone this year as well. The company is currently preparing for the launch of its Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship.