Swedes like Ikea and Apoteket
Swedes have no love for budget airline Ryanair or bank giant Nordea and thus give them poor grades, however Ikea and Apoteket, which is the national pharmaceuticals retailing former monopoly in Sweden, get good grades in this year’s ”anseendebarometer” or reputation barometer.

”Today it’s not enough for a company to offer good products, they should also show social responsibility and ethics that customers and people in general like,” says Tony Apéria, owner of Nordic Brand Academy, researcher in reputation management at Stockholm University. The barometer is created out of responses from over 5,000 people, and this year it shows that banks, telecommunications, energy, and budget airlines all have great challenges ahead. Also state companies like SJ and fast food chain McDonald’s have hard times getting Swedes’ love. However, Ica and Arla Foods (food giants) are popular as are Google and Clas Ohlsson, a home improvement store.
Apéria, who is responsible for a study of 60 companies, says that the companies that scored badly must begin to better understand their brand.

”They have an unclear profile and the customers therefore don’t know what the ystand for. They need to become more emotional and attractive for the general public, and for those who are not customers,” he told daily Dagens Industri.