PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Nike has improved its overall reputation with the public from 2022 to 2023, according to a survey from news site Axios and global research firm The Harris Poll.
From March 13 to March 28, the two platforms conducted a brand reputation survey that received responses from more than 16,000 Americans. Respondents were asked for their opinion on which two well-known corporate brands have the worst reputations, and which two have the best.
Participants then ranked the top 100 ‘most-visible’ companies based on nine different dimensions.
Nike, the ‘leading sports brand’ across Oregon and the globe, was placed at No. 21 — a 35-spot leap from its spot in last year’s survey. This ranking took the sportswear company from a ‘good’ rating to a ‘very-good’ rating. According to Axios, Nike had the most significant year-over-year jump.
Industry analyst Matt Powell told the news site that the brand’s improvement could be attributed to the recent decrease in stories “about Nike misbehaving as a corporation.”
But in August 2018, former female employees filed a lawsuit against the brand for discriminating against women in the workplace. In 2019, Olympic athletes Allyson Felix and Kara Goucher claimed that the brand dropped them after they became pregnant.
Recently in March, Oregon Judge Marco Hernandez ruled that former female employees’ gender discrimination lawsuit couldn’t be classified as a class action. And after Felix and Goucher denounced the company’s pregnancy policies, Nike expanded them shortly after.
This year, Nike has been in the news for choosing to swap out the kangaroo leather in its Tiempo soccer cleats for “a Nike-only, proprietary synthetic upper.” This announcement came after Oregon lawmakers banned the sale of kangaroo parts, and after activists protested the company’s use of animal products.
In April, the company was also at the center of “Air” starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon — a film about the founding of the Air Jordan brand.
KOIN 6 News reached out to Nike for comment, but has not yet heard back.
