Toy manufacturer Lego has emerged from the coronavirus pandemic as the world’s most reputable brand, according to new research.

Lego, which was founded in Denmark in 1932, topped the Global RepTrak 100 index for the second year in a row, with luxury watch maker Rolex a close runner-up.

The index measures world-leading brands’ corporate reputation based on factors including people’s willingness to buy, recommend or trust a company.

RepTrak analysed more than 2000 firms and based its rankings on 68,577 respondents to online surveys collected globally across the world’s 15 largest economies from December through January.

To be considered for the top 100, a brand must have global revenue above $2.6 billion and achieve a “global average familiarity threshold above 20 per cent” in eight or more of the 15 countries measured.

The world’s top 50 ‘most reputable’ brands. Source: 2021 Global RepTrak 100

Companies were given reputation scores from zero to 100 that measure how people feel towards them.

Scoring 80.4 out of 100, Lego was the only company to achieve an ‘excellent’ reputation score in 2021, with RepTrak saying that “people perceive all aspects of its business positively, particularly the company’s products and services”.

Rolex came in second on 79.6, followed by Ferrari in third with 78.8, and appliance manufacturers Bosch Group in fourth on 78.1.

Legendary motorcycle makers Harley-Davidson came fifth followed by Canon, Adidas, The Walt Disney Company, Microsoft and Sony.

Italian pasta maker Barilla narrowly missed out on making the top 10, coming in at No.11 followed by streaming platform Netflix.

Other notable names include search giant Google at No.15, Nike at 22, Visa at 26, Spotify at 29, Kellogg’s at 30 and Swedish furniture empire Ikea at 36.

The world’s second most valuable company, Apple, came in at 46.

From Aldi to Amazon: Brands that ranked 51-100

The Elon Musk-helmed electric car company Tesla came in at 56 on the list, behind make-up brand Estee Lauder at 55 and tech firm IBM at 54.

The top 51-100. Source: 2021 Global RepTrak 100

German discount supermarket chain Aldi, which this year marks 20 years in Australia, was the highest-ranking supermarket on the list at 65, followed by Costco at 78.

World’s richest man Jeff Bezos’ Amazon came in at 92 on the list, despite recent scandals around the treatment of its workers, including revelations that delivery drivers in the United States are under such time pressure that some are forced to resort to peeing in bottles.

Coronavirus puts consumers in focus

For companies, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in “seismic shifts in societal engagement and corporate citizenship expectations, and acute uncertainty about the future,” the RepTrak report said.

The crisis has shown that successful firms must prioritise the needs of five stakeholders: Customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders are crucial to success for companies in a post-pandemic world.

“Business leaders will continue to face increased pressure to incorporate evolving stakeholder perspectives and voices, especially those of employees, into their oversight and decision-making,” it said.

“COVID-19 has shown that unexpected events and simmering issues aren’t only areas of concern; they are sources of opportunity.”