The most and least reputable Nordic companies studied – Temu and Shein at the bottom

Temu and Shein are among the least reputable companies across all Nordic countries, according to the Reputation&Trust study conducted in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. IKEA remains a perennial favorite among Nordic consumers.

The list of companies with a good reputation is led by the world’s largest furniture retailer, IKEA, which appears on the list of reputable companies in every country except Finland—although the company last appeared on Finland’s list of most reputable companies in 2023.

 

“At the top of the reputation rankings, we find traditional companies—true national treasures—such as IKEA in Sweden, LEGO in Denmark, and KONE in Finland. According to our study, the Nordic alcohol monopolies Systembolaget, Vinmonopolet, and Alko also enjoy the trust of the public,” says Riku Ruokolahti, Development Director at Reputation and Trust Analytics.

 

Temu and Shein rank last in all Nordic countries

The e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu rank at the bottom of the list of companies operating in the Nordic countries. Both Chinese-owned companies received very low ratings in terms of reputation.

 

“Temu and Shein also rank at the bottom of the list in Germany’s Reputation & Trust study. The number of e-commerce deliveries from outside the EU has grown rapidly in a short time. Temu has rushed into the Nordic markets and is a new entrant on the list of all countries studied. There are no guarantees regarding the ethics, responsibility, safety, and quality of products available from ultra-cheap online stores. Local retailers operating according to local rules are understandably puzzled by the situation,” says Ruokolahti.

The import of low-cost e-commerce products into the EU has increased dramatically in recent years, and in 2024, an average of 12 million packages arrived in the EU each day. The European Commission is taking action to tighten customs controls on low-cost shipments from outside the EU.

 

How we conducted the research

The aim of the Reputation & Trust studies was to investigate the reputation of companies operating in the Nordic countries among the residents of those countries. Data collection for the studies was conducted via an online survey from July 1 to August 5, 2024, in Sweden; July 1–29, 2024, in Norway and Denmark; and June 3 to July 8, 2024, in Finland.

Organizations were evaluated using Reputation and Trust Analytics’ Reputation&Trust research model, in which the organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different dimensions. These areas are corporate governance, financial performance, leadership, innovation, dialogue, products & services, workplace, and responsibility. The study used a five-point evaluation scale (1–5).
The study included 4,612 Swedes, 3,657 Norwegians, 10,575 Finns, and 3,788 Danes. The target group was citizens aged 15–65 years. The samples were weighted to represent the population according to gender, age, and region.

The companies with the best and worst reputations were selected for the study group based on a preliminary survey conducted earlier in 2024. In that survey, respondents from each country spontaneously named two companies they considered to have particularly good reputations and two with particularly poor reputations. Reputation and Trust Analytics does not influence the selection of companies.

The thirty companies that received the most mentions were analyzed in greater detail using the Reputation&Trust model in each country. The lists include the ten companies with the highest scores and the ten with the lowest scores.

 

For more information

Riku Ruokolahti
Development Director, Reputation and Trust Analytics
riku.ruokolahti@t-media.fi
+358 400 512 200

Harri Leinikka
CEO, Reputation and Trust Analytics
harri.leinikka@t-media.fi
+358 40 505 5001