MACY’S INC. NAMED AS ONE OF HARRIS POLL’S 13 RAPID RISERS

Macy’s Inc. received some good news from the Harris Poll’s 28th annual EquiTrend Study today, which reveals the strongest brands in nearly 100 categories across the media, travel, financial, automotive, entertainment, retail, restaurants and household industries, based on consumer response. The department store giant not only made the poll’s top 100 list, but it was the only department store named one of the 13 “rapid risers,” which covered companies that had equity increases of 7 to 16 percent.

Measuring brands’ health over time, the EquiTrend Brand Equity Index is comprised of three factors: Familiarity, Quality and Purchase Consideration. This year, more than 97,000 U.S. consumers assessed more than 3,800 brands across nearly 500 categories. Other retailers who made the Poll’s “Top 100 Brands” list included Nordstrom, T.J. Maxx, and Kohl’s.

“Consumers form impressions of brands long before they ever use them, based on their perceptions and what they may know from trusted sources,” said Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at Nielsen, which owns The Harris Poll. “This high level equity is the gateway to eventual purchase; it also helps to protect brands from the consequences of an occasional misstep. The strength of a company’s brand equity can have direct business and financial outcomes.”