It goes from bad to worse for embattled car marque Volkswagen with the fallout from last year’s diesel emission admissions continuing to haunt the brand.
According to new research by consultancy firm Brand Keys, the German auto manufacturer has taken the number one spot for failing to meet customer expectations – or “emotional engagement” – in its annual top 10 list of brands US consumers simply can’t stand anymore.
The scores, which are out of 100, were calculated from a survey taken by 43,000 people to measure how brands “disappointed their own customers.
Volkswagen scored a paltry 29 percentage points to take the number one spot.
The second most hated brand in the US was Blackberry that wasn’t far off VW with an engagement score of just 30 per cent. Troubled youth fashion retail American Apparel came in third with 38 per cent following recent boardroom dramas, plummeting sales and mass staff lay offs.
The sandwich chain Cosi was fourth with 39 per cent following recent management changes.
It’s clearly not a good time to be a youth fashion retailer in the US with Aéropostale coming in fifth following news that it will close 100 stores across the States and has filed for bankruptcy protection.
The remaining brands came in from sixth to tenth position – (department store) Sears, (e-book retailer) Kobo, (beer brand) Budweiser, (sports apparel retailer) Sports Authority and in tenth was (health food firm) Whole Brands.
Brands in 2015’s top 10 list who managed to improve in the eyes of their customers included McDonald’s, (fashion label) Abercrombie and Fitch, (pain relief firm ) Tylenol and (beauty brand) Coty.
