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Wal-Mart scandal hurt image, but damage doesn’t look permanent

A woman shops in the produce aisle of a Wal-Mart store in Mexico City.
(Daniel Aguilar / Getty Images)
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The repercussions of Wal-Mart’s bribery scandal in Mexico will likely be significant and long-lasting. But it doesn’t look like consumer perception of the mega-chain will take much of a hit.

The YouGov BrandIndex, which measures Americans’ views of major brands, said that the retailer’s popularity sank in late April after the New York Times published a story alleging rampant corruption in the company’s south-of-the-border operations.

The company may have to shell out hundreds of millions of dollars in legal expenses and penalties; the California State Teachers’ Retirement System sued the Wal-Mart leadership team for allegedly ignoring the ongoing bribery.

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But through it all, public perception of the company never dipped below neutral and now seems to be recovering, according to YouGov.

PHOTOS: Wal-Mart voted among the worst companies in America

Similarly, when more than 500 current and female Wal-Mart employees filed a discrimination lawsuit against the company in February, the business skated away with its position in the public eye minimally tarnished.

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Others have hardly been so lucky.

YouGov’s metrics use a scale of 100 to -100, where a score of zero means that the public has neither a positive nor negative opinion of a particular company. Wal-Mart’s score dipped 15 points but righted itself within three weeks.

When Target donated money in 2010 to a group that backed an anti-gay political candidate, its score slumped 27 points and required a seven-week recovery. Taco Bell, which was hit by an (eventually dropped) lawsuit last year questioning the quality of its beef filling, suffered a 28-point perception plunge that took six weeks to erase.

Before Starbucks said it would phase out the use of insect-based cochineal coloring in its products, its standing among consumers also tumbled, according to YouGov.

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Wal-Mart may pay millions to resolve Mexican bribery allegations

State pension fund sues Wal-Mart leaders over Mexican bribery case

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