Seoul, Mar 30 (IANS): South Korea's No.1 tech firm Samsung Electronics Co. was named the third-most reputable company in the US, an industry tracker said on Wednesday.

Samsung's rival, the top tech giant Apple Inc., remained out of the top 100, Yonhap news agency reported.

According to research conducted by US-based Reputation Institute, the South Korean tech giant came in behind Amazon.com Inc. and Hallmark Cards Inc. in terms of reputation in the country.

Foodstuffs maker Kellogg Company, Japanese tech giant Sony Corp. and Johnson & Johnson followed Samsung on the list. Switzerland-based watch maker Rolex SA took seventh place.

"Samsung's Galaxy products have rendered it as one of the top technology companies," the researcher said in its report.

"Samsung's brand expressiveness is strong, especially when it comes to meeting customers' needs and delivering on its brand purpose."

"While Apple has strong, and even excellent scores when it comes to products and services, financial performance and innovation, it fails to deliver on workplace, governance and especially citizenship," it added.

Reputation Institute added that Apple is "not as open or expressive" as Samsung, adding the South Korean firm outpaced the US player in terms of communication with clients, or being open to discussion.