In each province, BILLA and MERKUR are helping one or two local toy shops by buying toys worth 1,000 euros each. These toys will benefit the respective regional association of the Austrian Children's Cancer Aid and will be distributed to children and young people suffering from cancer.
"It was a very turbulent year for all of us. The Corona crisis and the measures imposed by the government are not only hitting entrepreneurs hard, but also associations, non-profit organisations and private individuals. This is where we would like to help doubly. By buying toys we can support small, local businesses and at the same time bring a little joy to children suffering from cancer," explains Harald Mießner, Head of Sales at BILLA MERKUR Austria.
"The pre-Christmas period is certainly the most important time of the year for us toy retailers and every day we are closed naturally means lost sales for us. So, it is all the nicer when there is strong cohesion among the retailers. We would therefore like to thank BILLA and MERKUR on behalf of our colleagues from all over Austria for their support and are very happy that we can make children's eyes light up with our toys," say Margit and Alois Öllerer from AIRMOVING in Ternitz-Pottschach in Lower Austria, who turned their hobby into a profession with their model building shop. They offer a variety of toys and model kits.
"As a non-profit association, we are of course dependent on donations from companies and private individuals - not only before Christmas - in order to be able to continue our work for children and young people with cancer and their families in the best possible way in medical, nursing, social, psychological and legal terms. We know how important it is to put a smile on the children's faces during this difficult time and the great toys will certainly bring a lot of joy here," Valentina Rieder, board member of the Kinder-Krebshilfe WIEN-NÖ-BGLD, is pleased about the campaign. Founded in 1986 by affected mothers and fathers, Kinder-Krebshilfe was the first initiative of its kind in Austria. Since then, numerous projects have been implemented and unbureaucratic direct help - both on the wards, day clinics, outpatient clinics and in the everyday life and home environment of those affected - has been established.
MERKUR supports Christmas business of local toy retailers even after the lockdown
Independent of the current support campaign, MERKUR will again provide 14 local toy retailers throughout Austria with additional sales space for their products in 80 of its stores after the end of the lockdown, thus offering them new sales opportunities. This is intended to provide important economic impulses for the small family businesses and to give an additional boost to the Christmas business. From toys for babies and toddlers to classic board games, educational learning games, magic and acrobatics items, adventure sets or model kits, there is everything a child's heart desires. Conversely, MERKUR thus makes an extended range of goods accessible to its customers and supports them in actively contributing to the "buy local" idea.
