BILLA, BILLA PLUS and PENNY will remain closed on December 8th and welcome grocery store closures on Sunday, December 19th.
BILLA and BILLA PLUS stores will again be closed on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and for the first time PENNY will also close on December 8th as a thank you for the great team effort during the Corona pandemic. This means that a total of more than 30,000 employees will have a holiday off.
BILLA, BILLA PLUS and PENNY will be closed on 8th December
/ Copyright: REWE Group / Harson,
Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge
At the same time, it is welcomed that the so-called "non-food trade", which repeatedly had to accept considerable losses in turnover during the lockdown, is allowed to stay open on Sunday the 19th of December for the Christmas business, but at the same time, for those who were open during the lockdown, the same rules apply on Sunday the 19th of December as on any other Sunday. This way, Sunday remains a day of rest for the already very stressed grocery employees.
"Our employees are extremely challenged by the double burden of the lockdown and the pre-Christmas period, and they do an excellent job every day.”
Franz MarositsChairman of the Group Works Council
"Our employees are extremely challenged by the double burden of lockdown and the pre-Christmas period, and they do an excellent job every day. Our colleagues need Sundays to regenerate, and this naturally also applies to Sunday, 19th December, before the Christmas business reaches its peak. The 8th of December as a day off is another essential contribution. It is nice that PENNY is now also implementing this for its employees," explains the Chairman of the Group Works Council, Franz Marosits.
"BILLA has traditionally closed its doors on December 8th, and we will continue to do so this year.
Marcel HarasztiExecutive Board Memeber REWE International AG
Marosits receives support from REWE International AG Executive Board member Marcel Haraszti: "We are clearly committed to the regular opening hours on Sundays and public holidays and welcome the fact that Sunday, December 19th is left to the retailers, who already for the umpteenth time have to accept losses in turnover during the most important time of the year. BILLA has traditionally closed on December 8th, and we are sticking to that this year."
PENNY is the first discounter in Austria to close its stores on December 8th.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the employees in the food trade have been particularly challenged. Therefore, PENNY is the first discounter in Austria to send a sign of thanks and recognition by closing its shops on December 8th. "Our employees have been working for our customers almost every day in the past months - without them, the basic supply of people in Austria would not have been possible. We are very pleased to be able to give our employees a little time off in December with this day off," said Ralf Teschmit, CEO of PENNY Austria.
