Press Release 28th June 2024

Imperial shopping: Apprentices design first Genussland shop window with regional products at BILLA in Bad Ischl

Under the slogan " Imperial shopping at BILLA in Bad Ischl - from Genussland OÖ products", the apprentices from the REWE Group final year of vocational school 3 in Wels put their project internship into practice. The young talents were tasked with designing the shop windows of the BILLA store in Pfarrgasse from May to the end of June with regional products from partner companies of the Genussland OÖ initiative and regularly exchanging them. At the same time, sales promotion measures were carried out in the market.

From left to right: Thomas Wendt (BILLA Sales Manager), Bernadette Reindl (BILLA Sales Manager), Michaela Langer-Weninger (Upper Austrian Regional Councillor), Josef Lehner (Managing Director of Genussland Marketing OÖ Handel), Gerhard Gruber (Project Manager Commercial Vocational School Wels).

From left to right: Thomas Wendt (BILLA Sales Manager), Bernadette Reindl (BILLA Sales Manager), Michaela Langer-Weninger (Upper Austrian Regional Councillor), Josef Lehner (Managing Director of Genussland Marketing OÖ Handel), Gerhard Gruber (Project Manager Commercial Vocational School Wels). / Copyright: © Land OÖ/Sternberger, Abdruck zu redaktionellen Zwecken honorarfrei., Reproduction for PR purposes free of charge

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The project internship is part of the additional training to become a Genussland OÖ regional ambassador, which REWE Group apprentices can complete during their third year of apprenticeship. The aim of this training is to get to know producers with the Genussland OÖ seal of quality as well as their businesses and products and to taste them. Subsequently, the apprentices should be able to sell these products in their training companies with expertise and conviction. Thomas Steingruber, BILLA Sales Director in Upper Austria, praised the students' commitment: "It is a wonderful opportunity to introduce our apprentices to sales promotion in a practical way and at the same time to communicate the importance of regionality and regional products in a sustainable way. I think it's great how motivated and happy the students were to implement this fantastic project.

Further redesign planned

At the end of the course, the apprentices will present the project results to their superiors. They are particularly excited about the sales analysis of regional products compared to the same period last year. "With this project, we want to raise young people's awareness of regional value creation and hope that this will also be reflected in the sales figures," says vocational school teacher and project manager Gerhard Gruber. So far, two Genussland OÖ shop windows have been decorated and a successful tasting has been held. Another shop window redesign is still to come. Provincial Councillor Michaela Langer-Weninger emphasizes the importance of the project: "This project is an excellent example of how young people can be introduced to the world of regional value creation in a practical way. The collaboration between apprentices, local producers and retailers not only raises awareness of the importance of regional products, but also promotes the commitment and creativity of the next generation. I am delighted to see how enthusiastically the apprentices have implemented this project."