With over 45,000 employees at BILLA, BILLA PLUS, PENNY, BIPA and ADEG, REWE International AG serves 1.9 million customers throughout Austria every day at more than 2,500 locations. Animal welfare, energy savings and the modernisation of the store network are also high on the agenda this year. 460 million euros in investments are planned in Austria specifically for this purpose. A similar level of investment is being made for BILLA CEE and Penny International in Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Italy, Hungary and IKI in Lithuania.
For more animal welfare: expansion of meat in animal welfare quality
After BILLA became the first food retailer to use 100 per cent fresh meat in 2020, including turkey from Austria, another milestone was set in 2022 with the "Fair zum Tier" initiative. All BILLA and BILLA PLUS service counters in eastern Austria already stock fresh meat in animal welfare quality from Ja! Natürlich and Fair zum Tier fresh meat is already available, and the changeover will be completed throughout Austria in a few months.
The regionality offensive is also being driven forward: BILLA currently sources 94,000 Austrian products from more than 2,500 Austrian suppliers. PENNY Austria is the only discounter in Austria with its own butcher service in over 220 of a total of around 310 stores.
For more climate protection: green shops, e-charging stations and PV systems
We have set ourselves the goal of actively contributing to climate protection and the mobility transition. Currently, 129 shops as well as warehouse and Central locations in Austria are equipped with photovoltaic systems and cover up to 30 per cent of local electricity requirements. There are already e-charging stations at 76 shops, with fast-charging capacities being gradually increased. Stores that are built as ecologically as possible are also particularly important to us. In 2022, six stores were already awarded Green Pass certification, and by 2025 at least 40 shops are to receive this certificate, which is awarded for particularly environmentally friendly construction projects.
In the countries outside Austria in which we operate, 366 e-charging stations and 200 photovoltaic systems have been installed, with 173 PV systems to be added in 2023.
Travel and Tourism picks up speed again
In the travel business, we were able to achieve growth again in summer 2022 after three years of coronavirus-related restrictions. The top-selling destinations for BILLA Reisen (part of REWE Austria Travel and Tourism GmbH) and DERTOUR were the Maldives, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Spain and Italy.
40 million euros: record food donations
Our retail companies in Austria can report a record donation: in 2022, food worth over 40 million euros was donated to social and charitable organisations for the first time.
Strengthening local supply: over 100 new buildings and conversions planned for 2023
REWE Group is planning to build or remodel over 100 new shops in Austria in the coming year. The focus will continue to be on expanding and modernising existing locations in order to offer customers a contemporary shopping experience. In countries outside of Austria, a total of over 200 new stores will be opened or modernised.
