Discount shoppers donate heavily to Save the Children

Price-conscious shoppers are not stingy. Save the Children can testify to this after receiving more than SEK 1 million in donations from the Willys discount food retail chain. The money was donated by Willys customers via the chain's can and bottle recycling machines.  

It was in March this year that "Donation" buttons were installed on recycling machines at more than 80 Willys stores. By pressing the Donation button after returning bottles and cans for deposits, customers can choose to donate their deposit money to Save the Children instead of submitting their receipt at the checkout counter for a return of their deposits. Scores of customers have taken advantage of this opportunity – after only a half-year, Willys customers have donated more than SEK 1 million to Save the Children. 

"We are pleased with the enormous response from Willys' customers," says Elisabeth Dahlin, Secretary General of Save the Children Sweden. "The collection from Willys' recycling machines has vastly exceeded our expectations. It shows that price-conscious shoppers are still very generous and, most importantly, aware of the importance of improving the situation for vulnerable children and giving them an opportunity for an education."

To date a total of SEK 1,020,090 has been donated via recycling machines at Willys stores. The money has been used for disaster relief for earthquake victims in Haiti and the Rewrite the Future campaign, which supports schooling for children in developing countries. 

For further information, please contact:
Johanna Eurén, Willys Communications, 070-3461348
Victoria Nordansjö, Head of PR, Save the Children Sweden, tel. +46-8-698 91

Willys is Sweden's leading discount retail food chain. Our business concept is to offer Sweden's cheapest bag of groceries. Willys has approximately 160 stores across Sweden, with sales of slightly more than SEK 17.5 bn in 2009. Willys is part of Axfood AB, which is listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm AB's Large Cap list.