In celebration of its 15^th anniversary in Bulgaria and in order to reward the loyalty of its customers, BILLA is launching on Thursday a three-week period of promotional activities which will include numerous discounts and prize draws.

This was announced by the CEO of BILLA Bulgaria, Boyko Sachanski, at a press conference in Sofia on Wednesday.

Since opening its first store in Sofia on 5 October 2000, BILLA has expanded its activity and currently has a total of 92 stores across the country, 31 of them being in the capital.

BILLA was the first international supermarket chain to open in Bulgaria and since entering the country it has invested more than BGN 500 M and provided employment to nearly 4000 people.

The company has initiated a series of projects and initiatives aimed at supporting the Bulgarian economy and local production.

BILLA plans expanding its activity in Bulgaria by investing further BGN 200 M and the goal is for the number of stores to increase to 150 in the next three years.

For the duration of the three-week period, each day there will be 25 % discounts on a different group of products.

In the last week of the promotional period, the discounts will be on products from the supermarket's two own brands – BILLA and Clever.

Apart from the discounts, there will be also prize draws in each of the stores of the chain.

Every day five winners will be drawn in each store and they will be awarded BILLA shopping vouchers worth BGN 15.

Customers will be also able to participate in the big prize draw, which will take place in all stores on the last day of the three-week period – October 15.

The winners from this draw will be awarded BILLA shopping vouchers worth BGN 800.

The only requirement customers have to fulfill in order to be eligible for participation in the prize draws is to shop with their BILLA loyalty card.

With the end of the third quarter approaching, Sachanski made an assessment of the company's performance in the past nine months.

He noted that the employees had received a considerable pay rise on July 1.

Furthermore, the company has led several successful advertising campaigns, above all the “Gardens of BILLA”.

The “Gardens of BILLA” focuses on providing customers with high quality fruits and vegetables of Bulgarian origin and invests in the training of farmers.

BILLA monitors the whole process from selecting the seeds, planting, harvesting, picking and transporting the fruits and vegetables.

The clocks at the fruit and vegetable section of each store ensure that the quality of the goods is controlled at every hour.

More than a hundred orchards, greenhouses and vineyards are involved in the project.

BILLA has also introduced some innovative services for the Bulgarian market, such as offering free Wi-Fi access to its customers in all stores.

Together with the union of the blind people in Bulgaria, BILLA developed a programme for training employees to assist in the shopping of people with impaired eyesight.

BILLA trained more than 280 bakers, who at the end of their training were awarded certificates for their activity.

Furthermore, BILLA is actively engaged in social activities, such as the annual“Let's Clean Bulgaria in One Day” campaign.

Apart from being a sponsor in the campaign, the management and the employees took part in cleaning activities across the country.

For all its efforts, BILLA has received international recognition, most recently being awarded the national champion prize in the category of ecologic and corporate sustainability of the European business awards.

BILLA also received three awards from the Swiss International Certification Association ICERTIAS, the ones for best international retail chain, best retail chain and best quality in Bulgaria.

This will include both the opening of new stores and the acquisition of existing ones following the announced withdrawal of BILLA's sister company – the discounter chain PENNY.

The focus of the expansion will be concentrated in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas, but stores will be also opened in smaller towns.

More than 10 % of the company's turnover comes from the sale of products from BILLA's own brands.

At present, the company has two such brands - Clever which is affordable to everyone and BILLA which offers quality at prices lower than the ones found at other supermarkets.

The management revealed that two new brands are being developed, with one of them - BILLA premium expected to be launched by the end of the year.