Billa (supermarket) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Billa AG

Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1953; 72 years ago (1953)
Headquarters	Wiener Neudorf, Lower Austria, Austria
Number of locations	3,645 stores (2014)
Key people	Robert Nagele, Elke Wilgmann
Products	Supermarkets
Revenue	€ 13.02 billion (2014)
Owner	REWE International AG
Number of employees	76,174 (2014)

A Billa store at Vienna airport.

A large Billa store in Vienna.

BILLA is a well-known supermarket chain that started in Austria. It has many stores across Central, Eastern, and Southeast Europe. The company was created by Karl Wlaschek in 1953. Later, in 1996, he sold most of his ownership to a German company called REWE Group.

The Story of Billa

In 1953, a man named Karl Wlaschek opened a small perfume shop in Vienna, Austria. He called it WKW. By 1960, WKW had grown to 45 stores in Austria.

How Billa Got Its Name

In 1961, the chain changed its name to Billa. This name comes from two German words: "billiger Laden," which means 'cheap shop'. Around this time, Billa also started selling food. They were one of the first stores to let customers pick their own items from the shelves. By 1965, Billa had 109 stores. The REWE Group bought Billa in 1996.

Where You Can Find Billa Stores Today

Billa currently has stores in four countries in Europe.

Billa in Austria

Austria is Billa's home country. As of March 2019, Billa had 1,069 stores there. This makes it the second-largest supermarket chain in Austria.

Billa in the Czech Republic

The first Billa supermarket in the Czech Republic opened in Brno in 1991. Today, the company has 271 stores in the country. It employs over 6,000 people. Most Billa stores in the Czech Republic are quite large.

Billa in Slovakia

Billa opened its first store in Slovakia in 1993.

Billa in Bulgaria

The company opened its first supermarket in Bulgaria in 2000. Since then, Billa has grown a lot. As of December 2023, it operates 156 supermarkets in 49 Bulgarian cities.

Countries Where Billa Used to Be

Billa also had stores in other countries in the past.

Billa in Russia

The first Billa supermarket in Russia opened in 2004. Over the years, Billa expanded its presence in Russia. In 2021, Billa sold all its 161 stores in Russia to a company called Lenta.

Billa in Ukraine

Billa opened its first supermarket in Ukraine in 2000. The company grew quickly, and by 2014, it had 39 stores. However, after 2015, the number of stores started to go down. In 2020, Billa sold its Ukrainian supermarket chain to a company called Novus.

See also

In Spanish: Billa para niños

• List of supermarkets
• Selgros
• XXL