In the spirit of St. Nicholas, the famously generous, gift-bearing, distant cousin of Santa, Dutch retailer Albert Heijn has dusted off last year's 'Goedzak' campaign, inspiring customers again to donate the best of toys to a very good cause. This year, collection points for toys can be found in all Albert Heijn stores in The Netherlands.
The 'Goedzak' initiative - 'Goedzak' meaning 'Goody Bag' and 'Good Guy' in the one catchphrase - will help to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds won't go without presents on the morning of December 6, when Dutch children traditionally open the gifts St. Nicholas has left - in their shoes - overnight.
This year's campaign was launched at the Lusthofstraat branche of Albert Heijn in Rotterdam, in collaboration with the 'Sint voor elk kind' charity. Charities involved nationwide include the Food-Bank and the 'speel-o-theek', or 'toy-library'.
"We hope that parents and children will again join forces to hunt for the nicest of toys - for that good-looking, abandoned car or Lego-set that the children have outgrown - so that, together, we'll surprise many local children with a special toy," said Saskia Egas Réparaz, senior vice president of marketing & design for Albert Heijn.
The 'Goedzak' campaign runs until November 27.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Martha Sparrius. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
