Engelberg Magazin No. 24

Der Stempel mit dem Kam- pagnen-Logo steht allen Ge- schäften zur Verfügung. Sie können ihre Post oder ihre Werbung damit versehen. All businesses are encour- aged to use the stamp with the campaign logo on their letters and advertising material.

Der Vorstand des Gewerbever- bandes hat die Kampagne «Lokal – Weil es nahe liegt!» initiiert und ist dabei bei den Mitglie- dern und in der Bevölkerung auf offene Ohren gestossen. The trade association’s “Lokal – Weil es nahe liegt!” (“Local – Keep it close!”) campaign has been well received by its mem- bers and the local community.

Gewerbeverband Engelberg www.ggve.ch

A few clicks of the mouse, and a few days later a birthday present for your grandchild arrives. One drive to the superstore and you have a new garden chair. When we make purchases like this, we often don’t consider that it isn’t necessary to drive to a bigger town, or to shop online. Engel- berg’s trade association (Gewerbeverband) has initiated a campaign that raises awareness of the village’s own businesses and encourages people to shop locally. Free loca l paper Engelberger Anzeiger regu larly features statements such as, “I like to buy f rom f riends; that ’s ple to use loca l stores and ser v ice prov iders. “With these ads, we want to make people more aware of businesses in Engelberg and point out that they can purchase a lmost any thing they want right here in the v illage,” says trade association board member Monika Notz. The association’s president Ruedy Langenstein adds, “And if something isn’ t available here in the v illage, we can easily arrange for it to be quick ly delivered.” Many businesses in Engel- berg have jumped on board with the campaign. They use wooden or digita l stamps bearing the campaign slogan “Loka l! – Weil es nahe lieg t ” (Rough ly: “Loca l! Keep it close”) on their let ters and adver tising materia l. Now, other ideas for the campaign are gradua lly being rea lised. The campaign has been well received by the loca l popu lation, too. “We have had noth- ing but positive feedback,” says Ruedy. When making a purchase decision, many Engelberg- ers now ask themselves whether they can f ind that produc t or that ser v ice closer to home. why I shop loca lly,” or “I want young people to f ind jobs here in the f uture; that ’s why I shop loca lly.” The Engelberg trade association prints such quotes to encourage peo-

Through buy ing loca l, customers are help- ing sma ll businesses continue trading and securing the livelihoods of shopkeepers and tradespeople. They are a lso helping secure the professiona l f uture of young Engelbergers – many people on ly rea lise how impor tant it is to suppor t loca l businesses when their chil- dren star t looking for training oppor tunities. It is no secret that shopkeepers are suf- fering f rom the growth in on line shopping and the genera l tendency to drive to larger towns to shop. “Engelberg has 4 ,500 inhabitants. If we conv ince loca ls to shop and, impor tantly, they have a lso become aware that they shou ld suppor t the other members, so that the money they make ac tua lly stays in the v illage. When loca l businesses are suc- cessf u l, they generate tax revenue for loca l inf rastruc ture, help protec t jobs, and save journey time and deliver y costs for ever yone. The members of Engelberg’s trade as- sociation are loca l shopkeepers and trades- people in a wide range of dif ferent sec tors who have clubbed together to look af ter their interests and promote tourism to the v illage. The association’s si x board members organise regu lar networking events where par tici- pants can exchange news and v iews. It a lso hosts a triannua l trade fair (the nex t one is in 2020) and a popu lar Christmas competi- tion. A ll that helps the v illage f lourish. “And that ’s something I am passionate about,” says Monika. “This v illage is our life,” says Ruedy. “We can on ly sur v ive if we work together.” here and are able to rev ita lise the v illage, it will a lso be at- trac tive for our v isitors,” says Monika. The trade associa- tion’s 140 members are ben- ef iting f rom the campaign

“This village is our life,” says Ruedy Langenstein. “We can only survive if we work together.”

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fokus | focus

fokus | focus