– The last electricity bill was NOK 48,900. It was quite a lot more than we had feared. That’s what Janken Nordbøe says. She is the general manager of the Joker shop in Vassøy. The electricity bill for the store was almost NOK 40,000 higher than last year’s September bill. – I was simply pissed off. It doesn’t work, says Nordbøe. Electricity bill for the month of NOK 48,900 Photo: Odin Omland / news Facebook post provoked reactions On Friday, the government presented a scheme for electricity support for business, but several companies fall outside the scope, among them Joker Vassøy. Janken Nordbøe tries to save electricity where possible in the store. On Thursday, she created a post on Facebook to explain the situation and the uncertainty of running a shop going forward. This caused the customers to react. Ingrid Marie Kalfoss Olsen lives on Vassøy. She is a regular customer at the local Joker shop. Photo: Odin Omland / news – If the shop disappears, society will disintegrate, says customer Ingrid Marie Kalfoss Olsen. She therefore suggested setting up a fundraising campaign at Spleis to cover the electricity bill. This engaged the local population. – Within 48 hours of starting the splice, we were close to NOK 50,000. – I am speechless Now the residents of Vassøy and others have collected enough money to cover the electricity bill for this month. – What shall I say? I’m speechless. It’s not how it should be, but at the same time it’s absolutely fantastic to be lifted forward and turned around. It feels very good, says a cheerful general manager. Ingrid Marie Kalfoss Olsen points out that the Joker shop is important to the local population. – It is about the fact that it is now our turn to give something back to the store. We need the shop, but it also needs us, she says. Jokerbutikken på Vassøy Photo: Odin Omland / news Although she will now cover this month’s electricity bill with the help of her customers, Janken Nordbøe is unsure of what the future looks like. – We take one electricity bill at a time. We have now received enough money to cover the entire bill this month. I don’t know what will happen in the future. But we can’t continue with Spleis for the rest of the year or the time we will be operating here. Many stores worried about the future Joker consists of approximately 470 stores spread throughout Norway. The local shops are run by independent merchants. Several of them are concerned about the electricity situation. – When something that has previously been a fixed expense at a known level suddenly becomes a completely different situation, many people worry, says communications manager at Kjøpmannshuset, Hanne Evensen. Joker is managed and operated by Kjømannhuset Norge, which is the Norwegian group’s largest profile house. Evensen confirms that several merchants fear the future. – If this becomes a long-term situation, it will be difficult for many. It’s an incredible shame. The support from the customers at Vassøy is an example of how incredibly important convenience stores are in a local community, and how much they mean to people. – Can there be support for the Joker shops from the Norgesgruppen? – Every quarter, the stores receive a bonus based on the volume they have shopped for. Here we have now made a change so that this bonus is paid out every month instead of every quarter. We do this to give the shops increased liquidity, replies Evensen. She also explains that they provide the shops with assistance for, among other things, the application process for the authorities’ support schemes. – We are also working to ensure that the politicians understand how critical the situation many of our stores are in. The aim is for there to be support schemes that embrace convenience stores to a greater extent than has been the case so far. Øya Vassøy in Stavanger municipality seen from a fast boat Photo: Odin Omland / news
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Fundraising campaign at Spleis saved Joker Vassøy from an electricity bill of almost NOK 50,000 – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
