Deaf News: ‘Signsbury’s’ store launches as retail chain celebrates 150th anniversary

A Sainsbury’s branch in Bath has rebranded itself as Signsbury’s in what the supermarket brand says is the first signing store in the UK.

The move, as part of the company’s 150 Days of Community scheme, sees the store become more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing community – with British Sign Language (BSL) video screens and signing activities for children.

Paul Robertson, Store Manager, said: “When I heard about our 150 Days of Community scheme, I thought it was the perfect time to use the opportunity to explore new ways to make our store more deaf-friendly.

“We have many hard of hearing customers in Bath and always want to make their experience as brilliant as possible, and we hope Signsbury’s will help better their time in store even more.”

Over 100 colleagues at the store received BSL lessons from local signing school I Can Sign, in sessions supported by Hollyoaks actress and The Silent Child creator Rachel Shenton.

Rachel, who is also an ambassador for the National Deaf Children’s Society, said Signsbury’s “is a fantastic initiative to be involved in”.

“It’s been brilliant to see the colleagues of Sainsbury’s be so engaged in the idea and it’s a great step towards inclusivity for the deaf community.

“This feels like the start of something exciting and I hope it encourages more people to get involved,” she said.

The launch of Signsbury’s comes three years after the organisation published its film Life Doesn’t Come With Subtitles, which taught employees and the general public some basic sign language phrases.

The store officially opened on Thursday, and will be available to customers until Sunday 21 July.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.