Carrefour unveiled its first store adapted to several types of disabilities on Friday, in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, in Hauts-de-Seine, with a dedicated reception (AFP / Damien MEYER)
Carrefour unveiled its first store adapted to several types of disabilities on Friday, in Villeneuve-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine), with a dedicated reception.
The Villeneuve-la-Garenne store is now “fully accessible” which “improves the lives of our customers with disabilities”, welcomed Alexandre Bompard, CEO of the brand, according to whom this initiative is a first in France.
Customers can collect a badge with a specific logo to be visible in the purchasing process and attract the attention of staff who have undergone training if necessary.
Carrefour “asked a lot of customers about the different types of disabilities”, he continued, allowing the brand to identify the main irritants, such as checking out, orientation in the store, practicality of the purchasing journey, digital accessibility and the product offering adapted to their needs.
For visually impaired and blind people, tactile Braille maps of the store can be consulted at reception.
They then follow the guide strips on the ground, which go “all around the store” like “in train stations and airports”, explains Florence Du Buit, head of Carrefour’s disability policy.
An application also helps them to better identify and locate the rays to “find their way more easily”.
In addition to specific services, Carrefour offers toys and helmets for children and people with autism, which can help them regain calm in the event of a crisis.
Other equipment is available for people with reduced mobility, such as poles or specific “lighter and more manageable” trolleys which can “easily attach to a wheelchair”, Carrefour explains.
“It’s always an initiative that must be welcomed,” Bruno Gendron, president of the Federation of the Blind of France, commented to AFP.
It is a “first” and “big step forward”, he added.
“We might wish that stores were designed from the outset as inclusive to welcome all audiences,” however, underlined Mr. Gendron.
Carrefour plans to extend this initiative to ten hypermarkets in France and nearly fifty convenience stores in Paris by the summer of 2024, on the occasion of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the brand indicates.