MORE than 400 people have given their backing to a petition launched in protest of a recent store refit at Boots on Queen Street.
Set up by ‘Jersey Parents for Accessible Shopping’, the online petition argued that the retailer’s decision to move baby products to the basement floor had reduced accessibility for parents with prams.
This, they said, was because it was difficult to bring a pram down a flight of stairs.
While the store does have a lift, the group complained that there were previously two, and that the remaining one is “unreliable” and has sometimes been “out of order for days or even weeks at a time”.
“Many families in Jersey rely on this store for baby and children’s essentials. Unfortunately, this change has already made the store far less accessible, forcing some customers to shop elsewhere despite wanting to continue supporting this store,” their change.org petition said.
“We are asking Boots to recognise the impact this decision has had on accessibility for families and people with mobility needs, and to reconsider the location of the baby and children’s section. Now is the time for Boots to listen to the community’s needs and act in their best interests by restoring accessible shopping.”
In a response, Boots has explained that the refit was justified because the “mother and baby room” was also on the bottom floor, and that the basement floor is “serviced by a lift available to our customers.”
Contacted by the JEP, Boots did not directly respond to the petitioners’ calls.
However, a spokesperson said that the retail giant was”committed to providing an inclusive shopping environment for all our customers”.
Explaining the store changes, they added: “As part of a wider store refit, our baby range has been moved from the first floor to a larger space in the lower ground floor.
“This allows us to offer an expanded range of baby products to our customers.”
The petition had 455 signatures at the time of writing.
