Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s just released a collection of same-sex Valentine’s cards
Leading UK supermarket Sainsbury’s has launched a range of Valentine’s cards for same-sex couples for the first time ever.
The chain released the cards, which feature illustrations of same-sex couples and the words “You + Me”, ready for February festivities.
500 stores across the UK will stock the diverse cards which start at £1.99.
James Brown, Director of Commercial for Sainsbury’s, said: “Choosing the perfect Valentine’s Day card is a personal and sentimental experience, which is why we’re pleased to offer new same-sex cards and give all of our love-stricken customers the ability to choose the card that’s right for them.”
The company has a track record for celebrating LGBT diversity, as they aim to become “the most inclusive retailer, where people love to work and shop”.
As recently a Christmas they featured a same-sex couple in one of their adverts.
A spokesman for the supermarket giant said they wanted to represent “modern Britain” in the advert.
“We wanted to reflect a modern Britain and a diverse Britain,” said Head of Broadcast Comms at Sainsbury’s Sarah Kilmartin. “That’s what we feel like we’ve done throughout the whole piece of work. We’ve made sure we’ve got a true reflection of what we see out there every day.”
Over 2000 employees of the supermarket attended Pride events across the UK last year. It is believed that they employ nearly 600 LGBT people.
The group isn’t the leader of inclusive Valentine’s cards, as Hallmark, Funky Pigeon and Moonpig all stock cards fit for an LGBT Valentine’s.
The company hasn’t always had the perfect track record of acceptance, as hundreds of people held a gay ‘kiss-in’ at a Brighton branch after a lesbian couple were told to leave because a customer found their kissing “disgusting”.
More recently in August last year, hundreds of people joined a separate ‘big gay kiss-in” after a gay couple were “warned” about their “immoral” behaviour in a Hackney branch.
