Jollyes on the road to success

The UK pet store chain Jollyes has provided an update on developments in the first half of fiscal 2024 up to 27 November 2023. The company recorded like-for-like sales growth of 19 per cent and overall growth of 31 per cent following the opening of new stores in Swindon, Belfast (Boucher Road), Merthyr Tydfil, Harrogate, Widnes, Swadlincote, Reading and Hull.

In the second half of the financial year, Jollyes aims to expand its capacity further with new partnerships to support future growth. These include a three-year deal with pet food manufacturer United Petfood, worth £25 mio, which should extend the private label assortment. 36 jobs will also be created at the production plants in Llangadog and Pencader in South Wales and at Longridge near Preston.

In addition, Jollyes intends to enter into a partnership shortly with Bristol-based social enterprise Billy Chip. Under this, the Billy Chip street currency will be on sale in all stores for £2 and can then be given by customers to homeless people to exchange for a coffee or food. The tokens can also be exchanged for tins of dog food in Jollyes, making the company the first partner of Billy Chip outside the food and service sector.

In November, Jollyes was named Retail Chain of the Year by the Pet Industry Federation and was subsequently shortlisted for best retailer under £250 mio (approx. 287 mio euros) turnover and speciality retailer of the year at the prestigious Retail Week Awards. Later, CEO Joe Wykes announced two new openings in Hull and Reading, numbers 97 and 98 in the expanding specialist retail chain. The Reading shop will be managed by Emily Palethorpe. She joins Jollyes after working as a manager at Tesco and Vision Express. The Hull shop will be managed by Ross Hall, who came to the UK from Australia 17 years ago and has spent his entire career in the UK working in and managing pet shops.

Jollyes has also announced the launch of a TV advertising campaign in Northern Ireland in the first quarter of 2024 to support the opening of its 99th branch in Connswater Shopping Centre in Belfast. The retailer wants to underpin its market-leading position in Northern Ireland, where it has announced 15 new stores to come.