Nationwide pet retailer Jollyes has announced it will open its new flagship store at Wrexham’s Border Retail Park on Saturday May 7, creating 10 jobs as part of a £1m investment in the borough. 

And to launch the store, Jollyes has teamed up with the borough’s UK City of Culture 2025 bid as it aims to wow judges who have already selected Wrexham for the final four shortlist in the competition. 

With the support of the 2025 bid team, Jollyes will also host a competition of its own to celebrate the store opening.   

Britain’s first ‘Pet Passion Show’ will take place outside the new store on opening day as Jollyes launches a search for the pets and owners with the most loving relationships to take to the Jollyes red-carpet catwalk. 

Jollyes’ pioneering Pet Passion Show is not about finding the most beautiful pets in Wrexham – it’s about finding the 10 most amazing relationships between pets and their owners in the borough, to celebrate how pets can lift their owners’ lives. 

And the passion show won’t just be for dogs, but all kinds of pets and their owners. Those selected to take part will get a Jollyes opening day goody bag and their pets will get a free makeover in the store’s new spa. 

Applications from Wrexham borough-based owners (or the cleverest of pets) including a picture and story can be made by posting pictures and their stories at the Jollyes Instagram site (https://www.instagram.com/jollyesuk/] with the hashtag #JollyesPetParade.  

Wrecsam 2025 bid team member and destination manager Joe Bickerton and his dog Milly will also take to the red carpet on opening day. 

Jollyes’ new Wrexham store will be a landmark one for the pet retailer. As well as selling a wide range of pet food and accessories, the store will feature “The Spa”, Jollyes’ high-quality dedicated dog grooming salon, and a pet clinic.  

Jollyes chief operating officer Joe Wykes said: “Wrexham is the perfect location for us to open what will be one of our flagship stores. Not only do we know that the people of Wrexham love their pets, but they also live in of one of the most vibrant boroughs in the UK that as the 2025 City of Culture bid shows, is going places. We can’t wait to open our doors in May.” 

Joe Bickerton, from the Wrecsam 2025 City of Culture bid, said: “Wrexham County is an amazing place to live, work and invest and the county has real momentum at the moment.  

“It’s fantastic news that Jollyes the Pet People have chosen Wrexham as a destination for their flagship store. We’ve had lots of community events promoting our bid and were delighted when we were approached by Jollyes the pet people asking if they could also hold an event promoting our bid as part of their store opening.  

“I’m really looking forward to this quirky and fun event that I’m sure will be a great success.” 

The Border Retail Park store will be Jollyes’ second store in North Wales, complementing its popular outlet at the Flintshire Retail Park, Flint. 

The opening will mark an important stage in the retailer’s plans that will see Jollyes open 20 stores in this calendar year across the UK. 

More details about the store’s launch plans, including timings for the Pet Passion Show, will be released in the week of opening.