Nationwide pet retailer Jollyes plans to open new stores in Swindon and Belfast on Friday 28 July, taking its number of outlets to 92.

The Swindon store, at Mannington Retail Park will be officially opened by Peggy, who’ll be accompanied by her mum, local star Melinda Messenger (pictured above).

Peggy, who’ll bite through a string of sausages to officially open the store, will be at home in Jollyes new flagship – it’s 91st location in the UK.

The store will be one of the first in the UK to get both a new-look Community Pet Clinic and ‘Jolly Groomer’ - part of a £1million investment over the next 18 months to supercharge Jollyes’ provision of vet clinics, grooming parlours and other pet services in its UK stores.

Jollyes’ service expansion at Swindon will reflect its commitment to extraordinary value. Vet-supervised dog and cat vaccinations in the clinic will start at just £14 and £13 for rabbits with primary course jabs for dogs and cats at £33.

Microchipping, already compulsory for dogs and compulsory for cats in England from 2024, start at just £13, offering significant savings against average prices charged by formal vet practices.

The Jolly Groomer at Swindon will offer straightforward pricing for a quality groom that doesn’t cost a paw and a leg.

Customers can choose precisely what grooming service they need, so they don’t pay for ones they don’t. Prices for a bath and brush will start at just £15.

What’s more Jollyes in Swindon will also be the first store to have its own ‘bedroom’ where dogs. cats and other for-legged friends can try out the wide selection of pet beds before their parents buy.

The appearance of Peggy and Melinda isn’t the only fun planned for the store’s opening weekend.

The first 100 customers on Friday will receive a free goody-bag and every customer will have the chance to spin Jollyes’ iconic ‘Wheel of Fur-tune’ to win prizes. There’ll be animal-themed stilt walkers for selfies on Friday and on Saturday, there’ll be a special appearance by three meerkats – Oreo, Wallace and Otto - from the Swineford Brook animal feeding experience.

Jollyes’ new Swindon store and its team of 12 will be led by Tanya Paterson who’s joined from McColls with a mission to bring the ranges, service and pet care Jollyes is famous for, to town.

Its new store will provide pet parents in Swindon access to Jollyes’ raw food frozen ‘shop-in-shop’ alongside high quality private label pet food such as its own Lifestage, K9 and Rileys brands which offer a premium experience without a big brand price tag.

“We’re starting work today to get the store ready to welcome Peggy, Melinda and the pet parents of Swindon at the end of the month.” said regional manager Sam Wells. “We’re looking forward to bringing the kind of value and service that’s already available at all our other Jollyes stores to the heart of Swindon.”

Jollyes recently outlined an innovative package of benefits for all its colleagues – including those recently recruited to Swindon.

The package includes, birthday leave, a ‘pet-eternity’ day for colleagues getting a new pet in the family, a week off on full pay for all colleagues on when they get married, enhanced maternity and paternity leave and an enhanced 20 per cent discount off all Jollyes services.

The opening of the new Swindon store – its 91st in the UK – is part of Jollyes’ ambitious expansion plans which has seen it exceed £100 million turnover in FY2023, employ over 1,000 colleagues and put it well on the way to having 100 stores within the next 12 months.

Jollyes will also open its 92nd store on Boucher Road, Belfast on the same day.