Nationwide pet retailer Jollyes is investing £1m over the next 18 months to supercharge the provision of vet clinics, grooming parlours and other pet services in its UK stores.
Between now and the summer of 2024, Jollyes will double the number of stores that offer community pet clinics, double opening hours for those clinics and double the number of dog grooming locations.
To facilitate that growth, Jollyes will:
- Appoint its first ever ‘Head of Services’. Colin Neave, who takes up the role moving from his existing regional manager position to focus on the expansion of Jollyes’ pet services.
- Partner with Leeds-based Eville & Jones to provide in-store veterinary services from fully trained and Royal Veterinary College-accredited vets.
- Appoint Dr Adrian Ward MRCVS to the Jollyes board, bringing veterinary experience to the leadership team.
- Rebrand its existing and growing number of pet spas as “the Jolly Groomer”.
The expansion gets underway immediately and compliments Jollyes’ growth plans which will see it hit £100 million turnover in FY2023, employ 1,000 colleagues this year and have 100 stores within 18 months.
From 13 March, Jollyes will introduce vet clinics across eight of its Northern Ireland stores – Ballymena, Lisburn, Lurgan, Banbridge, Newry, Newtownabbey, Belfast and Bangor.
Existing clinics in 45 Jollyes stores will see opening hours expand across the week enabling greater access and convenience for shoppers.
And the first Jolly Groomer will open at Jollyes’ new Scunthorpe store in North Lincolnshire at the Gallagher Retail Park on 25 March.
What’s more Jollyes’ service expansion will reflect its commitment to extraordinary value.
Vet prescribed and administered dog and cat vaccinations in its clinics 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 expected to be extended to cats start at just £13, offering significant savings against average prices charged by formal vet practices.
All Jollyes’ existing Spas will relaunch in 2023 as Jolly Groomers, committed to simple 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. At the first two Jolly Groomer locations in Scunthorpe and Edinburgh Hermiston Gate , prices for a bath and brush will start at just £15.00.
Scunthorpe will also be the home of one of its first ‘Wash & Go’ dog-wash booths which for just £5.00 can provide a full clean-up for mucky pups without the hassle of messing up a home bathroom.
“We’re moving at pace at Jollyes as we support our extraordinary colleagues as they support pet parents in their communities with much needed ways to lower the cost of looking after their four-legged family members.
“Our commitment to widen the provision of vet clinics and grooming services will help us build on our extraordinary growth as more customers discover the value and expert support our people provide.”
Eville & Jones has worked with Jollyes since 2013 to provide in-store vaccination clinics and its chief executive officer Charles Hartwell was delighted at the expansion of the relationship.
"Jollyes' investment in more community pet clinics in their UK stores is fantastic news,” he said.
“It's an exciting time, and with eight new vet clinics set to open in Northern Ireland, I look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Jollyes and their customers."
In 2023 Jollyes has already opened new stores at Port Glasgow and Peterborough and in addition to its new location in Scunthorpe, plans further openings in the coming months in Warrington, Christchurch, Swindon and Merthyr Tydfil.
