Nationwide pet retailer Jollyes has confirmed it planned an official opening its first Merthyr Tydfil store on Saturday 12 August at 10.00am.

And the flagship store, at Triangle Business Park Rd, Pentrebach is set to become the first store in the UK opened by Dreygo – a dragon with a huge 15-feet wingspan and smoke-breathing nostrils.

Joining Dreygo will be civic guests from Merthyr County Borough Council – new Mayor Councillor Malcolm Colbran and regeneration cabinet member Michelle Symonds and her dog Milo who’ll declare the store open by biting through a string of sausages.

The store, Jollyes 93rd in the UK and fourth in Wales will be a flagship location for the pet retailer.

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 Merthyr 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, starts at just £13, offering significant savings against average prices charged by formal vet practices.

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

Its new store will provide pet parents in Merthyr 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.

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 £15.00.

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

The store intends to soft-open on Friday 11 August and on Saturday, the first 100 customers on Saturday will receive a free goody-bag and every customer will have the chance to spin Jollyes’ iconic ‘Wheel of Fur-tune’ to win prizes.

Also on hand to cool down hot dogs will be Jollyes’ ice-cream tricycle offering special treats from doggy ice cream provider Frozzys.

The store will also be raising money for Friends of Animals Wales, based in Rhondda.

And Nation Radio Wales will be on hand to broadcast live links back to the studio and interview the team.

Jollyes’ new Merthyr store and its team of 12 will be led by Sadie Rawlings who moves over to Pentrebach after overseeing the launch of Jollyes in Llanelli last December.

“We’re starting work next Monday to get the store ready to welcome Dreygo, Milo and the pet parents of Merthyr later this month.” said regional manager Sam Wells. 

“We’re thrilled that Pentrebach will be our fourth location in Wales, and we’re looking forward to bringing the kind of value and service that’s already available at Wrexham, Llanelli and Flint to Merthyr.”

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

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 Pentrebach store – its 93rd 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.