PET retailer Jolley’s has announced that it will open its 100th UK store at Newport Retail Park on St David’s Day.

Jolley’s will open its first store in Gwent on Friday, March 1, at Newport Retail Park and will create ten jobs for the area.

The leading pet retailer will open at the former Clarks unit after it closed late last year. The unit has been empty for two months.

The new store will be the third to open in Wales following openings in Llanelli and Merthyr Tydfil along with the creation of 36 new jobs at private label supplier facilities in Llangadog and Pencader.

Jollyes had a successful Christmas season, with record-breaking sales. Like-for-like sales increased by 13 per cent for the five weeks leading up to 31 December 2023, and total growth for the period was 25 per cent.

South Wales Argus: Jolley's will open its first store in Newport on March, 1. Picture: ProfimagesJolley's will open its first store in Newport on March, 1. Picture: Profimages (Image: Profimages)The final week before Christmas was Jollyes' strongest ever, with a 45 per cent increase in customers compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, over 50,000 Trustpilot reviews have been posted online, with over 88 per cent rating Jollyes as excellent.

Chief executive officer Joe Wykes said: “Christmas saw us continue to fly, delivering market-leading trading both in stores and online as we brought our special combination of expertise, service, and value to UK pet parents.

“A big thank you to our 1,000-strong team – I know these excellent results are powered by their hard work for customers in the communities they serve.

“We’re looking forward to trading from 100 stores for the first time and continuing to invest in 2024 in building a platform for even more growth in the months ahead.”

South Wales Argus: Jolley's chief executive officer Joe Wykes. Picture: ProfimagesJolley's chief executive officer Joe Wykes. Picture: Profimages (Image: Profimages)The opening of the new store at Newport Retail Park will have a lot of activities including the appearance of a dragon with a 15-foot wingspan called Draygo.

There will also be free Welsh cakes and goody bags for the first 100 customers and a caricaturist who can sketch pictures of customers and their animals.

Jolley’s is also on the hunt for their first ‘Ambassa-dogs’ to promote the store. In return for advertising the store opening they will get free food for six months.

The Blue Cross charity will be there too raising money and awareness of rehoming and advice.