News Release

Monday 26 September 2022

Jollyes Glenrothes first store in the UK to be officially opened by a unicorn. Fun-packed line-up of events planned as finishing touches made to store

Jollyes is putting the finishing touches to its new store in Glenrothes in Fife which is set to be the first pet store in the UK to be opened by a unicorn.

The nationwide pet retailer’s latest store – it’s fourth in Scotland - will open at Saltire Retail Park in Glenrothes on Saturday 8 October at 10.00am.

A fun-packed line-up of events is planned for the day, including what is believed to be the first pet store opening by a unicorn, the national animal of Scotland.

While Jollyes in Glenrothes has no plans to sell unicorns, it has turned to the expertise of Scotland’s Unicorn Experience.

Princess, one of their famous unicorns (who masquerades as an adorable miniature Shetland pony) – will carry out the official opening.

The 5,000 square feet store will employ 10 colleagues, led by store manager Leonard Goddard.

Jollyes is planning give Glenrothes’ pet lovers a warm welcome to the UK’s “Pet People” with events on the day including:

• the official opening by unicorn Princess
• children can meet and feed Princess
• the chance to win prizes by playing the “wheel of fur-tune”
• goodie bags for the first 100 visitors
• radio competition on Kingdom FM, giving people the chance to win one of five £50 vouchers to spend in the store.
• face painting

The date for the Glenrothes store opening is two weeks later than originally planned to allow fitting out work to be completed.

Kerry Midgley, Jollyes regional manager, said: “We’re looking forward to opening a store that everyone in Glenrothes can be proud of and what better way to do it than have Scotland’s national animal, a unicorn, to be there to celebrate the occasion.

“The store is in a great location and we’ve designed it to make it as easy as possible for pet lovers in Glenrothes and the surrounding area to find what they are looking for from small animals, food and accessories to toys and treats.”

In addition to the new Glenrothes store, Jollyes is also preparing to open a store at Hermiston Gait Retail Park, its fifth in Scotland as part of a near £1 million investment. The two new openings follow the opening of Jollyes in Stirling in June and build on the popularity of the long-standing stores in Clydebank and Perth.

Backed by Kester Capital, Jollyes has more than 80 stores across the UK. In July, it acquired Penparc Pet Centres with five stores in the Midlands, which together with new openings in Cookstown, Wrexham, Stirling, Southport, Stockton-on-Tees and Poole has accelerated the pace of expansion.

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About Jollyes

From modest beginnings in Enfield as a single store in 1971, Jollyes has now grown into one of the leading pet food superstores with almost 70 locations across the UK alongside a market-leading position in Northern Ireland.

From Perth to Plymouth, Newry to Norwich, at Jollyes customers can find anything for their pet, from pet food, pet toys and an array of pet accessories.

Customers are actively encouraged to bring their pets into store, while customers shop because Jollyes people are passionate about pets.

Potty about puppies and crazy for cats, no matter what the animal, store colleagues are always on hand to help with anything from product advice, to picking the perfect pet and accessories.

Many stores also run community clinics offering vaccinations and other advice from trained vets. And if one of Jollyes stores isn’t close by, there’s helpful advice on Jollyes website where you can ask the expert.

Jollyes was recently named Pet Retail Chain of the Year at the Pet Industry Federation Awards.