Store gallery: Value for money and service take centre stage at Jollyes

By the end of this year, pet specialist Jollyes will have 98 branches – up from 67 two years ago.

The 5,000 sq ft Stockton shop represents the retailer’s current store iteration, catering to a wide variety of pets, from cats to goldfish, and carrying everything from food to accessories and vet services. New ideas are also being piloted.

Jollyes positions itself upon two founding principles – value and staff knowledge.

The former is prominent at the front of the shop, from where fixtures gradually rise in height towards the middle and back. Value for money, deals and price lock messaging greet shoppers as they come in.

To the side of the entrance, the checkout also offers click and collect and highlights Jollyes’ specialist positioning with a dispensary staffed by specially trained employees.

Stockton, which has been open for just over a year, is trading “extremely well”, chief executive Joe Wykes tells Retail Week, and the strength of the retailer’s proposition and service overall has earned it a TrustPilot score of 4.8.

The retailer has invested in older branches to make them more like the Stockton branch and its newer stores – particularly in areas such as lighting and racking. “This is a good representation of the majority of our stores,” says Wykes.

Own-brand is also prominent at the front of the store. It is a key driver of trade and customers who purchase own-brand tend to visit between 12 and 14 times a year – typically picking up additional products other than food. Own-brand accounts for about 25% of Jollyes’ sales.

There are 600,000 active members of Jollyes’ Pet Club. As well as being more frequent shoppers, the data they provide – married with census data – helps the retailer decide where to open new stores.

In the past, members received discounts communicated at the till. However, at Stockton, the retailer is testing whether the scheme can successfully be used to acquire customers by promoting members’ prices on the shelf.

The store also reflects changing customer habits. Just as people are more concerned about healthy diets, they are seeking the same for their pets and that is evidenced by the growth of the raw/frozen food category sold from dedicated units at the rear of the store – in some branches they are designed as shop-in-shops.

The branch, like most others, also includes a pet clinic offering services such as microchipping and vaccination at lower prices than a conventional vet’s surgery.

Wykes describes Jollyes as “very much a four walls retailer”. It does sell online but the weight of high-demand products such as food means the cost of delivery is high, so shops remain the primary focus.

Jollyes is likely to experiment with store size – smaller branches may be possible – but the need to cater to a wide variety of pets is a big consideration.

Options for smaller shops may end up being limited but Jollyes continues to get bigger. Over the last year or so, it has put on like-for-like growth of 20% so the store formula seems to be working.