Fuelled by many an A-list celebrity, the market for luxury pet accessories seems to be burgeoning. From coats and sweaters to even jewel-encrusted collars and organic shampoo, pets can be well and truly pampered with the wide range of products available from specialised boutiques.

One such example is Pugs & Kisses. Billing itself as the UK’s most stylish pet boutique for fashion-conscious cats and dogs, Pug & Kisses was set up in 2005 by New Yorker, Candace Maher-Walsh, shortly after her arrival in London.

Beginning with a store and spa on New Kings Road, Candace has recently opened another boutique at destination shopping centre, Bluewater, and the company has plans for further expansion. However, developing a successful retail network as a small trader can prove very challenging. “I want to focus on building the business knowing that better-established competitors don’t have an advantage over me in terms of technology”, explained Candace.

As a result, Pugs & Kisses implemented a solution from Cybertill including the Epson’s world renowned receipt printers, in order to enable it to benefit from the same kind of functionality and performance usually only enjoyed by larger, multi-site retailers.

Primo, Cybertill’s latest solution, is specifically designed for smaller retailers and helps to relieve the headache and cost of managing in-house systems without any compromise on functionality. Made available on an ASP basis, it provides full control over product, stock and accounting, while Epson’s TM-T88IV fast, thermal receipt printers enable Pugs & Kisses to offer speedy and efficient services in-store. “I am very impressed with the Epson printers – they are fast, reliable and easy-to-use and, being so compact, they fit discreetly into our store layouts,” added Candace. The company also has a transactional website, which the Cybertill solution supports, enabling it to capitalise on the growth of online sales.

Implemented in October 2006, Pugs & Kisses’ retail technology has been a hit. “I didn’t think it would be possible for us, as a small business, to invest in the latest retail technology and level the playing field, but with Cybertill’s Primo software and Epson’s receipt printers, I’ve now got all the functionality and reliability I need at the point of sale.”

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