<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Pets Pyjamas</span></p><p class="caption">Gracia Amico, CEO of Pets Pyjamas and her lurcher dog Piper.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Britain is a nation of pet lovers and anyone who has a dog, cat, or another type of furry friend will know that you're willing to part with a decent amount of cash to get the best for your four-legged family member.</p><p>According to Pets at Home data, Britain is set to spend £6 billion ($9 billion) on their pets this year and research by Capital One says <a href="http://www.capitalone.co.uk/aboutus/pet-owners-spending-infographic.jsf">spending on pet presents has grown by £3 million in the last 2 years</a>.</p><p>But most of this is on run of the mill pet accessories - it's not that easy to pamper your pet.</p><p>This is where Pets Pyjamas has found its niche.</p><p>The company - founded in 2011 by Denise Elphick, Karen Hanton, Olaf Siedler - marries luxury, fashion, and travel for people who are crazy about their pets.</p><p>The company has a big following and has thank you letters on the wall from the Osborne family - <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword> Chancellor George Osborne, a separate letter from their Bichon Frise "Lola Osborne"(in comic sans), and a third from Osborne's wife.</p><p>Pets Pyjamas does luxury handmade pet accessories, such as handmade leather collars and sumptuous doggy jackets. But it also does decadent tailor-made holidays for you and your pet, and even has a dog concierge service.</p><p>Gracia Amico, who was appointed CEO in 2014, has championed the bespoke dog-friendly holidays and says they are helping turnover rocket.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lianna Brinded/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">A framed handwritten letter from UK Chancellor George Osborne and a letter from his dog, hang on the wall in Pets Pyjamas headquarters.</p></div><p></p></div></div>"When I joined, we didn't do holidays but now it accounts for 70% of the group's revenue. I can't give you exact numbers but we have annual triple-digit growth in holidays and accessories - and this isn't from a low base," Amico told Business Insider in their Shoreditch-based London offices.</p><p>"We now have over 200 hotels and 100 cottages who are on board and everyone is starting to understand the importance of the 'hound pound,' which is sales made from pet related products and services.</p><p>"Dogs are an essential part of the family for many people and some wouldn't be able to travel at all if they can't take their dogs so we decided to apply the Pets Pyjamas brand to holidays."</p><p>According to <a href="http://www.wtmlondon.com/RXUK/RXUK_WTMLondon/2015/documents/WTM-Global-Trends-2014.pdf?v=1425639417">Euromonitor International's World Travel Market global trends report</a>, British hotels could <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11577184/The-hound-pound-dog-lovers-will-splash-out-on-holidays-with-their-pets.html">increase revenues by 30% per year</a> if they allowed people to bring their pets.</p><p>"No where else does what we do," Amico says. "Yes, there are some accommodation websites that allow you to choose 'dog friendly' places to stay but they're just tick boxes. You don't know if they allow the pets to stay in the room when you're out or have to be put in the car while you are having dinner. What we do is completely different."</p><p>"All our hotels and cottages are beautiful, but [we] also make sure that dogs go free and that it fully accommodates your pet, for example, allowing you to leave them in the room and also being able to accompany you for dinner in some cases.</p><p>"If they can't accommodate the dinner aspect, then they have to at least provide services that allow your dog to be looked after if you pop out. For example, you could go for a spa treatment while you dog could get groomed and smell and look great by the time you return.</p><p>"We also provide a wonderful box of goodies for you on arrival, personalised for your dog, and can design holiday packages, costing all the way up to £10,000 ($15,000). We always overdeliver."</p><h2>"We overdeliver"</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lianna Brinded/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Kobi the husky at the front door in Pets Pyjamas' London HQ.</p></div><p></p></div></div>You only have to visit the Pets Pyjamas website for a few minutes to realise the company treats its products and services like Vogue treats fashion.</p><p>Amico, who is a veteran in the e-commerce and fashion world, believes that the key to the company's success is that it "overdelivers," has high-quality products, and always makes sure there is the element of bespoke to its services. In other words, she says, Pets Pyjamas "attracts you in one way and keeps you coming back for more. It's a very holistic business."</p><p>Amico says they are the first group to "curate" high-end pet related products, that range from £10 ($15) collars to limited items that can cost thousands of pounds. You won't see plastic squeaky toys or budget dog bowls anywhere on site.</p><p>"What's interesting is that our customers, if they buy a holiday, they come back to the site for accessories and vice versa," Amico says. "We also put a lot of time into making sure the website is tailormade to breeds. For example, what you want to buy for your pug versus my lurcher is very different."</p><p>"We also make sure we are content rich and have articles, lists and advice from celebrity pet owners, trainers, vets and others."</p><h2>"The 'internet' used to be a dirty word in the luxury world"</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lianna Brinded/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Gracia Amico, CEO of Pets Pyjamas spoke to Business Insider from the group's London HQ in Shoreditch.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Amico wanted to be in business from an early age but decided to take up a language that would be key in the business world instead - Mandarin.</p><p>After completing a Masters in Chinese, with several facets of an MBA, marketing, business and finance embedded into the degree, she launched a fine Italian jewellery and leather goods e-commerce business named after herself when dot com was in its infancy in the 1990s.</p><p>"I absolutely loved it and for the 5 and a half years I did it, it was great," she said. "I had £500,000 ($754,000) in venture capital investment but it was a steep learning curve and quite lonely. I had a small team but when the dot com bubble burst, I didn't have all the answers. But I learned so much and realised that I wanted to stay in e-commerce. There was great potential online."</p><p>After the Amico site, she worked for a bed linen company to expand their offering online and then rose up the ranks in the world of e-commerce and fashion. She ended up working at Burberry in the e-marketing department and made the group "super commercial."</p><p>"The 'internet' used to a little bit of a dirty word in the luxury fashion world but after a year they became super commercial online," she says.</p><p>She said she was hungry for more innovation, which led her to Topman where she ran the e-commerce department with just two people. Within 5 years, she grew sales online from £2 million ($3 million) to over £50 million ($75.4 million) with a team of 45.</p><p>"I don't know what it was like across the rest of the Arcadia group [the company that owns Topman] but it was very entrepreneurial in Topman. We could move fast. For example, one day I just spoke to the tech people and asked for a US site and it was done quickly and then we started trading in the US," said Amico. "However, the bigger we got, the more we slowed down in development."</p><p>She then went to Hobbs in a similar role but "didn't find it entrepreneurial enough." Immediately afterwards, she was poached by long-term business friend and co-founder of Pets Pyjamas Karen Hanton and the rest is history.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>petspyjamas.com</span></p><p class="caption">A screengrab from the Pets Pyjamas website.</p></div><p></p></div></div>So what's next?</p><p>"We have only scratched the surface in Britain and we're getting more and more hotels and holiday destinations on board here, but continental Europe is an easy [expansion option] for us," Amico says.</p><p>"We have a good relationship with the Eurotunnel already and we've already started scouting places in the South of France.</p><p>"There's one place which is absolutely beautiful and is right near the sea. It also has a Michelin star restaurant where the chef has even agreed to make dinner for your dog."</p><p>The US, Japan, and other European countries are other areas for potential expansion. Partnerships are in the works. The group has launched its own range of dog jackets, which will be sold in Accessorize.</p><p>And Amico is also focusing on the tech side of things, given her background in e-commerce.</p><p>She says: "We are also creating an app that helps pets owners when they are travelling, whether they need to find dog-friendly restaurants or if there are some great places nearby to visit."</p><p>Given her roots in the first dot com bubble, does Amico think Pets Pyjama being a disruptor - a word loved by the tech community - is key to the company's success?</p><p>"We're very lucky here, we have a great tech team, great staff with a good pedigree," she said. "However, I wouldn't say we are disrupting. We are just moving everything on into the 21st century and ahead with the times."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-herjavec-american-dream-shark-tank-small-business-2015-10">'Shark Tank' star Robert Herjavec says only Americans think there are no opportunities in America </a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="gwbTkzeDpwglUYEFdCPlUIg1JNcvtfkf" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

The luxury pet company George Osborne loves tells us it's making a killing from the 'hound pound'

Our mission to buy a fake Rolex on Facebook reveals how the company is playing host to countless criminal enterprises

<br />
Most of us borrow while acquiring a home. Gone are those days when our parents and grandparents saved throughout their lifetime with the 'dream' of constructing a house with their savings and retirement benefits like Provident Fund, Gratuity Funds, etc., and still the house remained unfinished to some extent. They hoped that their next generation will get a stable job and help built another floor before they get married.<br />
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Sounds so nostalgic, isn't it? In today's world, soon after getting a job, people get their credit cards, swipe it to pay down-payment for a two-wheeler. Within first year, most of them buy a four-wheeler, and the end of second year, they start looking to buy a one or two bhk flat after borrowing a home loan.<br />
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Now, our story starts here. In order to acquire an apartment in the city where you work, what is the price you pay? Here, we show you, how much you need to pay to secure the absolute ownership of that flat.<br />
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<strong>Preparations before you buy</strong><br />
<br />
Nobody buys the first house they see. We check out at least 30 apartments over a period of 6 months (or more) before we decide which home we would want to buy. In this process, you take a few off-days, call hundred brokers and builder's project sites, drive down to these places, eat outside and spend money. Now, this seems to be very natural and a must for all home-buyers. This cost of 'gaining experience' is a mandatory period for anyone. So, let's not cry over it.<br />
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Then, once the house is finalised for the purchase to be made, you start talking to your credit card company, bank, family &amp; friends to arrange for the 20% of the cost of the property which you need to accumulate for the 'self-contribution' bit of it. You break your fixed deposits, Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), borrow from Provident Fund account, sell/mortgage your jewellery and accumulate say, Rs 10 lakh (we are assuming the home you are buying is worth Rs 50 lakh here). You will also have to pay a brokerage &amp; you arrange for that too.<br />
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Then you start comparing rate of interest (ROI) of different banks online &amp; offline, meet a lot of sales executives, hard negotiate on processing fee and finalise on one lender and apply for the loan. After some paperwork &amp; a wait-period you receive your loan sanction letter and go to the seller/builder to sign the agreement.<br />
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<strong>Here is when the surprise begins!</strong><br />
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Banks told you their fee, builder told you their price, and broker told you about his commission, but did anyone tell you about the fees that you’ve to pay to the government. Yes, you must be aware about the stamp duty and registration charges, but do not the fees you have to pay to the India government while taking a loan. And you thought that acquiring a bank loan was all about an upfront processing fee for which you had negotiated your best and opted for a 'nil' fee bank. On top of this, you have the legal fees, valuation fee, administrative charges, documentation fee, franking charges on sale agreement as well as loan agreement (mortgage origination fee), intimation of registration charges—and the list goes on. That is when most of us cry out and start looking out for someone who can list out the 'charges' for us. Even after all this, your home is still not yours; it is hypothecated with the bank. You will get the title deed only once you repay the full loan amount with due interest payable in the next few years.<br />
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<strong>What you end up paying for a 50-lakh home loan?</strong><br />
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Let’s chart out the actual cost of your home-buying. Guessing that you will continue with your home loan at least for 10 years as the approximately 8-10 years is the average Indian standard before someone pre-closes their home loans. Now, please find the chart below:<br />
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Now, you are reading the numbers correct. The cost of completely acquire a home worth Rs 50 lakh after 10 years using a housing loan will cost you Rs 1, 00, 89,076 (Rupees One Crore Eighty Nine Thousand &amp; Seventy Six only). This is a tentative projection. With interest rate &amp; other fees and charges fluctuating, it will vary.<br />
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But don’t lose heart. Your property in 10 years may be valued at Rs 2 crore. You will happily live in it during your hay-days of life, get tax relief from the government year-on-year and have the protection on your family's head. So, why wait till retirement and still do not fulfill your wishes? Go ahead and start searching for a home today.<br />
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(About the author: This article has been written by Sukanya Kumar,Founder and Director of RetailLending.com)<br />

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