Perfume is the key to our memories. We pick up scents in every breath we take. Read along to learn the story of Antidotes, a Boutique Perfume & Home Fragrance located in Thailand, which, with its scented candles, transports you to places with the ordinary act of taking in a breath.

Can you briefly share the story of your business?

The business is called Antidotes; it is a boutique perfume and home fragrance. We have been operating for around 2-3 years. I lived in Singapore before opening the business. Antidotes originated from a casual conversation between my friend and I, two office workers at a multinational corporation who shared a passion for scents. Rather than settling for ordinary brands through trial and error, we aimed to create a distinctive candle experience. We meticulously explored numerous color palettes before settling on our signature mint green and selected a custom candle wax blend with long-term health benefits in mind. We decided to start our business online only as it was straightforward. But, after a while, we decided to step forward and make it bigger. After two years, we decided we needed a physical shop. The first shop that we opened is located in Bangkok. We decided to move from Singapore to Bangkok, knowing very little about running a business. Once we opened the shop, we understood we needed something more professional to manage our business. The time that we had before opening our shop was very minimal, around a month. There were so many things we needed to take care of. The POS system was one thing we needed to think about. 

How did you come across Loyverse?

I went to the other shops to see what kind of system they were using. Initially, I noticed the POS devices they were using; they were Sunmi devices. I went home, Googled it, and checked the Sunmi Thailand page. When I visited them in the shop to buy the hardware, they recommended Loyverse. They taught me briefly how to use the system. When we started the business, we used two systems: Loyverse POS as a point of sale and another system that could connect to my accounting system. 

How did Loyverse impact your business?

The system helps us be worry-free about operating our business and offers more flexibility with customers and employees than other systems. The reports also help us understand how the business goes. I like the option to export reports, and it has been beneficial for me since I use it to export the sales report and forward it to my accountant. 

What I really liked about Loyverse is its cost-effectiveness for a starting business and the flexibility that the system provides. 

In what specific ways does Loyverse help you manage your inventory?

When we first started, we didn’t have many items, and we still don’t have many. I think we have around 50 SKUs. But we want to track the stock to avoid any issues. We are using Advanced Inventory and Employee Management subscriptions. The employees do inventory counts to reconcile the physical inventory with the inventory that the system shows. I also use Transfer orders and Stock Adjustment features daily. We use the Inventory History report when there is some mismatch in the inventory numbers to see if we have missed something.  

Do you have regular customers, and have you added them to the system? 

Yes, we have regular customers and registered them in the systems so we can track how many sales they have done and what items they have purchased. To view the purchases of the registered customers, I use the “View purchases” option in the POS or export the receipts list and filter by customer in the exported file. 

What features or functionalities would you like to see added or improved in Loyverse to further enhance your retail business operations?

I would like an improvement in the discounts report to show not only how many times a discount was applied, but also which items were discounted. 

Also, I would like to have more options regarding customers, such as classifying them into different groups, so we can identify when they visit our store who is classified for a specific discount. 

Would you like to share any advice or words of wisdom with aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to start their own retail business?

I recommend that all retail businesses invest in a good POS system like Loyverse to ensure that they are worry-free about daily operations. 

Visit Antidotes website and Instagram page.