The future is looking bright for a Midlands online shop following a sales boom in its specialist lights.

Pizzazz-retail.co.uk is a seller of Mighty Bright portable lights and sight products for readers, crafters and musicians.

The Nuneaton company launched a new website in late 2007 to trade alongside its Amazon.co.uk store - and sales have soared as a result.

Pizzazz owner, Bryn Evans, said the firm took its time perfecting the website, and sought help from the e-business centre of excellence for the West Midlands, the National B2B Centre.

Bryn said: "The brand is now starting to grow but it has taken a lot of work to get the website as we wanted.

"We worked closely with the National B2B Centre to develop the website, but it wasn't until the middle of 2007 when we were happy to start thinking about marketing.

"The National B2B Centre has introduced us to the e-commerce system Zencart and that has put us in touch with people in the open source world who can train us to use it properly, without us needing to spend thousands of pounds. It's a very effective programme."

Pizzazz has built a good reputation through its own site and its Amazon shop - and the firm expects business to continually grow.

Bryn also believes that by putting effort into the Amazon.co.uk shop, there have been long-lasting benefits to his company.

He said: "We've produced more sales through it than our own site and it has helped raise our company profile and awareness of our individual website.

"For instance, because we sell a wide range of Mighty Bright products through Amazon, when someone uses a search engine such as Google, our listings will be at the top of the search results.

"We are achieving sales that are much greater than we first envisaged. Luckily, the Zencart system will cope with our growth even if we quadruple over the next year - we might just need to buy a new computer."

Pizzazz is now starting to look at hiring part-time staff to handle the growing demand for its products.

James Pennington, of the National B2B Centre, says that building an accessible and professional website provides a strong foundation for an online store.

"Pizzazz has shown how effective use of an online marketplace such as Amazon can not only secure strong sales, but can provide a positive impact for a company's own store," he said.

"Bryn has reached a point at which he is happy with the website's look and navigation, and so now is the time to explore e-marketing and to put relevant techniques to the test to draw in customers.

"By having a diverse range of products, Pizzazz will draw in a variety of visitors. We are in an age where people are willing to spend a little extra time looking for the best price and supplier, and through an accessible site and quality service, there is no doubt that Pizzazz will thrive."

The National B2B Centre is part of WMG at the University of Warwick and funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Advantage West Midlands.