Error when launching Hikashop on Joomla 2.5

I get the following error displayed at the end of the page after a full listing of all components that are loaded successfully:

Can not find the component/level to check the latest version : 'hikashop' / ''

I just installed Hikashop Essential on Joomla 2.5 running on a Windows server. No matter which option I select from the Hikashop menu, I get the same screen coming up (as described above).

Any ideas? Given the rave reviews, I'd hate to dump this without getting it working. Thanks.