Impressions - January 2015 - 57

RPLV has a total of
three M&R automatic
presses - two 14-color
and a six-color.

afraid to raise retail prices, RPLV gets
pushback to lower prices as costs increase.
"It is a never-ending battle," Dortch
says. "We have to buy smarter and become
more efﬁcient in manufacturing, so we can
try to help the buyer as best we can. As for
labor costs, they always increase annually."

ONLINE BUZZ

has an in-house sewing department with
66 embroidery heads for private labeling.
In addition to offering services for
the promotional products and events industries, RPLV clientele includes tourist
attractions and destinations in Las Vegas
and around the country.
"Our art staff is especially skilled in understanding the differing demographics of
tourists based on location and property,"
Dortch says. "Living in a tourist destination
is an advantage when it comes to understanding what tourists are looking to buy.
Offering products that meet demand
calls for a true understanding of the buyer
and the location. "We certainly create more
designs with rhinestone treatments for our
Las Vegas visitors than we do [for] other
locations around the country," Dortch
says. "But we do still see all different types
of embellishments being used everywhere.
While we enjoy doing logo programs for
all of our customers, we try to make designs that are more fashionable."

are visiting," Dortch continues. "Once we
ﬁnd a formula that works, we try to expand on it."
RPLV spends a tremendous amount of
time, money and energy tracking current
design and fabrication trends, as those are
the keys to staying relevant in this market. "We are fortunate to be in Las Vegas,"
Dortch says. "Trade shows from every industry seem to come here. We try to attend
anything that is relevant to our business."
For example, the MAGIC marketplace
takes place in Las Vegas twice a year, and
designers from all over the country exhibit
their next-season items. Dortch attends this
show to identify emerging trends. In addition to MAGIC, he shops retail stores and
buys garments that are similar to RPLV's
designs. This validates that what Dortch's
team is producing is, in fact, relevant and
in demand. And should an RPLV design be
deemed ahead of its time, it is kept until
the trend hits mainstream, he says.

TRACKING TRENDS

Increasing blanks and labor costs always
are big obstacles for any decorator, and
RPLV is no exception.
"Blank costs seem to follow the stock
market cotton prices, and as they ﬂuctuate, so do our costs." Dortch says. "Only
two months after we closed on the business, cotton prices hit an all-time high. We
got price increases from our suppliers. The
timing was terrible, but we weathered the
storm. Cotton prices seem to have stabilized now, but like the cost of gas, it is a
constant change."
Dortch also says retail buyers are under constant pressure from other powers
that be to increase their margins, which
only can be done by raising retail prices
or lowering costs. Since most buyers are

With tourist shops on every corner, Las
Vegas may seem like a difﬁcult location
to stand apart from the competition, but
Dortch and his team have found a way to
do it.
"Our distinction is that not only are we
a one-stop shop for everything you need in
the promotional products arena, [but] we
also create unparalleled designs for retail,"
he says. "My art staff does an amazing job
of keeping up with the latest trends, incorporating this knowledge into resort wear
and transforming it into something that is
more fashionable.
"We have people who buy our product
because it is something that they like, not
just because it has the name of where they
impressionsmag.com

STAYING AHEAD

Although social media and other digital platforms have taken the retail world
by storm, their use has not been a factor
for RPLV - yet. The company has Facebook and Twitter accounts, but Dortch
ﬁnds them hard to use. Most of what
RPLV does becomes customers' intellectual property, which can make showcasing
the company's best work difﬁcult.
Surprisingly, Dortch says RPLV has
received almost no business through its
website. "Most of our business has been
gained via expanding with existing clients
or referrals from existing clients," he says.
"We have not spent any money to speak
of on SEO for the website, so I am sure
that is a contributing factor to the lack
of leads. At some point in time, we will
spend some more money updating the site
and, perhaps, adding an e-commerce option
for our preprinted stock designs. This
would be a natural transition from my past
experiences."
Dortch runs his company with the
environment in mind, having recently installed software that will allow RPLV to
become paperless. The company also uses
the Rutland C3 mixing system, which is
comprised of non-phthalate inks.
"We are striving on an annual basis to
improve our impact on the environment
by introducing more planet-friendly chemicals in our production process," he adds.
As RPLV will continue to increase its
customer base and embrace new technologies. Dortch says much efﬁciency can be
incorporated in his procedures to contribute to ongoing success.
"All in all, I am excited about our future," he says. "We have grown every year
since our acquisition and intend to stay on
this path."
Jennifer A. Morrell is an award-winning
writer who has written for a number of
national consumer and trade publications.
For more information or to comment on
this article, email Jennifer at jennmorrell@
hotmail.com.
January 2015 | Impressions

57
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Impressions - January 2015

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