Latson's values service above all

Starting as a newspaper in 1953, Latson's Printing & Office Supply, Inc. is now one of the oldest retail and printing service stores in Commerce.

The owner of Latson's, Dick Latson, belongs to the second generation of Latsons to own the business.

"My father moved here from Texas Tech in west Texas in 1953 – it was his dream to own a small-town paper," he said. "He and another man owned the Commerce Journal up through 1966. I took over in 1977. It was just a little old chop shop and then we expanded the business to include office supplies and copies."

In the beginning, Latson never intended to own the company on a long-term basis.

"The family turned it over to me back in the late ‘70s because there wasn't anything really to sell," he said. "So I was going to school at the university [in Commerce] and decided that I would run the business for a few years, then sell it and continue on with my education. Obviously, that didn't happen and I ended up keeping it for 33 years now."

Although he was not running the company in the early years after its formation, Latson thinks that it would have been easier owning a "baby" company back then.

"Business in the early days was a lot easier than it is nowadays," Latson said. "Back in the early days, we made a lot of mistakes and took on too much debt and came close to losing the business. But there was lot of business to be had and so the mistakes weren't as costly. If I were starting in the business today, I doubt if I could make it. It's just a lot tougher these days."

One thing Latson enjoys about his business is serving others.

"The thing that keeps me going and the satisfaction I derive from it is being somewhat of a service industry," he said. "I'm passionate about our customers and get great satisfaction from helping people solve their problems, helping people out of binds – that probably drives me more than the money. A lot of decisions made in the industry are based on how we can help the customer as opposed to how we can make more money."

This satisfaction from helping others is apparent to anyone who visits the company's website. On the opening page, Latson has clearly stated what his company will do for you that others may not.

"At Latson's, customer service is not only our top priority, it is our passion," the website reads. "We strive to be your one source for all of your office supply and business and needs. One vendor, one call. Simplify your life."

A Commerce native, Latson also enjoys feeling like he is giving back to his community.

"The thing I'm most proud of is just survival and being able to provide payroll for 14 families," Latson said. "It's pretty awesome when you think about the fact that the survival of your business provides support for many different families within your community. I'm proud that we're able to provide a place of employment for those people."

Like most business these days, Latson's was affected by the recession.

"Business here was down, but it wasn't as bad as the industry as a whole, so I'm kind of proud of that," he said. "We didn't have to lay anybody off. We've pretty much been able to hang on to our payroll."

However, this level of recession resistance has come with a price, according to Latson.

"It has taken its toll on us," he said. "It's going to take awhile to dig out of this. Our cash reserves are depleted. So it's going to take another year or two to pull out of this recession for us."

After 44 years, Latson's still receives a good deal of business on a regular basis.

"We get quite a bit of retail downtown," Latson said. "We probably get more retail business than the few of us that are around down here."

Senior sociology major Kerry Hendricks – who used Latson's engraving services to create a humorous nameplate as a gag gift for a professor – spoke highly of his customer experience.

"The customer service I received at Latson's was really awesome," Hendricks said. "They really value their customers and really want you to keep doing business with them. I went in to get a custom nameplate made for a prank on one of my professors, and the lady that helped me was really helpful. She was able to help me pick out what I needed and even offered come constructive changes. As opposed to other larger businesses, I felt a real personal and friendly experience. Granted, the selection may not be as broad as Staples, but the customer service really makes up for it."

Latson's has expanded its business to Sulphur Springs. However, Dick said he does not really have a desire to expand the business further at present.

"We did expand a couple of years ago, and we had opportunities to do some more expansion and, probably if I was younger, I'd consider it, but a lot of that cash flow becomes a lot more critical the bigger you get – you take on a lot more risk," he said.

Latson wants to focus on securing his assets.

"We decide to pull in the reins a little bit and try to get a good handle on this to where we're taking care of what we have and then, maybe down the road, if my manager wants to look at expanding again, we might consider it. But, for now, we're going to hold on to what we have."